and are known best for their collection of saber-toothed cats and mammoths. In the new study researchers used high-resolution micro-computed tomography (CT) scanners to analyze two fossils of leafcutter-bee nests excavated from the pits.
The story no doubt distorting the original science was that this mite runs faster than a cheetah
when measured by body size even the humble cockroach beats the cheetah on that measure. But a simple biomechanical model applying the appropriate scaling laws would suggest that all animals should be able to run at the same absolute speed not the same relative speed.
#Big cats Eat Dogs in India, Leopard Poop Reveals Leopards that roam rural India have a surprising favorite food:
dogs. The big cats even seem to prefer eating domestic dogs in areas where cows goats and other farm animals are plentiful according to a new study.
To reconstruct leopard diets scientists had to take a close look at leopard poop. A team led by researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society scooped up 85 leopard fecal samples as they scoured footpaths dried-up streams
and fields in a rural section of western Maharashtra (the same state where Mumbai is located).
Back in a lab the researchers looked for signs of claws hoofs and hair and other indigestible parts of unlucky prey in the scat.
See Photos of Leopards in Western Maharashtra The researchers found that domestic dogs were by far the most common prey making up 39 percent of the leopards'diet (in terms of biomass.
and accounted for 12 percent of the mass of leopards'meals. By comparison livestock were a relatively small portion of the leopard diet.
Domestic goats for example accounted for just 11 percent of the mass of the big cats'meals even though they were seven times more abundant than dogs in the study area.
All told 87 percent of the leopards'diet was made up of domestic animals including both livestock and pets;
this suggests the leopards though considered wild are completely dependent on human-related sources of food.
The small portion of the wild animals in the leopards'diet consisted of mostly rodents as well as civets monkeys mongooses and birds.
The study illustrates just how big of an impact people have on the lifestyle of leopards that live in human-dominated landscapes.
The largely agricultural study area around the town of Akole did not contain any natural patches of forest
During the past two to three decades legal regulation of leopard hunting increased conservation awareness and the rising numbers of feral dogs as prey have led all to an increase in leopard numbers outside
In rural areas human-leopard conflict is more likely to be related to people's fears of leopards
They made the journey in a minivan with a pet cat and 100000 bees. That was probably the most heroic event in our beekeeping saga to date says evolutionary biologist Nancy Moran a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies symbiosis particularly among multicellular hosts and microbes.
Eyes on the Forest Other endangered species like the tiger are threatened also by poaching and habitat destruction.
According to the World Wildlife Fund human activities have led to a 93 percent reduction in tigers'historic range.
WWF estimates that 97 percent of the world's tigers have been lost over the past century
and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry captured images of 12 tigers in Sumatra in an area that was set for deforestation.
Concerned about the potential destruction of this tiger habitat WWF used Google earth to illustrate the effects of deforestation on the Bukit Tigapuluh region a critical tiger habitat.
ranges of animals such as the tiger elephant rhino and orangutan; and floral diversity according to a statement from Eyes on the Forest.
and if it overlaps with known tiger habitat. In addition the Google mapping project has helped WWF build public support to stop irresponsible logging companies that contribute to Sumatra's deforestation said Craig Kirkpatrick WWF's managing director for Borneo and Sumatra.
Although the long time between satellite images makes it difficult to actively search for threats to tigers he said Google technology has been helpful in illustrating the pace of deforestation in the region and its effects on tiger and elephant habitat.
and then gradually the forests will come back and with them tiger populations. Elephant tracks Despite many efforts to curb elephant poaching including a 1989 agreement among CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and all kinds of animals mountain lions bears and the like roam the darkness of our neighborhood.
and killing of threatened and endangered species such as wolverines lynx and grizzly bears as well as black bears deer elk moose mountain lions eagles and yes landowners'own dogs and livestock the very animals
A solid kick can kill a lion. Ostrich feathers look shaggy because they hang loosely
and cat bites to slippery banana peels and ugly paintings. Here's a look at the Ig Nobel winners of 2014.
In one of their studies the team found that cat bites are associated with depression in humans particularly women.
As for why the researchers speculated on various reasons including the idea that depressed individuals may take in a cat for companionship.
