The Long-eared Owl

Long-eared Owl :: WLR : - The Long-eared Owl - Asio otus is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping of owls are the barn owls, family Tytonidae.

It is a medium sized owl, 31–40 cm (12–16 in) in length with an 86–100 cm (34–39 in) wingspan and a body mass of 178–435 g (6.3–15.3 oz). It has erect blackish ear-tufts, which are positioned in the center of the head. The ear-tufts are used to make the owl appear larger to  other owls while perched. The female is larger in size and darker in coloration than the male. The Long-eared Owl’s brownish feathers are vertically streaked. Tarsus and toes are entirely feathered. Eye disks are also characteristic in this species.

Long-eared Owl's breeding season is from February to July. This bird is partially migratory, moving south in winter from the northern parts of its temperate range. Its habitat is forest close to open country.

It nests in trees, often coniferous, using the old stick nests of other birds such as crows, ravens and magpies and various hawks. The average clutch size is 4-6 eggs, and the incubation time averages from 25–30 days. It will readily use artificial nesting baskets. An unusual characteristic of this species is its communal roosting in thickets during the winter months. The young have a characteristic call, likened to a rusty hinge.

The Long-eared Owl hunts over open country by night. It is very long winged, like the similar Short-eared Owl, and glides slowly on stiff wings when hunting. Its food is mainly rodents, small mammals, and birds. In Europe it faces competition from the tawny owl and is most numerous where the tawny is absent.

The Cottontop Tamarin

Cottontop Tamarin :: WLR :- The cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), also known as the Pinché tamarin, is a small New World monkey weighing less than 1 lb (0.5 kg). It is found in tropical forest edges and secondary forests where it is arboreal and diurnal.

In German-speaking areas, the cottontop tamarin is commonly known as "Lisztaffe" (literally "Liszt monkey") most likely due to the resemblance of its hairstyle with that of Hungarian composer and piano virtuoso Franz Liszt.

This tamarin species has a long sagittal crest, white hairs from forehead to nape flowing over the shoulders ("Cottontop"). The back is brown, and the underparts, arms and legs are whitish-yellow. The rump and inner thighs are reddish-orange.

It is considered one of the bare-faced tamarins because of the lack of facial hair. Its lower canine teeth are longer than its incisors, so it seems as if it has small tusks. It is about the size of a squirrel and weighs 10-18 ounces.[citation needed] The males are only slightly larger than females. A medium cottontop tamarin weighs 432 g. Tamarins are among the smallest of the primates. Head body length of this species is 17 cm and tail length is 25 cm. Forelimbs are shorter than the hind limbs. The thumb is not opposable and the tail is not prehensile. All the finger and toe nails are like claws except for the big toe which has a flat nail.

The cottontop tamarin vocalizes with birdlike whistles, soft chirping sounds, high-pitched trilling, and staccato calls. Researchers say its repertoire of 38 distinct sounds is unusually sophisticated, conforming to grammatical rules and able to express curiosity, fear, dismay, playfulness, warnings, joy, and calls to young.

It has loud territorial songs as well as songs when it is excited. It moves its tongue across the lips. This may be a recognition signal, or could be used to communicate anger or curiosity. A "threat face" consists of lowering the forehead until it forms a bulge which almost covers the eyes; the lips are pushed forward and the head and neck crests are erected. This apparently is sufficient since no other body language is used.

The Asian Black Bear

Asian Black Bear :: WLR :-The Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus), also known as the moon bear or white-chested bear is a medium-sized species of bear, largely adapted for arboreal life, which occurs through much of southern Asia, Korea, northeastern China, the Russian far east and Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan. It is classed by the IUCN as a vulnerable species, mostly due to deforestation and active hunting for its body parts. The species is morphologically very similar to some prehistoric bears, and is thought by some scientists to be the ancestor of other extant bear species. Though largely herbivorous, Asian black bears can be very aggressive toward humans, and have frequently attacked people without provocation. The species was described by Rudyard Kipling as "the most bizarre of the ursine species."

