Category Zoology

Which is the fastest among the big cats?

      If there was a race among the big cats, the indisputable winner would be the cheetah. The cheetah, however, is the fastest animal not just among the cat family alone. There is hardly any animal in the entire world that can beat the cheetah in a race.

      When running at full steam, the cheetah can reach speeds of about 96.6 km per hour in just three seconds. In a few strides, the animal can reach speeds of more than 95 km/h. The most modern cars will struggle to match such power. However, the animal can run only for short distances. The cheetah will soon run out of steam, and give up eventually after about 180 meters if the prey seems to be getting away.

      The big cat has extraordinary manoeuvrability skills, and this gives the animal an advantage over the rest of the cat family. A beautiful spotted coat is the cheetah’s distinguishing characteristic among other cats. The back tear marks on the sides of its face also make the animal distinct from others.

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Does the domestic cat have relatives?

      Do you like the company if a cat? Its soft fur coat, sweet meow and purr will endear it to anyone and that is why the cat is one of Man’ favourite pets.

      Do you know that other than the domestic cat, there are many species that belong to the cat family such as tiger and cougars? There are about 37 species in the cat family, which is known as Felidae. Five of them, namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard and snow leopard are considered ‘the big cats’.

      Sometimes other cats like the cougar, clouded leopard, sunda clouded leopard and cheetah are also referred to as ‘big cats’. Each of these species has certain qualities that make it different from the rest. For example, the tiger is the strongest among them and the cheetah is the fastest.

      Ocelots and lynxes that are endangered belong to the medium sized cats. They are too big to be called wild cats, and too small to be counted among the big cats. Some species which resemble the domestic cat are found in the wild too. The fishing cat, flat-headed cat, and the black-footed cat are some among them.

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When do we need fillings?

Each tooth has two main parts. The root anchors it firmly in the gum, to withstand the tremendous pressures that are exerted when you bite and chew hard foods like nuts. The crown is the visible part above the gum. It is covered with whitish enamel, which is the hardest substance in the entire body. Under the enamel is a layer of dentine, which is not quite so hard, and absorbs shocks and knocks. In the middle of the tooth are blood vessels, providing nourishment to the tooth’s parts and layers, and nerves, to detect pressure and pain.

Regular visits to the dentist are important for healthy teeth. If you don’t look after your teeth, they may go bad and decay. That means that they may have to be filled or even taken out by the dentist.

Fact File:

Germs live in the holes of bad teeth. They eat the good part, which makes the holes deeper. Dentists have to drill out this germy part. The hard outside of teeth cannot grow back. Dentists have to fill the holes with metal to keep the germs out.

 

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When do we lose our milk teeth?

The average person has two sets of teeth, one after the other. The first is the baby, milk, or deciduous set. Even before birth, teeth appear as tiny buds below the gums. They begin to erupt, or show above the gum from the age of a few months. By the age of about three all 20 first teeth have usually appeared. In each half (left and right) of each jaw (upper and lower), there are two incisors, one canine, and two molars.

From about the age of six years, the first teeth start to fall out. These are replaced by the adult, second, or permanent set. First are usually the front incisors and the first molars, at around seven to eight years. Last are the rear-most molars, or wisdom teeth. They appear at 18-20 years of age in some people, while in others they erupt at 40 or 50 years of age – and sometimes they never appear. In each half of each jaw, there are typically two incisors, one canine, two premolars, and three molars, making a full set of 32 teeth.

Fact File:

Your back teeth are bumpy on top. You can feel it. They work together, grinding food between the bumps. These grinders need regular and careful cleaning when they finish work. Food often sticks between the bumps.

 

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When do we cough?

Coughing is the way in which the lungs dislodge anything that blocks the air passages. Usually these are only minor blockages caused by a build-up of mucus when you have a cold or chest infection. When you cough, your vocal cords press together to seal off the air passages. At the same time your chest muscles become tense, raising the pressure in your lungs. When you release the air it rushes out, carrying the obstruction with it.

The delicate alveoli inside the lungs can be damaged by many different things, thus causing us to cough. One is tobacco smoke, which clogs the alveoli and airways with thick tar. Others are the polluting gases that hover in the air of many big cities, coming from vehicle exhausts as well as factory and power-plant chimneys. Some types of industrial dust and particles floating in the air, such as asbestos or coal-mine dust can cause considerable damage to the lungs.

Fact File:

It can be quite hard to breathe when you are at the top of a mountain. At high altitudes the air is thinner so there is not so much oxygen in it. This means that you will breathe heavily if you exert yourself by climbing.

 

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When does respiration occur?

Respiration, or breathing, is when you draw air in through the nose and mouth and into the lungs. Like all movements in the body, those of respiration rely on muscle power. There are two main sets of breathing muscles: the intercostal muscle and the diaphragm. Breathe in deeply and watch your ribs rise and your chest expand. Together these muscles make the chest bigger and stretch the spongy lungs inside. As the lungs enlarge, they suck in air down the windpipe. This is how we breathe in. Then the muscles relax. The ribs fall back down and the diaphragm resumes its domed shape as the spongy, elastic lungs spring back to their smaller size. The lungs blow some of their air up the windpipe. This is how we breathe out.

The movements of breathing are controlled by the brain. It sends out signals to make the muscles contract. The signals pas along nerves to the intercostal and diaphragm muscles, making them contract. This happens every few seconds throughout our life, even when you are asleep.

File Fact:

The average person at rest breathes in and out about 10-14 times per minute. If you sing or play instruments like trumpets, you need lots of puff. Learn to use the muscle under your lungs to get more lung power.

 

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