#Jaguar Facts: Biggest Cat in Americas Jaguars are large cats that can be found in North Central and South america.
They are identified by their yellow or orange coats dark spots and short legs. The dark spots on their coats are unlike any other cat spots.
Each spot looks like a rose and are called rosettes. Jaguars are the biggest cats in The americas and the third largest cats in the world.
From head to flank these cats range in length from 4 to 6 feet (1. 2 to 1. 95 meters.
The tail can add another 2 feet (60 cm) in length though their tails are quite short
when compared to other large cats. Lions'tails by comparison can grow up to 3. 5 feet (105 cm.
Males are heavier than females. Males can weigh from 126 to 250 pounds (57-113 kilograms)
In August and September jaguars mate. After mating the female will carry her young for around 100 days
Baby jaguars are called cubs. They are born with their eyelids sealed shut. After about two weeks the cubs are able to see for the first time.
Jaguars are carnivores which means they eat only meat. In the wild jaguars will use their speed
and stealth to take down deer peccary monkeys birds frogs fish alligators and small rodents. If wild food is scarce these large cats will also hunt domestic livestock.
Their jaws are stronger than any other species of cat. With these strong jaws jaguars will crunch down on bones
and eat them. In fact in the zoo bones are part of a jaguars'regular diet. Jaguars typically live in forests
or woods but they are also found in desert areas such as Arizona. They tend to stay close to water
and they like to fish. Jaguars will dip their tails into the water to lure fish much like a fishing line.
Jaguars are loners that only spend time with others of their kind when they are mating or taking care of cubs.
To keep other jaguars at bay they mark their territory with urine or by marking trees with their claws.
Their territories can be up to 50 miles wide according to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
They also don't like to share their food. Jaguars will only eat their prey after dragging into the trees
even if the trees are quite a distance away. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural resources'Red List the jaguar is threatened near due to poaching and the destruction of the rainforest.
Theworld Wildlife Federation states that there are only 15000 jaguars left in the wild. Their name comes from the Native American word yajuar.
Yajuar means he who kills with one leap. During a hunt jaguars take advantage of their strong jaws and sharp teeth.
They catch their prey by the head and chop down to make the kill. Other cats go for the neck when killing prey.
Melanistic or all black jaguars occur due to a genetic mutation. This mutation causes the skin
and fur to contain larger amounts of a dark pigment. These types of jaguars are found in rainforests
because it is easier for them to blend into the dark shadows of the trees.
Jaguars can see six times better than humans at night or during darker conditions due to a layer of tissue in the back of the eye that reflects light The jaguar is a top-level predator.
It doesn't have any natural predators other than humans who hunt them for their fur or sport.
When Climbing Trees Some snakes seem to be little scaredy-cats as new research finds
when young cheetahs play it reduces the hunting success of mothers. Despite these observations the comparative database is scant.
Leopard Teeth, Calf bones Found in Ruins Near Pyramids TORONTO The remains of a mansion that likely held high-ranking officials some 4500 years ago have been discovered near Egypt's Giza Pyramids.
Bones from young cattle and teeth from leopards suggest its residents ate and dressed like royalty.
which were inscribed with titles like the scribe of the royal box and the scribe of the royal school and leopard teeth (but no leopard).
Leopard teeth Besides cattle bones the archaeologists found two leopard teeth in the house and another two in the nearby mound.
They however found no leopard bones leaving them with a puzzle. Redding consulted ancient drawings that date to the Old Kingdom (the age
when pyramid building was at its height) between 2649 and 2150 B c. He found that some high-ranking individuals including members of the royal family wore leopard skin that still had attached the head.
while the wearer was passing by but no leopard bones. High-ranking clergy known as sem priests were allowed to wear these leopard skins
and they could be members of the royal house noted Mark Lehner the director of Ancient Egypt Research Associates in an email to Livescience.
It also lacked big predators like mountain lion and disease-transmitting animals like domestic sheep. 6 Extinct Animals That Could Be brought Back to Life The fossilized poop was found in a cave in the Sierra Kunkaak mountain range of the eastern side of the island
When scientists sequenced the genomes of cats lions tigers and cheetahs true carnivores that also don't have a taste for sweets#they found these species still have a nonfunctional pseudogene (a nonfunctional gene that's lost its protein-coding powers) for the sweet-taste receptor.