Biologically and morphologically, Asian black bears represent the beginning of the arboreal specialisations attained by sloth bears and Sun bears, though these traits are not as maximally attained in Asian black bears. Asian black bears have karotypes nearly identical to those of the five other ursine bears, and, as is typical in the genus, they have 74 chromosomes. From an evolutionary perspective, Asian black bears are the least changed of Old world bears, with certain scientists arguing that it is likely that all other lineages of ursine bear stem from this species. Scientists have proposed that Asian black bears are either a surviving, albeit modified, form of Ursus etruscus, specifically the early, small variety of the middle Villafranchian or a larger form of Ursus minimus, an extinct species which arose four million years ago. With the exception of the age of the bones, it is often difficult to distinguish the remains of Ursus minimus with those of modern Asian black bears.

Asian black bears are reproductively compatible with several other bear species, and have on occasion produced hybrid offspring. According to Jack Hanna's Monkeys on the Interstate, a bear captured in Sanford, Florida was thought to have been the offspring of an escaped female Asian black bear and an American black bear, and Scherren's Some notes on hybrid bears published in 1907 mentioned a successful mating between an Asian black bear and a sloth bear. In 1975, within Venezuela's "Las Delicias" Zoo, a female black bear shared its enclosure with a spectacled bear, and produced several hybrid descendants. In 2005, a possible black bear/sun bear hybrid cub was captured in the Mekong River watershed of eastern Cambodia. An Asian black bear/brown bear hybrid, taken from a bile farm, is housed at the Animals Asia Foundation's China Moon Bear Rescue as of 2010.

Asian black bears are similar in general appearance to brown bears, but are more lightly built and more slender limbed. The skulls of Asian black bears are relatively small, but massive, particularly in the lower jaw. Adult males have skulls measuring 311.7–328 mm (12.3–13 in) in length and 199.5–228 mm (7.9–9 in) wide, while females have skulls measuring 291.6–315 mm (11.5–12.4 in) long and 163–173 mm (6.4–6.8 in) wide. Compared to other bears of the genus Ursus, the projections of the skull are weakly developed; the sagittal crest is low and short, even in old specimens, and does not exceed more than 19–20% of the total length of the skull, unlike in brown bears, which have sagittal crests comprising up to 41% of the skull's length. Although mostly herbivorous, the jaw structure of Asian black bears is not as specialised for plant eating as that of pandas: Asian black bears have much narrower zygomatic arches, and the weight ratio of the two pterygoid muscles is also much smaller in Asian black bears. However, the lateral slips of the temporal muscles are thicker and stronger in black bears.
Asian black bears are diurnal, though they become nocturnal near human habitations. They may live in family groups consisting of two adults and two successive litters of young. They will walk in a procession of largest to smallest. They are good climbers of rocks and trees, and will climb to feed, rest, sun, elude enemies and hibernate. Some older bears may become too heavy to climb. Half of their life is spent in trees: In the Ussuri territory, black bears can spend up to 15% of their time in trees. Asian black bears break branches and twigs to place under themselves when feeding on trees, thus causing many trees in their home ranges to have nest-like structures on their tops. Asian black bears will rest for short periods in nests on trees standing fifteen feet or higher. Asian black bears do not hibernate over most of their range. They may hibernate in their colder, northern ranges, though some bears will simply move to lower elevations. Nearly all pregnant sows hibernate.

Black bears prepare their dens for hibernation in mid October, and will sleep from November until March. Their dens can either be dug out hollow trees (sixty feet above ground), caves or holes in the ground, hollow logs, or steep, mountainous and sunny slopes. They may also den in abandoned brown bear dens. Asiatic black bears tend to den at lower elevations and on less steeper slopes than brown bears. Female black bears emerge from dens later than do males, and female black bears with cubs emerge later than barren females. Asian black bears tend to be less mobile than brown bears. With sufficient food, Asian black bears can remain in an area of roughly 1–2 sq km, and sometimes even as little as 0.5–1 sq km.

