The proud feline family

The lion is a lazy animal who spends most of its time relaxing under the shade of a tree or any other suitable place. It kills only when it is hungry. Though it can run as fast as 40 km per hour, it does not chase its prey. It lies in ambush or walks stealthily. When it reaches near its prey, it charges with speed,
writes Thakur Paramjit

STRANGE it may seem, but the big wild cats like lions, tigers, and leopards belong to the same family to which our domestic pussycats belong. Animals can be divided into two groups according to their eating habits viz carnivores and herbivores. Carnivores are flesh-eating animals, who have long canine teeth. These teeth are used for catching and tearing up their prey. These animals are the main hunters among mammals. Herbivores eat grass, leaves etc. In simple language, you may call them non-vegetarian and vegetarian. Cats are carnivorous animals, who normally hunt from dusk to dawn. No one can see in total darkness. Contrary to common belief even cats cannot see in absolute darkness. But their eyes are especially suited for seeing in dim light. Cats have great natural grace. Whether they walk or run, they seem magnificent. They place their hind feet exactly at the same place where they have put their front paws. (The models of the fashion world today endeavour to copy the cat to bring grace to their style of walking, hence the term Catwalk). Their feet are padded.

Thus, they do not make any noise while walking, and their prey is not alarmed. Moreover, pads help them in extreme temperatures, as these are bad conductors of heat. They have got strong senses of smelling and hearing.

Their tongue is rough, which helps them in scraping meat from bones. The cats body has got powerful muscles. If a cat falls from some high place, say a tree, on its back; it can straighten itself in the air and falls on the ground on its feet.

Hunters with shortened faces, sharp claws and slender tails, cats usually stalk their prey or lie in ambush waiting to pounce. Though there are 50 kinds of cats, yet their basic behaviour is the same since they have many common characteristics.

P.Monteyfail of Russia says that lions and tigers are not very intelligent animals. In Russian zoos, walls made of thin plywood separate them. They can easily break these walls, but they never think of doing so because they have been brought up in houses made of strong walls. He also quotes another very interesting incident. Generally it is believed that lions and tigers are very brave animals. But it may not be true if they have never seen their opponent before. Once a lamb entered the cage of tigers. Those tigers had never seen a lamb before. Seeing that the lamb was advancing towards them fearlessly, they got frightened and started growling and moving backwards till they reached the wall of the cage.

Next to the Siberian tiger, lion are the bigget cats. They can be divided into two kinds — African lion and Asiatic lion. African lion enjoy a free life in the grasslands of East Africa. The Asiatic lion is extinct from the jungles, and is found only in Gir sanctuary in Gujarat.

The lion is a lazy animal who spends most of its time relaxing under the shade of a tree or any other suitable place. It kills only when it is hungry. Though it can run as fast as 40 km per hour, it does not chase its prey. It lies in ambush or walks stealthily. When it reaches near its prey, it charges with speed. A special characteristic of lions is that they live and hunt in groups, called ‘prides’. About two to three members of a pride perform the duties of hawkers. They roar and drive their prey towards other members, who wait in ambush and charge when the prey reaches within their range.

A lioness gives birth to one to four cubs at a time. Lions weigh up to 250 kg. The male is bigger and has got as mane around its neck. The African lion’s mane is blackish in colour, whereas its Indian counterpart has got brownish mane. The lion is a warrior while the lioness is a hunter. Lions generally eat their own kill. African lion, though sometimes, may eat a dead animal; those found in Gir never do so.

The mountain lion is found in Canada and the USA. Called Puma, it preys on cattle as well as wild animals. Measuring up to six feet in length and weighing about 100 kg, it lives in mountains and deserts. Generally, the lioness gives birth to two cubs at a time. The tiger is found across the far east to the Indonesian islands, and in the north up to Siberia. It can survive winters in snow there. The Siberian tiger is the most magnificent cat. Its length may be up to ten feet and weight up to 300 kg. The Bengal tiger weighs up to 200 kg. Tigers of Sumatra and Java, though smaller than the Bengal tiger, are among the most ferocious of the cats. Fearless creatures, tigers won’t hesitate to attack any animal, even an elephant, when they are hungry. They can swim and in a single leap, they can cover a distance of 15 feet. They are usually found in forest /greenland near water. A few of them become man-eaters also. Tiger’s stripes blend with the surroundings when it hides in tall grass and bamboo thickets.

