Category Zoology

How do leopards hunt?

A leopard can rarely be seen and never be heard. This ferocious cat sprints at a speed of 60 kilometres per hour in no time and can leap to a height of three metres. With spotted skin, it looks much like a jaguar, but is smaller in size. In fact, it has smaller legs than many other big cats, but has a bigger skull.

A leopard hunts at night. It usually hunts alone. While hunting, a leopard moves in a slow, crouching walk. Its advanced sense of vision and hearing helps it hunt in dense forests. When a leopard sights a potential target, it stalks forward with head low and legs bent, making clever use of cover. Within the range of about 10 metres, it dashes forward and with the help of sharp, hooked claws, kills its prey. It mainly hunts antelope, deer, and pigs. A leopard can also hunt from the trees. Its spots allow it to blend with the leaves until it springs with a deadly pounce. It usually drags its kill onto tall branches.

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What are the features that help a cheetah hunt?

The cheetahs are the smallest of the African big cats. A fully grown cheetah weighs around 58 kilograms. Cheetahs are known for their unbeatable speed. Long legs, a slender body and a long tail help the cheetah to run fast. It is its speed that aids a cheetah in hunting.

A cheetah hunts during the day. In a burst of speed, it tries to get as close to the prey as possible, outruns the prey and knocks it down. Because of their speed, their body overheats in about twenty seconds! If the prey can stay ahead for longer than 20 seconds, it stands a good chance of escaping. If the kill is successful, the cheetah drags the prey to a safe hiding place, protecting the kill from being stolen.

Cheetahs are native to Central Iran and Africa. Earlier, they were tamed and were used for hunting. It is said that Emperor Akbar kept a thousand trained cheetahs for hunting!

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Why is the tiger a dominant predator?

Humans view the golden and black stripes of a tiger with awe and terror. This ferocious animal is admired for its beauty, swift-yet-silent movements and the grace with which it catches its prey. The tiger is the biggest of all cats. It is a territorial hunter; a tiger marks its territory either by clawing on trees or with its faecal matter.

Tigers need plenty of space to thrive. They prey on many species of deer, antelope, wild pigs and porcupine. They are also known to kill animals as large as wild bulls and buffaloes. Tigers follow a strategy to hunt. They stalk their prey, sometimes for hours, and try to get as close as possible. At the right moment, they pounce on the prey from behind, biting the neck or throat. When the prey is dead, it is dragged to a safe place to be eaten. Tigers are brilliant swimmers; they catch fish and turtles as well.

There are six different species of tigers that live in a variety of habitats ranging from the forests of Southern Asia to mangrove swamps and snowy mountains.

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What makes the lion an unparalleled predator?

Perhaps, our first knowledge of lions comes from bedtime stories that feature the lion as the king of the forest. Let us however, now talk about lions outside these stories.

Lions hunt at night or early in the morning. Out of the forty species of cats around the world, only lions hunt in groups. They either stalk the prey like tigers do, or find a spot close to places like a waterhole. A lion fights the prey and brings it down before killing it. An adult lion eats around 18 kilograms of meat at a time. After a sumptuous meal, a lion can sleep up to 24 hours!

Lions generally live in grasslands and savannahs. Almost 90 per cent of the hunt is carried out by female lions. The male lions have the duty of patrolling their territory and protecting the group, known as a pride. A mature lion weighs up to 250 kilograms.

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Which element helps in heart beat regulation?

Potassium plays a role in every heartbeat. A hundred thousand times a day, it helps trigger your heart to squeeze blood through your body.

It also helps your muscles to move, your nerves to work, and your kidneys to filter blood

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends 4,700 milligrams per day for healthy people. The easiest way to get this amount is by adding high-potassium fruits and vegetables to your diet.

It’s possible to get too much of a good thing, though. Ask your doctor before starting a potassium supplement.

If you have kidney failure or other kidney problems, talk with your doctor about how much potassium you should get.

 

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Which element is found in your bones and teeth?

Mineralized tissues, such as bone, teeth, antler and horn, are important elemental storage sites in animals. These tissues contain necessary elements, both major, such as calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) and sulphur (S), and trace elements, such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and cadmium (Cd).

Bones are living tissue. They’re made up of the protein collagen and the mineral calcium phosphate. This enables bones to be strong but flexible.

Collagen is like scaffolding that provides the bone’s framework. The calcium fills in the rest. The inside of the bone has a honeycomb-like structure. It’s called trabecular bone. Trabecular bone is covered by cortical bone.

Teeth are not living tissue. They’re comprised of four different types of tissue: dentin, enamel, cementum, pulp

While teeth and bones might appear to be the same material at first glance, they’re actually quite different. Bones can repair and heal themselves, while teeth cannot. Teeth are more fragile in that respect, which is why it’s so important to practice good dental hygiene and see a dentist regularly.

 

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