The Red Wolf

Red Wolf :: WLR :- The red wolf (Canis rufus) is a North American canid which once roamed throughout the Southeastern United States and is a glacial period survivor of the Late Pleistocene epoch. Based on fossil and archaeological evidence, the original red wolf range extended throughout the Southeast, from the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, north to the Ohio River Valley and central Pennsylvania, and west to central Texas and southeastern Missouri. Historical habitats included forests, swamps, and coastal prairies, where it was an apex predator. The red wolf became extinct in the wild by 1980. 1987 saw a reintroduction in northeastern North Carolina through a captive breeding program and the animals are considered to be successfully breeding in the wild.

The Red Wolf stands about 66–79 cm (26–31 in) at the shoulder. The total length is 111–165 cm (44–65 in) including a tail of 30–43 cm (12–17 in). The body weight can range from 16 to 41 kg (35 to 90 lb) but averages at about 24.5 kg (54 lb). Male red wolves are approximately 10% larger than females. Coat long, coarse; mostly brown and buff colored on the upper part of the body with some black along the backs. Muzzle long; nose pad wide and black; ears rufous; legs long; tail long, bushy, black tipped. Body is intermediate in size between the gray wolf (Canis lupus) and the coyote (Canis latrans)
The red wolf pup begins life with a slate or dark gray pelt with auburn-tinged fur visible on its head. As it matures, this color changes color to a mixture of buff, tawny, cinnamon and brown along the body and a black tipped tail; it often has black guad hairs too and sometimes presents with black or dark bars on its forelegs. The pelt molts once annually in the winter. Its muzzle is white furred around the lips. The red wolf is generally intermediate in size between the coyote and the gray wolf. However, the disproportionately long legs and large ears are two obvious features that separate red wolves from coyotes and gray wolves. Its overall appearance is more slender and gracile than that of a gray wolf.

In May 2011, an analysis of red wolf, Eastern wolf, gray wolf, and dog genomes revealed that the red wolf was 76-80 percent coyote and only 20-24 percent gray wolf, suggesting that the red wolf is actually much more coyote in origin than the Eastern wolf. This study analyzed 48,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms and found no evidence for a unique Eastern wolf or red wolf species. However, the US Fish and Wildlife Service still considers the red wolf a valid species and plans to make no changes to its recovery program.

When considered as a full species, three subspecies of red wolf were originally recognized by Goldman; two of these subspecies are extinct. Canis rufus floridanus (Maine to Florida).It has been extinct since 1930 and Canis rufus gregoryi (south-central United States) was declared functionally extinct in the wild by 1980. Canis rufus rufus, the third surviving subspecies, was also functionally extinct in the wild by 1980, although that status was changed to "critically endangered" when captive-bred red wolves wolves were reintroduced in eastern North Carolina in 1987. The current status of the “non-essential/ experimental” population in North Carolina is “endangered” and the population numbers around 100 wild animals.

The red wolf has one estrous cycle per year and typically becomes sexually mature by its second year. Litters average three pups and red wolves live in family units similar to those of gray wolves. Data acquired from the restoration project indicate that the offspring of a breeding pair are tolerated in their natal home range until the onset of sexual maturity.

The red wolf lives in an extended family unit which includes a dominant breeding pair and young from prior seasons. The red wolf will scent mark territorial boundaries to deter intrusion from other wolf packs. As an apex predator, red wolves have no natural predators, although they may compete for prey with bobcats and coyotes and kills may be stolen by American black bears.
Prior to extinction in the wild, the red wolf diet consisted of nutria, rabbits and rodents. In contrast, the red wolves from the restored population rely on white-tailed deer, raccoon, nutria and rabbits. It should be noted, however, that white-tailed deer were largely absent from the last wild refuge of red wolves on the Gulf Coast between Texas and Louisiana (where specimens were trapped from the last wild population for captive breeding), which likely accounts for the discrepancy in their dietary habits listed here. Historical accounts of wolves in the southeast by early explorers such as William Hilton, who sailed along the Cape Fear River in what is now North Carolina in 1644, also note that they ate deer.