Leopards, though smaller than lions and tigers are very ferocious creatures. They can climb trees. Their length is from six to eight feet and weight about 50 kg. They are fast runners. In leopard families sometimes black cubs are born. They grow into dangerous animals called panthers. These are common in India and Dutch East Indies. Leopard leap on their prey from trees and drag the kill into trees. They tend to remain in the dense areas of a forest, away from the path where humans tread.

Cheetah or the hunting leopard is the fastest running animal. Its speed can reach upto 80 km per hour. It has long legs and slender body. It is the only cat who chases its prey. And it is the only cat that cannot retract its claws. Another typical characteristic of Cheetah is that they hunt in pairs. It is an uncommon phenomenon in cat family. Strange it may seem, but they cannot climb trees.

Clouded leopards are smaller in size and spend most of their lives off the grounds. They sleep in the trees during the day, and hunt animals and birds during the night.

Snow leopard lives in Himalayas. It is greyish-white in colour. The body is about three feet in length and same is the length of its tail. It stores fat in its tail, so that it may live on the same when food is scarce. Hair on Jaguar is found in tropical America. It has large spots and looks like a well-built leopard.

In addition to the big sisters, there are small sisters in the cat family which are more or less the size of the domestic cat.

The marbled cat derives its name from the presence of large and small blotches, on its flanks. This marbling pattern varies from region to region, and even among individuals inhabiting the same region. This cat is widely distributed in Nepal, Sikkim, Assam, Burma, Java and Sumatra. It is a rare cat about which not much is known.

The jungle cat, popularly known in Hindi as jungli billi, is the forest cousin of the domestic cat.Found over a really wide territory, from the North Africa to South West Asia to India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Indo-China, this cat looks like a real cruel criminal when one looks into its pale green eyes. The colour of its furvaries from sandy-grey to yellowish-grey. Seen in morning and evening, the jungle cat moves gracefully like a small panther. Displaying remarkable swiftness and strength for its size, this bold cat can kill a prey larger than its size.

Beautiful in appearance and sturdy in built, the Golden Cat derives its name from the colour of its coat which varies from golden brown to dark brown or bright red. Some cats also display a grey or black coat. The second largest among the small cats, it shows a horizontal white or buff cheek stripe, which may be edged with black. Starting from below the eye and running all the way to the back of the gape, this forms the distinctive feature of the cat. Though this cat is found in Nepal, Sikkim, Assam, Burma, Southern, China and South-East Asia, nothing much is known about its habits. Thought to be a fierce member of cat family, it preys on sheep, goats, poultry and small deer.

The presence of long erect tuft of hair on the tips of its ears makes the lynx distinct from other cats. Both the lynx and the caracal has tufted ears, but lynx has a short tail which reaches just about half way to the hocks. The hind limbs of both are longer than the front ones, but caracal is smaller in size and lighter in built than lynx. The lynx is found in Ladakh, Tibet, Gilgit, northern Europe and Asia; whereas the caracal lives in Sind, Baluchistan, Punjab, Rajasthan, U.P., Madhya Pradesh, Iran, Iraq, Arabia and Africa.

The lynx lives in willow scrub, reeds and tall grass. It hunts on hares, partridges, sheep, goats hares, marmots etc. A creature of desert and scrub forest, caracal is fast approaching extinction in India. Its food consists of antelopes, small deer, gazelle, hair, and foxes. It is a very agile animal, so much so that it can spring up and catch a bird in flight.

Like cheetah, caracal too has been famed and trained for hunting by the rich people. At one time, the people of Persia used to rear caracal and then competitions were held in which caracal would attack a flock of feeding pigeons. So fast are the reflexes of this cat, and such is the coordination between its eyes and feet, that the champion caracas would kill about ten feeding pigeons in split second before they could fly.

With its head and body measuring two feet, and tail one foot, the Desert Cat is found in dry zone of central India. Easily distinguished by its spots, it has pale-yellow fur. Not much is known about its habits.

Having a long tail, broad head and low forehead, the palla’s cat lives in Ladakh and Tibet. About the size of domestic cat, it is presumed to live among rocks and prey on small animals and birds. Not much is known about its lifestyle in the wild. (PAT features)