But in bird genomes scientists never even found a trace of a pseudogene for a sweet tooth Baldwin told Live Science.
Rhino Horn and Tiger Bone Vietnam could be the latest country to destroy its stockpiles of illegal wildlife products.
and tiger bone the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced. In recent years the international community has recognized that Vietnamese citizens have emerged as key players in global illegal wildlife trade as traders transporters traffickers
Our zoo is small enough that keepers get to work with a wide range of animals from bison and mountain lions to tropical birds Andean bears and Roosevelt elk.
And during times when we have high winds we place the big cats off-exhibit to a secure holding area to safeguard against anything that could fall.
Bones from young cattle and teeth from leopards suggest its residents ate and dressed like royalty.</
which were inscribed with titles like the scribe of the royal box and the scribe of the royal school and leopard teeth (but no leopard).<
<a href=http://www. livescience. com/42717-leopard-teeth-found-at-giza-pyramids. html target=blank>Tasty Life:
Leopard Teeth Calf bones Found in Ruins Near Pyramids</a p><p></p><p>Sloths are the quintessential couch potatoes of the rainforest
Recently officials with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development of Vietnam announced they are considering crushing the country's stores of rhino horn elephant ivory and tiger bone.
Sometimes called cheek pouch monkeys most guenons are the size of cats and dogs and they forage in large groups of two
Pacelle's most recent Op-Ed was Yes You Can Get Your Cat to Behave.
These two reserves contain the Big five#African lion African elephant Cape buffalo African leopard and White or Black rhinoceros and are viewed as a safe haven for brown hyaena.
of which 10000 were made up of carnivores ranging from the large ones such as lion leopard spotted hyaena brown hyaena wild dog to the medium-sized such as honey badger jackal civet serval caracal
and the small ones such as African wild cat bat eared fox aardwolf common genet slender and banded mongoose.
#Pumas, Panthers & Cougars: Facts About America's Big cats The puma is the big cat of The americas.
At one time it ranged from the Yukon in Canada to the Strait of magellan at the tip of South america.
Because these cats were found in so many places local tribes or explorers had their own name for the large felines including cougar mountain lion Florida panther and catamount.
In fact there are more than 80 names for the puma more names than any other animal according to the book Cougar:
The American Lion by Kevin Hansen. It is important to note though that pumas are not bobcats lynxes jaguars cheetahs or leopards.
Typically pumas can be identified by a tan or slightly yellow coat round face long tail and erect ears.
Adult males grow to 6 to 8 feet (1. 8 to 2. 4 meters) long and females average 5 to 7 feet (1. 5 to 2. 1 meters).
Males typically weigh 110 to 180 lbs. 50 to 82 kilograms) and the female 80 to 130 lbs.
A puma's tail is almost as long as its head and body combined. Habitat & habits Pumas can adapt to a wide variety of climates and habitats.
They are found throughout Central and South america. In North america however hunting has reduced their range to isolated areas in Mexico western U s. wilderness areas southern Florida and southwestern Canada according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.
Unlike other cats pumas do not live in packs. They live by themselves in large territories which they mark using urine or feces.
Pumas are solitary creatures for good reason. They need hunting room to find enough food to live.
Only a few pumas can live in a 30-square-mile (78 square kilometers) radius. Pumas are crepuscular creatures.
Diet Pumas hunt using stealth and strength. To kill their prey usually deer elk or moose the puma sneaks up behind the other animal and then chomps down on the prey's neck with its powerful jaws.
To make the kill last longer it hides its prey from other animals and eat bits of the carcass for several days.
A puma typically kills a deer every 10 to 14 days according to the Mountain lion Foundation.
Pumas can drag prey several times their weight and given the opportunity will hunt domestic animals such as sheep pigs horses and other livestock.
Some pumas hunt more than others. Patagonian pumas kill around 50 percent more prey than their North american counterparts according to cougar biologist Mark Elbroch.
