SEA LION

SEA LION

Sea lions are sea mammals characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short, thick hair. Together with the fur seals, they comprise the family Otariidae, eared seals, which contains six extant and one extinct species the Japanese sea lion in five genera. Their range extends from the subarctic to tropical waters of the global ocean in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with the notable exception of the northern Atlantic Ocean. They have an average lifespan of 20–30 years. A male California sea lion weighs on average about 300 kg 660 lb and is about 8 ft 2.4 m long, while the female sea lion weighs 100 kg 220 lb and is 6 ft 1.8 m long. The largest sea lion is Steller's sea lion, which can weigh 1,000 kg 2,200 lb and grow to a length of 10 ft 3.0 m. Sea lions consume large quantities of food at a time and are known to eat about 5–8% of their body weight about 15–35 lb 6.8–15.9 kg at a single feeding.
The name sea lion is somewhat misleading, as sea lions are only distantly related to lions and other felines. Sea lions evolved from the canines, splitting from the bear line after it split from other dogs. But still all sea lions make a roaring sound and the males of some species like the southern sea lion have a lionlike mane.

BLUE WHALE

BLUE WHALE

The blue whale Balaenoptera musculus is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whales Mysticet. At 30 metres 98 ft in length and 190 tonnes 210 short tons or more in weight, it is the largest existing animal and the heaviest that has ever existed.
Long and slender, the blue whale's body can be various shades of bluish-grey dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath. There are at least three distinct subspecies: B. m. musculus of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia of the Southern Ocean and B. m. brevicauda also known as the pygmy blue whale found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. B. m. indica, found in the Indian Ocean, may be another subspecies. As with other baleen whales, its diet consists almost exclusively of small crustaceans known as krill.
Blue whales were abundant in nearly all the oceans on Earth until the beginning of the twentieth century. For over a century, they were hunted almost to extinction by whalers until protected by the international community in 1966. A 2002 report estimated there were 5,000 to 12,000 blue whales worldwide, located in at least five groups. More recent research into the Pygmy subspecies suggests this may be an underestimate. Before whaling, the largest population was in the Antarctic, numbering approximately 239,000 range 202,000 to 311,000. There remain only much smaller around 2,000 concentrations in each of the eastern North Pacific, Antarctic, and Indian Ocean groups. There are two more groups in the North Atlantic, and at least two in the Southern Hemisphere. As of 2014, the Californian blue whale population has rebounded to nearly its pre-hunting population.

GOAT

GOAT

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the family Bovidae and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae.
There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat.Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species, and have been used for their milk, meat, hair, and skins over much of the world.In 2011, there were more than 924 million live goats around the globe, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Female goats are referred to as "does" or "nannies", intact males as "bucks", "billies", or "rams" and their offspring are "kids". Castrated males are "wethers". Goat meat from younger animals is called "kid" or cabrito and from older animals is simply known as "goat" or sometimes called chevon or in some areas "mutton".
Goats are among the earliest animals domesticated by humans.The most recent genetic analysis confirms the archaeological evidence that the wild Bezoar ibex of the Zagros Mountains are the likely origin of almost all domestic goats today.
Goats are considered small livestock animals, compared to bigger animals such as cattle, camels and horses, but larger than micro livestock such as poultry, rabbits, cavies, and bees.

POLAR BEAR

POLAR BEAR

The polar bear Ursus maritimus is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is a large bear, approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear Ursus arctos middendorffi. A boar adult male weighs around 350–700 kg 770–1,540 lb, while a sow adult female is about half that size. Although it is the sister species of the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which make up most of its diet. Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time at sea. Their scientific name means "maritime bear", and derives from this fact. Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present.
The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, with eight of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations in decline. For decades, large scale hunting raised international concern for the future of the species but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect.citation needed For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural life of Arctic indigenous peoples, and polar bears remain important in their cultures.

LEOPARD

LEOPARD

The leopard Panthera pardus is one of the five "big cats" in the genus Panthera. It is a member of the Felidae family with a wide range in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa, West Asia, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia to Siberia.
Compared to other members of the Felidae, the leopard has relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but is smaller and more slightly built. Its fur is marked with rosettes similar to those of the jaguar, but the leopard's rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not usually have central spots as the jaguars do. Both leopards and jaguars that are melanistic are known as black panthers.
The species' success in the wild is in part due to its opportunistic hunting behavior, its adaptability to habitats, its ability to run at speeds approaching 58 kilometres per hour 36 mph, its unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy carcass, and its notorious ability for stealth. The leopard consumes virtually any animal that it can hunt down and catch. Its habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains.
Leopards show a great diversity in coat color and rosettes patterns. In general, the coat color varies from pale yellow to deep gold or tawny, and is patterned with black rosettes.

CAT

CAT

The domestic cat Felis catus or Felis silvestris catus is a small, usually furry, domesticated, and carnivorous mammal. They are often called a housecat when kept as an indoor pet,[6] or simply a cat when there is no need to distinguish them from other felids and felines. Cats are often valued by humans for companionship, and their ability to hunt vermin and household pests.
Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. Cat senses fit a crepuscular and predatory ecological niche. Cats can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small animals. They can see in near darkness. Like most other mammals, cats have poorer color vision and a better sense of smell than humans.
Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species, and cat communication includes the use of a variety of vocalizations mewing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting, as well as cat pheromones, and types of cat-specific body language.
Cats have a high breeding rate. Under controlled breeding, they can be bred and shown as registered pedigree pets, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by neutering, and the abandonment of former household pets, has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, requiring population control.

CHEETAH

The Cheetah is a large and powerful feline that was once found throughout Africa and Asia and even in parts of Europe.. Today however, it is found in only a few remote regions of it's once vast natural range, primarily due to growing Human settlements and the hunting of them for their fur. There are widely considered to be five different subspecies of Cheetah that vary only very slightly in colouration and are most easily distinguished by their geographic location. Although they are not considered to be part of the 'big cat' family as they cannot roar, Cheetahs are one of Africa's most powerful predators and are most renowned for their immense speed when in a chase. Capable of reaching speeds of more than 60mph for short periods of time, the Cheetah is the fastest land mammal in the world.

Cheetah Anatomy and Appearance

                                              The Cheetah has a long and slender body that is covered in coarse yellowish fur and dotted with small black spots. It's long tail helps with balance and changing direction quickly and unlike the rest of the Cheetah's body, there are ringed markings along the tail which ends in a black tip. Cheetahs have small heads with high set eyes that aid them when surveying the surrounding grasslands for potential prey. They also have distinctive black "tear marks" that run from the inner eye, along their nose and down to the outside of their mouths, which are thought to help protect them from being blinded by the bright sun. The exceptional speed of the Cheetah is caused by a number of things including having strong and powerful hind legs, and an incredibly flexible and muscular spine which allows the Cheetah to not only sprint quickly but also makes them very agile. They also have non-retractable claws which dig into the ground, giving the Cheetah better grip at high speed.

Cheetah Distribution and Habitat

                                             The Cheetah once had a vast historical range that stretched across a number of continents, but their distribution today is much more scattered with a small number found in Iran and the majority found in sub-Saharan Africa. Although Cheetahs are still found in a few different parts of eastern and southern Africa, the highest population of wild Cheetahs is now found in Namibia in south-western Africa. Cheetahs are most commonly found stalkingprey on the vast, open grasslands but they are also found in a variety of other habitats as well including deserts, dense vegetation and mountainous terrain, providing that there are both adequate supplies of food and water. Cheetahs are one of Africa's most vulnerable felines with population numbers being mainly affected by growing Human settlements that encroach on their native habitats.