The Smilodon

Smilodon :: WLR :- Smilodon often called a saber-toothed cat or saber-toothed tiger, is an extinct genus of machairodonts. This sabre-toothed cat was endemic to North America and South America, living from near the beginning through the very end of the Pleistocene epoch (2.5 mya—10,000 years ago).

The nickname "sabre-tooth" refers to the extreme length of their maxillary canines. Despite the colloquial name "sabre-toothed tiger", Smilodon is not a tiger; the latter belongs to subfamily Pantherinae, whereas Smilodon belongs to subfamily Machairodontinae. The name Smilodon comes from Greek: σμίλη, smilē, "chisel" together with ὀ δoύς (ho doús), "the tooth", or in the genitive: δoύς, δόντος, dóntos.

The genus Smilodon was described by the Danish naturalist and palaeontologist Peter Wilhelm Lund in 1841. He found the fossils of Smilodon populator in caves near the small town of Lagoa Santa, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

A number of Smilodon species have been described, but today usually only three are recognized.

Smilodon gracilis, 2.5 million-500,000 years ago; the smallest and earliest species estimated to have been only 55 to 100 kg (120 to 220 lb) was the successor of Megantereon in North America, from which it probably evolved. The other Smilodon species probably derived from this species.
Smilodon fatalis, 1.6 million-10,000 years ago, replaced Smilodon gracilis in North America and invaded western South America as part of the Great American Interchange. In size it was between Smilodon gracilis and Smilodon populator, and about the same as the largest surviving cat, the Siberian Tiger. This species was about 1 m high at the shoulder and is estimated to have ranged from 160 to 280 kg (350 to 620 lb). Sometimes two additional species are recognized, Smilodon californicus and Smilodon floridanus, but usually they are considered to be subspecies of Smilodon fatalis.
Smilodon populator ("the devastating Smilodon"), 1 million-10,000 years ago; occurred in the eastern parts of South America and was the largest species of all machairodonts. It was much larger than its cousins, S. fatalis and S. gracilis, possessing a massive chest and front legs, and is the largest known variety of sabre-toothed cat. It was more than 1.22 m (48 in) high at the shoulder, 2.6 m (100 in) long on average and had a 30 cm (12 in) tail. With an estimated weight of 360 to 470 kg (790 to 1,000 lb), it was among the heaviest known felids. Its upper canines reached 30 cm (12 in) and protruded up to 17 cm (6.7 in) out of the upper jaw. Genetic evidence suggests that Smilodon populator and other members of the genus diverged from the main lineage of modern cats (subfamily Felinae) around 14-18 million years ago.

Smilodon populator is also known from the famous cave site of Ultima Esperanza, with well-preserved remains retaining endogenous DNA.

Smilodon probably preyed on a wide variety of large game including bison, tapirs, deer, American camels, horses and ground sloths. As it is known for the sabre-toothed cat Homotherium, Smilodon might have also killed juvenile mastodons and mammoths. Smilodon may also have attacked prehistoric humans, although this is not known for certain. The La Brea tar pits in California trapped hundreds of Smilodon in the tar, possibly as they tried to feed on mammoths already trapped. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has many of their complete skeletons.

The Bactrian Camel

Bactrian Camel :: WLR: - The Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of central Asia. It is presently restricted in the wild to remote regions of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts of Mongolia and Xinjiang. There are a small number of wild Bactrian camels still roaming the Mangystau Province of South West Kazakhstan. It is one of the two surviving species of camel. Bactrian camel has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped Dromedary camel.