Offspring After mating the female will carry her young for a gestation period of 84 to 106 days according to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
Classification/taxonomy According to the Integrated Taxonomic Information system ITIS) the taxonomy of pumas is: Conservation status Pumas once ranged from the Pacific to the Atlantic
but they were eliminated from eastern North america within 200 years of colonization according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
During the 20th century large numbers of pumas were killed in the Midwest and Eastern United states by farmers and ranchers who didn't like the puma stealing their livestock.
As a result pumas almost became extinct in those areas. The puma population is not increasing
and more are being killed now than ever before because of habitat destruction trophy hunting poaching poisoning
and being struck by vehicles on roadways (road kill) according to the Mountain lion Foundation. Pumas are listed as Least Concern for extinction
because they are so widespread according to the IUCN. However they are considered to be declining
and the Florida panther is considered endangered and in Brazil pumas are considered Near Threatened. The U s. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the Florida panther the Costa rican puma and the Eastern puma as endangered.
Pumas are protected a species in many areas with hunting prohibited in many South american nations. In the United states hunting is legal in many Western states.
California however banned hunting in a referendum in 1990. Hunting regulations are in place in Canada Mexico and Peru.
Other facts Pumas are extremely athletic. They can run up to 50 mph (80 kph) and jump as high as 15 feet (4. 6 meters.
Pumas don t roar. They use whistles screams squeaks and purrs to communicate. To signal to males that she's ready to mate a female will rub against trees to leave her scent
or will yowl loudly so that the local males can hear her call. Though pumas are problems for ranchers
or farmers they have a very important role in the environment. They keep populations of animals lower down on the food chain in check.
Without them for example those same farmers may have their crops overrun by hungry rabbits. Other resource i
or cat reacts to the player's expressions: is happy when that player is happy sad
Of these more than 330 were killed unintentionally including wolves foxes skunks opossums raccoons bobcats and black bears.
These devices often capture non-target animals including rare and threatened species such as wolverines lynx and grizzly bears.
and more than 850 in neck snares including mountain lions river otters pronghorn antelope deer badgers beavers turtles turkeys ravens ducks geese great blue herons and even a golden eagle.
Edison had electrocuted previously numerous cats and dogs at his laboratories. The practice of electrocuting prisoners soon caught on it was seen as a more humane way of dispensing with criminals.
and where forests line riverbanks and form highways for jaguars and other rare species? This place the Pantanal is the vast low-lying alluvial plain of the Alto Paraguay River one of South america's mightiest waterways
To start male lactation has been observed in a few domesticated animals including cats goats and guinea pigs on rare occasions.
gives it exclusive rights to clone dogs as well as cats and endangered species. At Bioarts'urging, Start Licensing sued RNL for infringement.
Lions'taste for human flesh dissected: Nature Newsa notorious pair of man-eating lions that teamed up to terrorize Kenyan labour camps more than 100 years ago did not have the same taste for human flesh,
a new study suggests. The findings may reveal unexpected flexibility in lion social relationships. Between March and December 1898, a pair of male lions killed
and devoured 28-135 people in the Tsavo region of Kenya. To understand what happened, Justin Yeakel, an ecologist at the University of California, Santa cruz,
and his colleagues analysed the lions'remains. The team found that the pair probably consumed about 35 human victims
with one of the animals devouring the lion's share, while the other stuck to a more traditional diet.
We would expect that if they're within a cooperative coalition, they would be consuming similar things,
This shows that lion behaviour is even more flexible and complex than we originally thought. It is the first time that different food preferences have been seen within one coalition of social carnivores.
The team reports its findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 1 Lions normally dine on grazing animals such as zebra and wildebeest
but in 1898, drought, pestilence and hunting left the Tsavo region of Kenya barren of the lions'favourite meals.
The lions dragged people from tents at night, killing 28 labourers and an unknown number of native Taita estimates range from none to 107.
Yeakel analysed the ratios of carbon isotopes in the lions'tissues, which should reflect the isotope ratios of their prey.
The lions'remains gave Yeakel two time windows of food preferences: the last 2-3 months of the animals'lives, obtained by analysing the quickly regenerating tail tuft hairs,
which prey combinations were most likely to produce the lions'isotope ratios. The results show that for most of their lives,
over the 9 month period, the lions probably consumed around 10.5 and 24. 2 humans, respectively,
Dominy says that lions may team up for territorial defence2, but such extreme dietary specialization in a cooperative group has not been seen before.
