The American cheetah, who once roamed the North American plains, is thought to have become extinct around 10,000 years ago (Blue Line, N.D.). In the 1970’s the fossils were found in a cave in Wyoming and scientists originally hypothesized that the species was from the cougar lineage. It was proven to be a cheetah because of its lighter body and nasal cavities. Scientists also believed that they had gone extinct due to climate change or loss of its prey. This land mammal may have been quite fast but could not reach the 65-mile-per-hour range of the South African cheetah. This predator is more closely related to modern pumas and cougars than to the African cheetah. Genetic studies reveal that the American cheetahs closest relatives are the mountain
In order to better understand these "implications," it is necessary to define and explain the major theories regarding North American megafaunal extinction. The two most widely supported theories are those of environmental change and overkill. Two theories finding less support within the field are those of hyperdisease and "keystone herbivores."
Mountain gorillas where first discovered by a German captain named Robert Von Beringe on the Sabinyo volcano in 1903. The mountain gorilla is the largest of the gorillas, male gorilla’s weight up to 400lbs, and females weight 215lbs. Their life span is about 40 to 50 years. The mountain gorilla became known on 17 October 1902, and is a subspecies of eastern gorilla. It has long hair, jaws and teeth, and shorter arms, than the eastern lowland gorilla. Adult male gorillas grow silver hair on their back and hips, giving them the name silverback.
In prehistoric America horse remains have been found that show they covered our great plains and were evolved to be able to eat the harsh vegetation of the area. The evidence of horses go back 54 million years. Without reason it seems this creature vanished from the area and not to be seen or have signs for the last ten thousand years. There are many theories as to what happened to them. One of the theories is that the horse died out due to disease. Another
The species that were present were not exclusive to North America, but lived all over the globe. During the Pleistocene, saber-tooth cats were present on all the continents as very fierce mammal carnivores that would hunt large herbivores such as mastodons. As th...
Hey, I didn’t see you there, how are you?I'm just wondering whether or not a big ol' grizzly bear is going to come charging at me at any point in my life, but seeing as grizzly bears are endangered that probably won't happen. In the past, there were thought to be around 50,000 grizzly bears in North America, nowadays they are growing sparse there are estimated to be only around 1800, now not even a 20th of the population in the past. Most of these grizzlies are located in Yellowstone National Park and Alaska, but they can also be found in Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and Montana. Some are thought to be in Washington.
The gorillas live mainly in coastal West Africa in the Congo, Zaire, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Gorillas live in the rain forest. They usually live on the ground but build nest in trees to sleep in. Gorilla troops keep a 15-20 square mile range which often overlaps the range of other troops. There are three different kinds of gorillas. The eastern lowland gorilla the western lowland and the mountain gorilla. They are herbivores and eat only wild celery, roots, tree bark pulp, fruit, stems of many plants and bamboo shoots. They spend nearly half their day eating.
Thousands of years ago, hunting may have been the cause of the extinction of the North American large land mammals. “Moving up into the 1940’s and 50’s some of today’s most prominent game animals were almost non-existent.”(Kerry G) Over-hunting will directly cause the decline in the particular animal’s species. This will effect everything around it, for example ...
(3) The article also contains two causal fallacies, a fallacy of complex cause and a fallacy of genuine but insignificant cause. According to Downes the fallacy of complex cause states that, "The effect is caused by a number of objects or events of which the cause identified is only a part." The article suggests this in the sentence, "People say they’ve seen cougars in the East, but there is no concrete evidence" - "meaning no DNA, no skeletal remains." Concrete evidence can be more than DNA or skeletal remains. For one reason, it would be hard to find any DNA or Skeletal remains because there is no real Eastern predator to kill a cougar. Plus, cougars have many animals to feed on in the Eastern states so it would take awhile for a cougar to die. Cougars live in secluded areas, if one would happen to die it would most likely be eaten by scavengers before any human could identify it and get a sample of DNA.
