and tigers often associated with the jungles butâ rainforest-dwelling arthropodsâ (a group that includes insects arachnids and crustaceans all of
><p>Credited with feats of strength including slaying a lion and moving the gates of Gaza Samson also exhibited almost all of the symptoms of Antisocial Personality disorder.
It included a throne room with a glazed brick panel showing palmettes floral reliefs and lions.
and for about 590 feet (180 m) had images of lions carved in relief. The mouths of the lions are open baring their teeth
and the manes of the creatures are finely detailed. Â Â The Tower of babel? Although largely destroyed today in ancient times the ziggurat of Etemenanki
while concertina wire left behind by the military is used to prevent visitors from climbing over a 2500-year-old lion statue an ancient symbol of the city the report reads.
but comparing dogs to cats or dogs to pigs says little of importance. I always stress that intelligence is a slippery concept
and cats and invaded by weeds. Much work has been done to identify and protect the remaining coastal habitat.
and diseased animals) and even the carcasses of euthanized dogs and cats from shelters. Today the nutritional content and safety of pet food is a mainstream concern given growing consciousness about nutrition
The pet-food market has grown dramatically with some pet food companies even marketing organic food for dogs and cats.
This latest food safety scare while substantial is small in comparison to the 2007 scandal that ultimately claimed the lives of thousands of dogs and cats.
#Cat Poop Parasite Is Dangerously Widespread Be careful next time you change the kitty litter cat poop can carry a nefarious parasite that may be much more widespread than thought researchers say.
Cats in the United states release about 2. 6 billion pounds (1. 2 million metric tons) of feces into the environment every year.
Cat dung carries the parasite Toxoplasma gondii a single-celled organism that creates infectious agents called oocysts.
The number of cats in the United states is growing pet cats increased from 55 million to 80 million from 1989 to 2006
and the number of feral cats is estimated at between 25 million and 60 million. Studies show that approximately 1 percent of cats shed the infectious oocysts at any given time.
These oocysts can survive for at least 18 months and only a single one is needed to cause an infection according to past research.
Other animals like sheep and cattle can also acquire the parasite by ingesting the infected cat feces.
It has long been known that the parasite can survive in cat litter where the oocysts become aerosolized after 24 to 48 hours Torrey said.
because cats often relieve themselves in these areas. It's a remarkably complex parasite. It's much more complicated than a virus
and change their behavior causing them to be less afraid of the smell of cat urine.
This makes it easier for the rats to be eaten by cats returning the parasite to its host.
 In the meantime Torrey advocated controlling cat populations especially feral ones. Children's sandboxes should be covered.
And cat owners should dispose of cat litter properly in the trash not down a toilet
None of us are saying cats shouldn't be said pets Torrey but there are some downsides to all pets
and some downsides to cats we should be aware of. Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitterâ and Google+.
As the period ends dogs cats and pigs become commonplace. Other than a few birds that were classified as dinosaurs most notable the Titanis the dinosaurs were gone.
Cave lions Sabre-toothed cats cave bears giant deer woolly rhinoceroses and woolly mammoths were prevailing species of the Quaternary period.
Thriving populations of wolves deer lynx beaver eagles boar elk bears and other animals have been documented in the dense woodlands that now surround the silent plant.
The slaughter of elephants for ivory the killing of rhinos for their horns and the culling of tigers for their bones (as medicine)
'and a cat says'meow'Yoshimura said in a statement. We are interested in the mechanism of this genetically controlled behavior
and the brightly-colored tiger leg monkey frog (Phyllomedusa tomopterna) which earns its moniker from its orange-and-black underbelly and limbs.
#Condors Drive Cougars to Kill More Cougar biologist Mark Elbroch spent more than a year in South america's Patagonia region tracking down pumas and recording
Patagonian pumas kill about 50 percent more animals than their North american counterparts and spend less time feeding on their hard-earned meals.
which was published earlier this month in the journal PLOS One the cougars abandon their kills due to harassment from Andean condors a near-threatened scavenging bird Elbroch told Ouramazingplanet.
however since the condors are physically much smaller than these mountain lions and don't directly threaten the big cats he said.
 Mountain lions under the pressure of condors act like squirrels do under the pressure of owls acting more skittish Elbroch said.