Nearly all of the estimated 1.4 million Bactrian camels alive today are domesticated. In October 2002, the estimated 800 remaining in the wild in northwest China and Mongolia were classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

It is thought that the Bactrian camel was domesticated (independently of the dromedary) sometime before 2500 BCE, probably in northern Iran, Northeast Afghanistan, or southwestern Turkestan. The Dromedary camel is believed to have been domesticated between 4000 BCE and 2000 BCE in Arabia. The wild population of Bactrian camels was first described by Nikolai Przhevalsky in the late 19th century. Their name comes from the ancient historical region of Bactria.

Bactrian camels have been the focus of artwork throughout history. For example, western foreigners from the Tarim Basin and elsewhere were depicted in numerous ceramic figurines of the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618–907).

As of the 1980s, a complete range of fossils suggests that the first camelids appeared in North America about 30 million years ago, had a relatively small body mass and were adapted to warm climates. By the early Pleistocene (about 2 million years ago), they had already evolved into a form similar to the current Bactrian camel and many individuals permanently migrated to the opposite end of the Bering Strait in an abrupt fashion, probably as a response to the advancing ice age. The remaining related types of American camelids are now only in South America.

There is some evidence that the Bactrian camel can be divided into different subspecies. In particular, it has been discovered that a population of wild Bactrian camel lives within a part of the Gashun Gobi region of the Gobi Desert. This population is distinct from domesticated herds both in genetic makeup and in behavior.

There are possibly as many as three regions in the genetic makeup that are distinctly different from domesticated camels and there is up to a 3% difference in the base genetic code. However, with so few wild camels, it is unclear what the natural genetic diversity within a population would have been.

Another difference is the ability of these wild camels to drink saltwater slush, although it is not yet certain the camel can extract useful water from it.

The Green Bee-Eater

The Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis, (sometimes Little Green Bee-eater) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. It is resident but prone to seasonal movements and is found widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and The Gambia to Ethiopia, the Nile valley, western Arabia and Asia through India to Vietnam. They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water. Several regional plumage variations are known and several subspecies have been named.

Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is about 9 inches (16–18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The sexes are not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish.

A fine black line runs in front of and behind the eye. The iris is crimson and the bill is black while the legs are dark grey. The feet are weak with the three toes joined at the base. Southeast Asian birds have rufous crown and face, and green underparts, whereas Arabian beludschicus has a green crown, blue face and bluish underparts. The wings are green and the beak is black. The elongated tail feathers are absent in juveniles. Sexes are alike.

This is an abundant and fairly tame bird, familiar throughout its range. It is a bird which breeds in open country with bushes. In Africa and Arabia it is found in arid areas, but is more diverse in its habitats further east. This species often hunts from low perches, maybe only a metre or less high. It readily makes use of fence wires and electric wires. Unlike some other bee-eaters, they can be found well away from water.

They are mostly see in the plains but can sometimes be found up to 5000 or 6000 feet in the Himalayas. They are resident in the lowlands of South Asia but some populations move seasonally but the patterns are unclear moving away to drier regions in the rainy season and to warmer regions in winter. In parts of Pakistan, they are summer visitors.

Like other species in the genus, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and ants, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. Before swallowing prey, a bee-eater removes stings and breaks the exoskeleton of the prey by repeatedly thrashing it on the perch.

The Markhor

Markhor is a large species of wild goat that is found in northeastern Afghanistan, Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan, Hunza-Nagar Valley, northern and central Pakistan, and some parts of Jammu and Kashmir), India, southern Tajikistan and southern Uzbekistan. The species is classed by the IUCN as Endangered, as there are fewer than 2,500 mature individuals which continued to decline by an estimated 20% over 2 generations. The Markhor is the National Animal of Pakistan.