Snow leopard. When most people hear those words put together, they think of a large, stunning cat with piercing blue eyes, prowling across a snowy terrain high up in the mountains. What they don’t imagine is a helpless animal whose habitat is being destroyed. That is exactly what is happening to these beautiful creatures. Mountain ranges, where these rare cats live, are under the attack of global warming, and the snow leopard population is dwindling because of humans. One of the more well-known snow leopard habitats are the Himalayas. Located in Asia, the Himalayas are becoming warmer each year, which results in a higher treeline. The snow leopards are forced to retreat ever higher into the mountains, where there is less food, vegetation, and, most importantly, oxygen. Even more, humans are attracted to the alluring furs of this beautiful feline. Illegal hunters, or poachers, track down the snow leopards and kill them for their pelts, bones, and body parts. The snow leopard’s fur is a whitish-gray color, tinged with occasional yellow in the spring and dark gray to black splotches, or rosettes (Scherer & Fletcher). The colors of their fur act as camouflage against the mountain snow. Additionally, this cat is one of the smallest of the world’s large cats, averaging about two feet tall from paws to shoulders and about six feet from head to the base of the tail. The tail, however, can add up to three feet to their body length. The snow leopard eats anything from wild sheep to birds to gazelles to red pandas. It is obviously a meat eater, which is called a carnivore. Back to the point, snow leopards are in great danger of becoming extinct if humans continue to hunt them for their pelts and bones and if climate change co...
...ll of a cheetah's energy is spent hunting the gazelle or if its physiological traits only surround the improvement of hunting, then the aspects of mating and breeding (which are also important for survival) are at risk. All the energy that is being spent hunting or evasion lessens the amount of energy that could be used to find a mate or breed for future generations. In layman's terms, there must be compromise in all aspects of a species life in order to survive; it is not just surrounded by hunting or evasion of a predator. Trade-offs is a necessary ingredient in the evolutionary arms race as it serves as type of check and balance for species allowing an equilibrium between different aspects of a species life by not allowing one aspect such as hunting or evasion surpass other important aspects of survival such as breeding or mating.
Gear, Kathleen O’Neal and Gear, W. Michael. “A Brief Look at the Evolution of Bison” lindnerbison. August 2010. Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear. Web. March 30, 2014.
Snow Leopard’s are found living in the high, rugged mountains of Central and South Asia. They live in areas like Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The conditions in the high Central Asia Mountains are harsh and brutal. The Snow Leopards are prepared for these types of conditions. Snow Leopards like the jagged broken cliffs, and rocky ravines stalk and sneak up on the nearby prey. Snow Leopards are very nomadic, they constantly move around marking territory to find prey. They look for cliffs that have a good open view to search for prey on. They have thick long fur, which will keep them warm in their cold habitats and which will protect them from the wind. Their bodies are very stocky but have very bulk chests and arms. They also have small rounded ears, which help to minimize heat loss. Their paws are wide to benefit them to walking on snow, a...
The cheetah is known as a very interesting animal for many reasons. One of the prime examples of why so many people believe the cheetah is such an amazing animal is because of the speed it contains. For example, the cheetah can accelerate to speeds of over sixty miles per hour in a matter of three seconds, which is in fact, faster than some cars.(Cheetah facts, about cheetahs 1). Believe it or not, sixty miles per hour isn’t the fastest a cheetah can run! The fastest recorded time for a cheetah’s running speed was seventy five miles per hour while using their tails to steer. (Murray 1) (One Kind, Cheetahs 1). For example, cheetahs can turn in midair when they’re at a full sprint, which is pretty amazing. (One Kind, Cheetahs 1). Another reason the cheetah is such an incredible animal to observe is their hunting ability. Cheetahs are often predators in the wild, which means they hunt other
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.
Australia is a large island continent that holds some of the most diverse range of biogeography regions. It is the home to the endemic order of Marsupialia. These mammals are unique to the rest of the Mammalia class due to the fact that the female possesses a skin pouch. Some of the more well-known marsupials that exist today are the kangaroo, the wombat, and the koala (Thylacoleo Carnifex 2011). However, most individuals today are unaware of a species of carnivorous marsupials that once roamed Australia over 6,000 years ago. Thylacoleo carnifex, or better known as the marsupial lion, was the largest meat-eating mammal known to exist in Australia (Campbell 1999). its name Thylacoleo, meaning pouch lion, and carnifex, meaning butcher or tormentor perfectly fits its predator status. Although its name might suggest that it was a close relative of present day lions, T. carnifex was more closely related to koalas (Campbell 1999).