Skittish in the grasslands Elbroch said this unique behavior primarily occurs in the open grasslands where the animal's favorite prey the guanaco a large animal in the camel family are most plentiful.
When Patagonian pumas make a kill in the forest however they've been known to stay with it for up to a week gorging themselves
To make up for the relatively brief amount of time spent with kills in the grassland the big cats must kill more prey to get the same amount of meat said Elbroch who works for Panthera a conservation group dedicated to preserving big cats.
 North american cougars (also known as pumas mountain lions panthers and catamounts) usually only leave their kills when chased away by larger animals like bears or wolves Elbroch said.
Although condors don't chase the cats away apparently their presence is irritating enough to drive away the cats.
Elbroch said the cats'skittishness may also owe something to the presence of humans primarily sheep herders in the Patagonian grasslands.
Humans have hunted extensively mountain lions in the past. But cougars have rebounded slightly in the past decade or so as demand for wool and hence sheep has declined Elbroch said.
A lot of meat Female cougars weigh about 85 pounds (39 kilograms) while males average about 150 pounds (68 kg) Elbroch said.
On average they eat about 5 to 7 pounds (2 to 4 kg) of meat per day only about a quarter of
and how much extra hunting pumas are forced to do at considerable risk to feed these'kleptoparasites'said Paul Beier a researcher at Northern Arizona University referring to the many animals that make a meal of the cougar's table scraps.
Up to 17 different animals depend upon cougar kills for food Elbroch said. They are providing a lot of meat to their community they are truly a keystone species Elbroch said referring to a species that provides multiple irreplaceable services that keep an ecosystem productive.
Patagonia Expedition in Pictures His group tracked cougars using dogs often chasing the cougars for up to five hours.
Then they'd dart the cougars before attaching a collar with a GPS tracking device
Information gathered from the collars allowed Elbroch to know where the cougar had traveled and spent the night after
if he could find what the cougar had been eating. His group recorded 266 different carcasses the large majority
</p><p>The judge's selection made by primatologist Jane Goodall went to Cheetah a former laboratory chimpanzee who used an autumnal palette dominated by yellow orange and red.</
</p><p>The new study published today (May 1) in the journal PLOS ONE may explain how the carcasses of several carnivore species including saber-toothed cats and bear dogs wound up in an underground cavern
</p><p>The neurons described in the Jan 31 issue of the journal Nature may explain why animals from rats to cats to humans enjoy grooming each other
Since the 1950s when researchers cloned a frog scientists have cloned dozens of animal species including mice cats sheep pigs and cows.
So asking if a dog is smarter than a cat or a cat is smarter than a mouse doesn't result in answers that are very meaningful.
Likewise asking if dogs suffer more than mice ignores who those animals are and what they have to do to survive
because their primary predators such as lions and hyenas will consume them entirely leaving nothing behind.)
The newly released images and videos from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) show the famously endangered bears as well as some of their neighbors red pandas leopard cats
China has more than 10 flagship species including Amur tigers musk deer and the Yangtze finless porpoise according to WWF.
#Environmental law Fuels Black market Trade in Cat Skins Fluffy hold on to your fur: Some scoundrels may want a piece of you.
A lucrative trade in cat fur is booming in Switzerland and as a result many domestic cats are disappearing animal advocates say.
The law was designed to protect wildlife from free-roaming cats. Past studies have shown that cats kill billions of birds and other wildlife a year.
But activists say the law is being used as a cover to pick off innocent pets and skin them for their fur The Verge reported.
The cat fur trade was outlawed in Switzerland in 2008 but aâ cat-fur blanket can fetch more than $1700 according to The Verge article.
An advocacy group called SOS Chats has used hidden cameras to uncover a booming black market trade in cat skins as well as 21 cat-skin tanneries across the country.
Some farmers even admitted to the group that they were raising cats for the explicit purpose of selling them to tanneries.
Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter@tiaghose. Â Followâ Livescience@livescience Facebookâ & Google+.+Â o
and cats. Written by a man I believe to be one of the most radical members of Congress
The author's most recent Op-Ed was Snow leopard's Fate Hinges on Historic Talks.
but may be preyed upon by feral cats and monitor lizards that humans have introduced. Some cultures hunt flying foxes and consider them a delicacy
The shape and size of the leg suggest the beast was a fast runner a skill that may have helped it flee predators like lions sabre-tooth cats Simpson
#Fun Facts About Cheetahs Cheetahs the fastest land mammals in the world are built for speed.