Markhor stand 65 to 115 centimetres (26 to 45 in) at the shoulder, 132 to 186 centimetres (52 to 73 in) in length and weigh from 32 to 110 kilograms (71 to 240 lb). It has the highest maximum shoulder height among the species in the genus Capra, but is surpassed in length and weight by the Siberian Ibex. The coat is of a grizzled, light brown to black colour, and is smooth and short in summer, while growing longer and thicker in winter. The fur of the lower legs is black and white. Markhor are sexually dimorphic, with males having longer hair on the chin, throat, chest and shanks.

Females are redder in colour, with shorter hair, a short black beard, and are maneless. Both sexes have tightly curled, corkscrew-like horns which close together at the head, but spread upwards toward the tips. The horns of males can grow up to 160 cm (64 inches) long, and up to 25 cm (10 inches) in females. They have a pungent smell, which surpasses that of the domestic goat.

Markhor are adapted to mountainous terrain, and can be found between 600–3,600 meters in elevation. They typically inhabit scrub forests made up primarily of oaks (Quercus ilex), pines (Pinus gerardiana), and junipers (Juniperus macropoda). Markhor are diurnal, and are mainly active in the early morning and late afternoon. Their diet shifts seasonally: in the spring and summer periods they graze, but turn to browsing in winter, sometimes standing on their hind legs to reach high branches.

The mating season takes place in winter, during which, the males fight each other by lunging, locking horns and attempt to push each other off balance. The gestation period lasts 135–170 days, and usually result in the birth of one or two kids, though rarely three. Markhor live in flocks, usually numbering nine animals, composed of adult females and their young. Adult males are largely solitary. Their alarm call closely resembles the bleating of domestic goats. Early in the season the males and females may be found together on the open grassy patches and clear slopes among the forest. During the summer, the males remain in the forest, while the females generally climb to the highest rocky ridges above.

Certain authors have postulated that the markhor is the ancestor of some breeds of domestic goat. Charles Darwin postulated that modern goats arose from crossbreeding markhor with wild goats. Other authors have put forth the possibility of markhor being the ancestor of some Egyptian goat breeds, due to their similar horns, though the lack of an anterior keel on the horns of the markhor belie any close relationship. Changthangi domestic goat of Ladakh and Tibet may derive from the markhor. Girgentana Goat of Sicily is thought to have been bred from Markhor, as is the Bilberry goat of Ireland. The Kashmiri feral herd of about 200 individuals on the Great Orme limestone headland of Wales are derived from a herd maintained at Windsor Great Park belonging to Queen Victoria.

The Stellers Sea Cow

Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) was a ample herbivorous abyssal mammal. In actual times, it was the better affiliate of the adjustment Sirenia, which includes its abutting active relative, the dugong (Dugong dugon), and the manatees (Trichechus spp.). Aforetime abounding throughout the North Pacific, its ambit was bound to a single, abandoned citizenry on the arid Commander Islands by 1741 back it was ancient declared by Georg Wilhelm Steller, arch naturalist on an campaign led by charlatan Vitus Bering. Within 27 years of analysis by Europeans, the apathetic affective and calmly captured Steller's sea cow was bolter to extinction.

The sea cow grew to at atomic 8 meters (26 ft) to 9 meters (30 ft) in breadth as an adult, abundant beyond than the manatee or dugong; however, apropos their weight, Steller's assignment contains two adverse estimates: 4 and 24.3 metric tons. The accurate amount is estimated to lie amid these figures, at about 8 to 10 ft. It looked somewhat like a ample seal, but had two stout forelimbs and a whale-like appendage and the fluke. According to Steller, "The beastly never comes out on shore, but consistently lives in the water. Its case is atramentous and thick, like the case of an old oak…, its arch in admeasurement to the anatomy is small…, it has no teeth, but alone two collapsed white bones—one above, the added below". It was absolutely tame, according to Steller. They fed on a array of kelp. Wherever sea beasts had been feeding, abundance of stalks and roots of kelp were done ashore. The sea cow was additionally a apathetic swimmer and allegedly was clumsy to submerge.

