Title: Eyewonder-Big Cats (Blad) DD013 Page H74603 Disk OP SCAN Title: Eyewonder-Big Cats (Blad) DD013 US Size: 261 x 412 mm (175# SG Elliptical) T M Y C K NT3-2 K35 206/3 Size: 261 x 412 mm (175# SG Elliptical) Folio: (US Cover) 3 US 7/11/01 H04M00 C00T KQLC00 Folio: (US Cover) EEyyee WWoonnddeerr Eye Wonder E y e W o n d Prowl into the wild and exciting e r world of big cats. • Meet the king of the beasts as he rules his pride, and come face to face with leopards lounging in trees. • Packed with facts, accessible text, and dramatic, atmospheric photography, Eye Wonders are the perfect educational start for young children. • Consultant Derek Lyon was a veterinary surgeon for 30 years, and is now an active member of the British Veterinary Zoological Society. Other titles in the series: Birds • Bugs • Dinosaur Ocean • Rain Forest Open your eyes to a world of discovery Reptiles • Space ISBN 0-7894-8548-6 Printed in Italy $9.95 USA seeourcomplete product lineat $14.95 Canada www.dk.com in Italy T M Y C K Eye Wonder Contents LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH, MELBOURNE AND DELHI 4-5 Introducing cats 6-7 Cat habitats 8-9 Inside and out 10-11 Written and edited by Sarah Walker A cat’s life Designed by Jacqueline Gooden Managing editor Sue Leonard 12-13 Managing art editor Rachael Foster US editors Margaret Parrish and Gary Werner Supersenses Jacket design Chris Drew Picture researcher Sarah Pownall 14-15 Production Kate Oliver DTP designer Almudena Díaz Cat comparisons Consultant Derek Lyon First American Edition 2002 16-17 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 King of the beasts Published in the United States by DKPublishing, Inc. 375 Hudson Street 18-19 New York, New York 10014 Tiger tales Copyright © 2002 Dorling Kindersley Limited All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted 20-21 in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. Water cat DK publishing offers special discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions or premiums. Specific, large-quantity needs can be met with special editions, including personalized covers, excerpts of existing guides, and corporate imprints. 22-23 For more information, contact Special Markets Department, DK Publishing Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 Fax: 212-689-5254. Speed king Walker, Sarah. Big cats / by Sarah Walker. -- 1st American ed. p.cm. -- (Eye Wonder) Summary: A simple presentation of the physical characteristics, habitat, and life cycle of such big cats as the leopard, tiger and puma. 24-25 ISBN 0-7894-8548-6 -- ISBN 0-7894-8549-4 1. Felidae–¡Juvenile literature [1. Felidae. 2. Cats.] I. Title. II. Series. Lounging leopards QL737.C23 W33 2001 599.75’5--dc21 Color reproduction by Colourscan, Singapore Printed and bound in Italy by L.E.G.O. 26-27 See our complete product line at www.dk.com Powerful pumas 28-29 Snow cat 30-31 Team tactics 32-33 Solitary killers 34-35 Life on the plains 36-37 Forest felines 38-39 Cat families 40-41 Undercover cats 42-43 Night stalkers 44-45 Caring for cats 46-47 Glossary and Animal alphabet 48 Index and acknowledgments Introducing cats Cat facts •Cats kill other animals for Fossils show that catlike creatures have existed their food, which makes them carnivores (meat eaters). for many millions of years. All cats belong to •Cats are mammals, which the same family group called the Felidae. means that females produce milk to feed to their young. In size order, the seven biggest cats in the world are the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, snow leopard, puma, and the cheetah. The largest cat in the world is the Amur tiger. It can be up to 13 ft (4 m) long, from head to tail. The bobcat Domestic cats is one of the are popular pets. smaller cats. 3ft9in Ancient ancestor (120cm) Smilodon, a huge, saber-toothed cat, lived in open grasslands about 11,000 years ago. Fossil evidence shows that it lived in family groups, similar to modern-day lions. 3ft3in (100cm) 2ft5in (75cm) The tiger is the most powerful cat in the world. Top of the ladder Big cats are at the top of the 1ft8in (50cm) hunting pyramid, which means there are few of them compared to other animals. Big cats can be very tall; their height The puma is measured from their is a purring shoulder to the tips cat! of their paws. 10in (25cm) How tall are you compared to these cats? 0cm 5 Cat habitats Cats around the world The map below shows where the seven biggest cat species live. Most There are 37 species of wild cat are found between the tropics of in the world. From snow-capped Cancer and Capricorn, where the weather is warm all year round, and mountains to deserts, and grasslands where there are wet and dry seasons. to tropical rain forests, cats of all shapes and sizes roam the Earth. Canada KEY MAP GUIDE Rainforest NORTH Forest(Coniferous) AMERICA Grassland TropicofCancer Forest(Broadleaf) Desert CENTRAL Mountains AMERICA Tundra Pumaslive in a variety Equator of habitats and range from Canada, down through the SOUTH US, to Central and AMERICA South America. Tropic of Capricorn Jaguarslive in the rain forests and swampy grasslands of Central and South America. Rain forests Tropical rain forests provide a home for jaguars, leopards, pumas, and tigers. Rain forests Leopard only cover a small area of the world (7%), yet a huge number of animals live in them. An icy home DISAPPEARING WORLD Few cats live in harsh mountain It is a sad fact that today more than two-thirds of the world’s wild cats areas. Only the are now rare or endangered. snow leopard lives This is largely high up in the because their Shaovmee os!ur Sahvome eosu!r freezing Asian habitats are disappearing Savheo moeusr! mountains. as humans move into and develop the natural world. Russian Federation Siberia EUROPE China ASIA Snow leopards livein the mountains of central Asia. India Leopardslive in AFRICA the forests and grasslands of Africa as well as parts of Asia. Southeast Asia Tigerslive in the forests of India, Siberia and Southeast Asia. Lionslive in prides Cheetahslive in AUSTRALIA in the grasslands of the grasslands Africa and a small of Asia as well as part of India. southern and eastern Africa. ANTARCTICA Glorious grasslands The rich grasslands of Africa are home to several of the big cats. During the wet season the land is green and partially flooded, yet barren in the dry season. 7 Inside and out Designed to be superb hunters, big cats are a strong species. A fur coat covers a tough skeleton, which protects the internal body parts. Powerful muscles allow each cat to move with great flexibility and agility. Vertebrae of the spine Rib cage Bare bones Fantastic fur All cats have very similar A fur coat protects cats skeletons, with a large from the weather and helps cranium (brain case), strong to camouflage them. It also back legs, a deep rib cage, allows them to transfer and a flexible spine. The their scent. All wild cats length of a cat’s tail varies have two layers of fur. Only between animals. the top coat is patterned. Long tailbone A supple spine Cheetahs are the fastest land animals in the world. These pictures show that the cat’s spine flexes and Back leg bone extends as it runs. This increases the length of the stride, allowing distances to be covered very quickly.