Apart from the environmental pressures on the lions, the dominant maneater also had severe wounds in his mouth and jaw,
which makes it difficult to extrapolate to other lions. Stanley Ambrose, an anthropologist at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, is wary of the conclusions.
As a result, a wide range of proportions of available prey items could account for the lions'isotope ratios,
The lion's share of that funding comes from financial donors that include government agencies in the United states and United kingdom,
Cats, for example, have been identified as a vector in Canada and Japan. We need to know a lot more about the disease to understand why it's so different in The netherlands than the rest of the world,
has eclipsed the US Department of energy's Jaguar system at the Oak ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. In the latest update to the list of the world's top 500 supercomputers (www. top500. org), released on 11 november,
with Jaguar managing 1. 75 petaflops. The United states still boasts five of the world's top ten fastest computers.
on 16 17 november. go. nature. com/prqng2 21 24 november Officials from 13 countries with wild tiger populations meet at a global summit on conservation of the species in St petersburg, Russia
Nature Newsevolutionary advantage often makes for show-stopping stuff a cheetah's speed, for example, or a moth's almost perfect mimicry of tree bark.
Nations pledge to double tiger numbers Thirteen countries that are home to the world's last wild tigers have pledged to try to double the animal's numbers to about 7
000, and to significantly expand its habitat by 2022 (the next Chinese year of the tiger.
and a loan package from the World bank for some tiger-range countries. One of the challenges will be to prevent poaching
and trade in tiger skins (pictured 墉 a seized skin in Kolkata, India). US energy boost The United states needs to triple its annual federal funding 墉 from US$5 billion to $16 billion 墉 for energy'research, development, demonstration and deployment,
which make up the lion s share of the food consumed around the world. Cereals and vegetables need lots of nitrogen to grow,
In the Molecular Ecology special issue, various research teams worked out the diet of a leopard by sequencing DNA in its faeces3;
Jaguars, lowland tapirs, woolly spider-monkeys and giant anteaters are almost absent in Brazilian northeastern forests, which are among the most ancient and threatened tropical ecosystems on the planet.
"In most places, jaguars, tapirs, woolly spider-monkeys and white-lipped peccaries weren t even in living memory,
2007 and 2008, the researchers found that agricultural production provides the lion s share of greenhouse-gas emissions from the food system,
Mexico s primary research funding agency, the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT), stands to get the lion s share of new science funds,
A lighthouse keeper's cat Tibbles aided by a few feral cats perhaps caught and killed nearly every single Stephens Island wren
or even sabre-tooth cats although species that have been extinct for more than a few thousand years are unlikely to be found preserved with enough DNA intact to permit their restoration.
or transplants of living cells from other species. It would also stop the breeding of dogs, cats and primates in Italy for research,
Toshiji Fukuda/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013'Tiger untrapped'by Toshiji Fukuda shows an endangered Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica.
but also for his dedication to photographing the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) in the wild. Fukuda spent 74 days in a small, specially constructed hut in the Far Eastern Federal district, Russia, waiting for this animal one of only around 300 Amur,
or Siberian, tigers left in the wild. Luis Javier Sandoval/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013'Dive buddy'by Luis Javier Sandoval depicts an endangered green turtle (Chelonia mydas.
Other items include a sabre-toothed cat skull and dinosaur eggs. Rolater has agreed also to pay a $25,
Both sides need to recognize that wolves are just animals like deer fish rats dogs cats
if it were a bear a lion a tiger or the last snow leopard. Human safety has always been
Consider the various cats. They love to lie around and sleep. Once they get up and move though they are extremely active and fast.
Bà ¥rd Ylvisã Â¥ker and Vegard Ylvisã Â¥ker the folks behind Ylvis describe the vocalizations of various common animals from cats to dogs to ducks to cows
just as dogs and cats Do it's simple to reduce say a dog's vocalizations to bark
in fact they hunt more like cats with a low-to-the-ground stalking posture and bite hard with sharp thin teeth to kill prey (dogs
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