The citizenry of sea beasts was baby and bound in ambit back Steller ancient declared them. Steller said they were abundant and begin in herds, but zoologist Leonhard Hess Stejneger afterwards estimated that at analysis there had been beneath than 1,500 remaining, and appropriately had been in actual crisis of afterlife from overhunting by humans. They were bound wiped out by the sailors, allowance hunters, and fur traders that followed Bering's avenue accomplished the islands to Alaska, who bolter them both for aliment and for their skins, which were acclimated to accomplish boats. They were additionally bolter for their admired subcutaneous fat, which was not alone acclimated for aliment (usually as a adulate substitute), but additionally for oil lamps because it did not accord off any smoke or odor and could be kept for a continued time in balmy acclimate afterwards spoiling. By 1768, 27 years afterwards it had been apparent by Europeans, Steller's sea cow was extinct.

Fossils announce that Steller's sea cow was aforetime boundless forth the North Pacific coast, extensive south to Japan and California. Given the acceleration with which its aftermost citizenry was eliminated, it is acceptable that ancient hunting acquired its afterlife over the blow of its ancient ambit (aboriginal peoples allegedly never inhabited the Commander Islands).

It has been argued that the sea cow's abatement may accept additionally been an aberrant acknowledgment to the autumn of sea otters by ancient bodies from the civil areas. With the otters reduced, the citizenry of sea urchins would accept added and bargain availability of kelp, the sea cow's primary antecedent of food. Thus, ancient hunting of both breed may accept contributed to the sea cow's dematerialization from continental shorelines. However, in celebrated times ancient hunting had depleted sea otter populations alone in localized areas. The sea cow would accept been attainable casualty for ancient hunters, who would acceptable accept abolished attainable populations with or afterwards accompanying otter hunting. In any event, the sea cow was bound to littoral areas off islands afterwards a animal citizenry by the time Bering arrived, and was already endangered.

The Liger

The liger is a hybrid cross between a male lion (Panthera leo) and a tigress (Panthera tigris). Thus, it has parents with the same genus but of different species. It is distinct from the similar hybrid tiglon. It is the largest of all known cats and extant felines.

Ligers enjoy swimming, which is a characteristic of tigers, and are very sociable like lions. Ligers exist only in captivity because the habitats of the parental species do not overlap in the wild. Historically, when the Asiatic Lion was prolific the territories of lions and tigers did overlap and there are legends of ligers existing in the wild. Notably, ligers typically grow larger than either parent species, unlike tiglons which tend to be about as large a female tiger.

The history of ligers dates to at least the early 19th century in, India Asia. In 1798, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772–1844) made a colour plate of the offspring of a lion and a tiger.

In 1825, G.B. Whittaker made an engraving of liger cubs born in 1824. parents and their three liger offspring are also depicted with their trainer in a 19th Century painting in the naïve style.

Two liger cubs which had been born in 1837 were exhibited to William IV and to his successor Victoria. On 14 December 1900 and on 31 May 1901, Carl Hagenbeck wrote to zoologist James Cossar Ewart with details and photographs of ligers born at the Hagenbeck's Tierpark in Hamburg in 1897.
In 1935, four ligers from two litters were reared in the Zoological Gardens of Bloemfontein, South Africa. Three of them, a male and two females, were still living in 1953. The male weighed 340 kg (750 lb) and stood a foot and a half (45 cm) taller than a full grown male lion at the shoulder.

Although ligers are more commonly found than tiglons today, in At Home In The Zoo (1961), Gerald Iles wrote "For the record I must say that I have never seen a liger, a hybrid obtained by crossing a lion with a tigress. They seem to be even rarer than tigons."