Their deep chests and enlarged hearts lungs and nostrils help cheetahs take in more oxygen during intense chases.
Full-grown cheetahs are about 4 feet (1. 2 m) long not including a 30-inch (76-centimeter) tail.
Cheetahs'golden coats are embellished with many small black spots which helps them blend in with their grassy habitat.
Cheetahs prey on warthogs gazelles antelopes rabbits porcupines and even ostriches and they catch their prey by chasing it down.
These chases cost the cheetah an enormous amount of energy and they're usually all over in less than a minute.
Once a cheetah catches its prey it holds it with a strangling bite to the neck.
The cheetah is usually panting heavily due to the intense chase and its body temperature can reach 105 degrees F (41 degrees C). After about 20 minutes the cheetah's breathing
and temperature return to normal and by then its prey has suffocated. Lions and leopards can attack a cheetah
and steal its kill so cheetahs try to avoid them by hunting in the middle of the day.
Cheetahs usually eat their prey right away since they're not strong enough to hide it
or fend off other predators. Female cheetahs are solitary but males live in small permanent groups called coalitions
which are made usually up of brothers. Both males and females hunt alone. Usually only one male in a coalition mates with any particular female Cheetahs can breed at any time of year
but they tend to mate in the dry season. Baby cheetahs are born about three months later at the start of the wet season.
There are usually three to five cubs in a litter and each newborn cheetah cub weighs only 5 to 10 ounces (142 to 284 grams).
The mother cheetah hides her cubs until they're five or six weeks old; after that the cubs follow their mom and share her kills.
They wean when they're around three months old and live with their mother for about 18 months.
Cheetahs live to be about 12 years old in the wild and as long as 17 years in zoos.
 Most cheetahs live in southwestern and eastern Africa but the Asiatic cheetah (A. jubatusvenaticus) is found only in Iran.
Cheetahs roam grasslands savannas and semiarid prairies any area with open land and plenty of prey is good cheetah habitat.
The Wild Cats of Kruger National park Vulnerable to Critically Endangered Overall the species is vulnerable
but two subspecies (A. jubatusvenaticus and A. jubatushecki) are endangered both critically. Fewer than 100 Asiatic cheetahs and 250 Northwest African cheetahs remain.
There are about 7500 adult cheetahs living in the wild. Scientists think the species has declined by about 30 percent over the last three generations or about 18 years.
Their biggest threats are habitat loss and hunting by humans either for trade or to protect livestock.
Cheetahs are nearly twice as fast as racehorses: The fastest racehorse runs 43 mph (69 kph)
but cheetahs can run up to 70 mph (113 kph). A cheetah's feet don't touch the ground for more than half of the time it's running.
Look Quick: Gallery of the Fastest Beasts On land Cheetahs can turn in midair while sprinting after their prey.
King cheetahs have lengthwise stripes and are very rare. Their distinct markings are due to a recessive gene.
The name cheetah in English is derived from the Hindi word chita which means spotted one.
Emperors and other royalty hunted gazelles with trained cheetahs in the 16th century. Cheetahs are very vocal.
They make a unique bird-like sound called a chirrup when they're excited or calling their cubs.
They can't roar like lions or tigers but they do growl hiss snarl moan bleat and purr.
They get the moisture they need from the bodies of their prey so cheetahs rarely need to drink water.
Cheetahs are the only cats with black tear marks on their faces. Scientists think these might act as sun protection like football players painting black marks under their eyes.
Vision Quiz: What Can Animals See? Other resources s
#Fun Facts About Giraffes Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetartiodactyla Family: Giraffidae Genus:
Giraffa Species: Giraffa camelopardalis Subspecies: G. camelopardalisperalta (West african Giraffe Nigerien Giraffe) G. camelopardalisrothschildi (Ugandan Giraffe Rothschild's Giraffe) G. camelopardalisreticulate (Reticulated Giraffe) G. camelopardalis camelopardalis (Nubian
Giraffe) G. camelopardalis tippelskirchi (Masai Giraffe) G. camelopardalis angolensis (Angolan Giraffe) G. camelopardalis giraffa There's still confusion among experts about how many giraffe species
Giraffes look a little like a cross between a camel and a leopard: They have a small hump on their back and a spotted coat.
