Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Five Great All Time Cats


With going down of ages and debate raising the existence of some of the toughest cats surviving in the wild, many observers and scientist observed their hunting strategies and the survival techniques of these cats. Although, these cats live separately in the wild but they are the largest predators hunting down even the biggest bull for their meals. The cats vary from different shapes and sizes while they have the same body structure and rely on same defensive mechanisms the teeth and the claws.

Keeping this in mind we now categorized these big cats according to their surviving tactics

5. Cheetah: The fastest feline on the planet can run at a speed of 114 km an hour, the speed reaches from 0 to 4 seconds even the fastest jet lacks this pace. But with great speed come great weakness and it is here when the cheetah succumbs to its own speed. A cheetah’s body is designed to get the maximum speed in a chase as the feline can keep its pace till a distance of 400 meters after which it slows down. As the cat reaches its maximum speed the flow of blood gushes to its brain this slows down the feline and if the cat ignores its weakness, then the blood would tear the veins causing an instant death for the fast runner. The sprinter cat can only keep up to the speed for just 10 minutes, while the body temperature rises according to the acceleration or the pace of cheetah. The streamlined physique helps the cat to chase and take down smaller preys such as the antelope and Thomson gazelles while its defense mechanisms are totally useless during a scuffle with other mammals. The cheetah is designed to chase and sprint faster than any mammal on the earth but it lacks the offensive tools when it comes saving its territory and its family.

4. Leopard: A smart and a solitary ambush hunter is the most aggressive feline in the entire cat family. It is been said that leopards would take down lions when it comes to defend its territory. They are stronger in all forequarters and can lift its prey weighing thrice its body weight. Although, leopards are seen hunting down deers, wild hogs and other small animals but they will never back down in taking larger bovines in their meals. Leopards are normally shy creatures and often prevent publicity but this sly hunter would be a step behind you and will still leave you unnoticed about its presence. Sometimes it is seen in Northern America that the sly cat often gets into the human vicinity and targets children and even adults. The cat is also seen killing dogs, cats and even goats for its supper. Due to the growing population, humans have occupied the cat’s territory which leads in a normal confrontation between both the creatures.

3. Lion: The king of beast is often regarded as symbol of the greatest warrior ever built to die till death. Lion as not only ruled the jungle but became a great admirable creature for the Romans. This is why images and statues of these great warriors were printed on the clothes and crowns of the Roman emperor and his brave soldiers. Lions reign the entire Serengeti and Masai Mara regions and mainly rely on larger preys such the cave buffalos, wildebeest and even sometimes elephants and hippos. Lions often rule a larger group that generally consists of four to five lionesses. They hunt in a pack thus taking down a larger animal such as an amateur elephant and even a full grown bison. The hunt is normally done by the female lions while the males join them during the feast. Lions are often social animals thus they love to join a family or make one of them. The felines are often rated as the most aggressive cats among its closer cousins and are normal seen taking down larger preys.

2. Tiger: The most efficient and a stealth hunter in the entire cat family, known to take down even the biggest gaur with a single strike. It has been often argued that what would be the consequences if a lion and tiger confront each other in the wild. Well, there is no doubt that lions are aggressive felines and would fight until death but this can be noticed between two different lions. But during a confrontation with a tiger a lion would fight either to defend its territory or its family. The fight between the big cats is registered in many great diaries but it is always the lion kisses death and tiger returns as a victorious soldier.

There are other short footage that often show tiger retreats but you will never witness that the lion managed to kill its counterpart. Tigers are stronger than their cousins and weigh more than them; they are the perfect fighting machine and always tend to use their forelimbs in a scuffle like a western boxer whereas lions can only manage with one. It is also seen that tigers fight while they are on their hind legs standing erect and using their might whereas lions share their balance on three limbs while they utilize one in a bout. Tigers unlike their cousins are not social animals and avoid staying together, this leaves a tiger totally unsecured either defending its territory or family. But in spite of this drawback the feline manages to survive in the wild, while the tigress raises its cubs without a male. If you are still not convinced with the verdict then you must heard of a tigress taking down a gaur single handedly.

If you look back in wild a pack of lioness consisting of four to five of them manage to bring down the largest cave buffalo that weighs similar to the gaurs. If this is not enough for your knowledge then one must understand that Siberian Tigers can easily hunt grizzlies for their meals. A grizzly weighs nearly a ton which is much more than a full grown tiger, it also as a full-fledged stamina. The potentiality of the bear can be easily seen during a chase between the reindeers. The bear is not the fastest animal on earth but can chase down its prey for more than a mile. So, it is totally impossible to take down this heavily equipped mechanism except for the pachyderms. Tiger is one such predator that is equally packed with stamina and fighting tools that as the potentiality to take down the largest grizzly in the Siberian jungle.

1. Domestic Cat: Yes, you must be amazed that why a small creature which is hundred times smaller than its cousin holds the peak and accelerates to become one of the top predators of the planet. The reason lies here, a domestic cat takes down more than 1000 species for its meals which includes small insects to the most poisonous lizards. Just think and use your intellect if an animal so small and easily preys on so many species then imagine what would it be if our domestic cat would be the size of a full grown feline weighing not lee that 400lbs. So, when it comes in ranking the most fearsome feline of the entire cat family then the domestic cat ranks the first place.