People used to call the giraffe a camel-leopard and that's how the giraffe got its species name camelopardalis.
Besides humans giraffes'only predators are lions and crocodiles. Giraffes can defend themselves with a deadly kick
and it needs its mom's protection from lions crocodiles and adult male hippos which sometimes attack calves in the water.
and like a cat they can swivel their ears to catch tiny sounds. Kangaroos can't walk backwards
#Fun Facts About Leopards Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus:
Panthera Species: Panthera pardus Subspecies: P. pardus pardus (African leopard; P. pardus delacouri (Indo-Chinese leopard;
P. pardus fusca (Indian leopard; P. pardus japonensis (North China leopard; P. pardus kotiya (Sri lanka leopard;
P. pardus melas (Javan leopard; P. pardus nimr (Arabian leopard; P. pardus orientalis (Amur leopard;
P. pardussaxicolor (Persian leopard) Â Basic leopard facts: Leopards are the smallest of the big cats averaging 28 inches (71 centimeters) at shoulder height
but they're also the most successful. They're stealthy hunters and resourceful scavengers and they can adapt to almost any environment.
The color and length of a leopard's fur can vary depending on where it lives.
Leopards in the savanna for example will have yellow or orange fur while the fur of desert leopards is lighter.
Leopards from cold climates have longer grayer fur and rainforest leopards have golden coats. Leopards'spots called rosettes can be
either round or square to help them blend in even better with their surroundings. Leopards eat anything from carcasses fish and reptiles to mammals such as baboons antelopes warthogs hares and rodents.
Of all the big cat species leopards are the best climbers. They're also strong swimmers and they'll sometimes catch fish and crabs.
Leopards are solitary elusive and skillful predators. They hunt kill and feed quickly and stealthily usually during the night.
Retractable claws help them grab and swat prey which they kill with a bite to the throat.
When leopards do make a kill they'll drag the carcass up a tree to keep it away from scavenging lions and hyenas.
Each individual leopard has its own hunting range which it marks with urine and claw marks.
A male's range usually overlaps with several females'ranges which are much smaller. Leopards announce their presence to other leopards with a rasping cough Female leopards can give birth at any time of the year
and there are usually two or three cubs in a litter. The mom keeps her cubs hidden for about eight weeks until they're old enough to play
and learn to hunt. She gives them meat when they are six or seven weeks old and continues suckling them for at least three months.
Cubs live with their mothers for about two years the only time in a leopard's life that it doesn't live alone.
Male leopards generally weigh between 80-150 pounds (36-68 kilograms) while females weigh between 62 100 pounds (28-45 kg).
In the wild leopards live between 12 to 15 years; in zoos they can live up to 23 years.
 Where leopards live: Most leopards are found in the grasslands of Sub-saharan africa but they also cover other areas of Africa the Middle east and Asia.
Gallery: The Wild Cats of Kruger National park Dense brush in rocky areas and forests are their favorite hangouts
but they can adapt to almost any environment from tropical rainforests to deserts mountains and the outskirts of cities.
Leopards are the only big cats that can live in both deserts and rainforests. Â Conservation status:
Near Threatened As a species leopards aren't endangered but some subspecies are in trouble especially those that live outside of Africa.
For example only about 30 Amur leopards which are native to southwestern Russia remain in the wild.
Gallery: Rare and Beautiful Amur Leopards The more threatened subspecies of leopard include: P. pardus kotiya (Sri lanka leopard) Endangered P. pardus melas (Javan leopard) Critically Endangered P. pardus nimr (Arabian leopard) Critically Endangered P. pardus
orientalis (Amur leopard) Critically Endangered P. pardussaxicolor (Persian leopard) Endangered Experts think there are about half a million leopards living around the globe 10 times more than lions tigers and cheetahs combined.
They're declining in large parts of their range though due to habitat loss and poaching for their coats and whiskers. brightcove. createexperiences(;
 Odd leopard facts: Leopards can drag three times their own body weight up to tree branches over 20 feet (6 meters) high.
Male leopards have been known to kill small giraffes and drag the carcasses into trees. The leopard's name comes from the Greek word leopardus a combination of leon (lion) and pardus (panther.
Poachers often hunt leopards for their whiskers which are used in some potions. Snow leopards (Panthera uncial) are a different species than leopards
and are actually most closely related to tigers. Their morphology and behaviors are quite different from those of other leopards.
The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) despite its name belongs to a different genus. Leopards roar but not as loud as lions.
They also purr and growl. They have amazing hearing. Leopards can pick up five times more sounds than humans can.
Leopards don't need to drink much water; they can live off the moisture in their prey. They're experts at climbing up and down trees often descending headfirst.
They're the largest cat species that regularly climbs trees; they even sleep sprawled out on tree branches.
 Other resources: IUCN Red List: Leopards Catalogue of Life: Leopard PBS Nature Leopard Facts San diego Zoo Animal Bytes:
Leopard National geographic Leopard Facts Animal Planet Leopard Facts African Wildlife Foundation Fact Sheet: Leopards BBC Big cat Leopard Facts  Related:
#Fun Facts About Moose Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Â Mammalia Order: Cetartiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus:
Alces Species: Alces americanus Alces alces Basic moose facts: Moose are the largest members of the deer family.
Males (called bulls) have huge antlers that they shed each winter which are different from deer antlers in their shape.
The antlers help channel sound to a moose's ears. Unlike their deer cousins moose are solitary
and don't form herds. Generally slow-moving and easy-going moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly fast if angered or startled.
The moose mating season is in the autumn and can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for the right to mate with a particular female.
Moose are large and heavy with massive heads and long noses. They have short tails a hump on the shoulders
and large ears they can rotate. Moose can move through deep snow with their long legs insulated from the cold by a thick coat of hollow hairs.
They have good senses of smell and hearing but are noted not for their eyesight. Males and females are about the same height (4 to 6 feet
or 1. 2 to 1. 8 meters at the shoulder) but males weigh more around 950 pounds (430 kilograms)
while females weigh 750 pounds (340 kg) on average. Moose eat up to 50 pounds (23 kg) of plants each day
and may migrate seasonally looking for freshly growing plants. Much of a moose's energy is maintained by eating flowering plants and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch.
These plants are rather low in sodium and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants to make up for it.
While much lower in energy these plants provide the moose with sodium and as much as half of their diet usually consists of marsh or river plants.
A moose stomach can hold up to 112 pounds (51 kg) of food at one time. Moose are generally solitary creatures
which are called sometimes cat monkeys because they look like house cats with long tails. But the orange-brown olinguito eluded classification by scientists for more than 100 years
despite being observed in the wild ending up in museum collections and even being exhibited at the Louisville Zoo the National Zoo and The bronx Zoo in the 1960s and 1970s according to a statement from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural history.
Wolves lions and bears are known to attack livestock and even pets. On rare occasions they have killed humans.
A chimera is the name of a creature from Greek mythology that mixed together features of a lion a goat and a snake.
#How You Can Help Save Threatened Russian Tigers: Op-Ed Linda Walkerâ is manager of the Global Forest
Your diningroom table may be one of the reasons why Russian tiger forests are being pushed to the brink of destruction.
And without realizing it you may be stepping on tiger habitat each time you walk on your hardwood floor.
The idea that flooring or a piece of furniture you purchased could be endangering the survival of the endangered Amur tiger is as troubling as it is surprising.
and flooring and shipping it to the United states and Europe where it is purchased by consumers who are unaware that the wood in their furniture was stolen from tiger habitat.
Illegal logging degrades vital habitat for Amur tigers and their prey. Scientists estimate around 450 Amur tigers remain in the wild.
Overharvesting limits the supply of pine nuts and acorns a main food source for Amur tigers prey.
And as timber supplies dwindle ecologically sensitive forests like wildlife reserves are threatened increasingly. Tiger Summit:
What Will It Take to Save Iconic Cat? It s more critical than ever to get these crimes under control.
WWF has been working for more than a decade in the region seeking solutions. We are tackling the problem from several angles in Russia:
As one of the largest importers of flooring and furniture from China U s. consumers and businesses can play a role in helping combat illegal logging and save this crucial tiger habitat.
Iconic Cats Album: All 9 Species of Tiger Businesses: As Russian plant species can be mislabeled purposely as originating from other countries importers of Chinese
or Russian hardwood furniture and flooring must confirm the species and country of wood origin.
if we are to conserve this crucial habitat for the Amur tiger and its prey.
How can you be sure you re not contributing to the destruction of Amur tiger forests
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