The liger is the largest known cat in the world. Imprinted genes may be a factor contributing to huge liger size. These are genes that may or may not be expressed on the parent they are inherited from, and that occasionally play a role in issues of hybrid growth. For example, in some dog breed crosses, genes that are expressed only when maternally-inherited cause the young to grow larger than is typical for either parent breed. This growth is not seen in the paternal breeds, as such genes are normally "counteracted" by genes inherited from the female of the appropriate breed.
Other big cat hybrids can reach similar sizes; the litigon, a rare hybrid of a male lion and a female tiglon, is roughly the same size as the liger, with a male named Cubanacan (at the Alipore Zoo in India) reaching 363 kg (800 lb). The extreme rarity of these second-generation hybrids may make it difficult to ascertain whether they are larger or smaller, on average, than the liger.

It is erroneously believed that ligers continue to grow throughout their lives due to hormonal issues. It may be that they simply grow far more during their growing years and take longer to reach their full adult size. Further growth in shoulder height and body length is not seen in ligers over 6 years old, same as both lions and tigers. Male ligers also have the same levels of testosterone on average as an adult male lion, yet are azoospermic in accordance with Haldane's rule. In addition, female ligers may also attain great size, weighing approximately 320 kg (705 lb) and reaching 3.05 m (10 ft) long on average, and are often fertile. In contrast, pumapards (hybrids between pumas and leopards) tend to exhibit dwarfism.

Royal Bengal Tiger

The Bengal tiger, or Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), is a tiger subspecies built-in to India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, and has been classified as endangered by IUCN as the citizenry is estimated at beneath than 2,500 individuals with a abbreviating trend. None of the Tiger Conservation Landscapes aural the Bengal's tiger ambit are ample abundant to abutment an able citizenry admeasurement of 250.

The Bengal tiger is the best abundant of the tiger subspecies — with populations estimated at 1,706 in India, 200 in Bangladesh, 155 in Nepal and 67–81 in Bhutan.

The Bengal tiger is the civic beastly of Bangladesh. Panthera tigris is the civic beastly of India.

A abundant macho Bengal tiger belief 258.6 kg (570 lb) was attempt in Arctic India in 1938. In 1980 and 1984, scientists captured and tagged two macho tigers (M105 and M026) in Nepal that advised added than 270 kg (600 lb). The better accepted Bengal tiger was a macho with a arch and anatomy breadth of 221 cm (87 in) abstinent amid pegs, 150 cm (59 in) of chest girth, a accept acme of 109 cm (43 in) and a appendage of aloof 81 cm (32 in), conceivably apathetic off by a battling male. This case could not be weighed, but it was affected to counterbalance no beneath than 272 kg (600 lb).[16] Finally, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the heaviest tiger accepted was a huge macho bolter in 1967, that abstinent 322 cm (127 in) in absolute breadth amid pegs (338 cm (133 in) over curves), and advised 388.7 kg (857 lb). This case was bolter in arctic India by David Hasinger and is on exhibition in the Mammals Hall of the Smithsonian Institution.

In the alpha of the 20th century, there were letters of big males barometer about 12 ft (3.7 m) in absolute length; however, there was not accurate acceptance in the field, and it is apparent that this altitude was taken over the curves of the body.

Males ability ability at 4–5 years of age, and females at 3–4 years. Mating can action at any time, but is best accustomed amid November and April. A amazon comes into calefaction at intervals of about 3–9 weeks, and is acceptant for 3–6 days. Afterwards a evolution aeon of 104–106 days, 1–4 cubs are built-in in a apartment anchored in alpine grass, blubbery backcountry or in caves. Newborn cubs counterbalance 780–1600 g (2 lb) and they accept a blubbery featherlike fur that is afford afterwards 3.5–5 months. Their eyes and aerial are closed. Their milk teeth alpha to appear at about 2–3 weeks afterwards birth, and are boring replaced by abiding dentition from 8.5–9.5 weeks of age onwards. They suckle for 3–6 months, and activate to eat baby amounts of solid aliment at about 2 months of age. At this time, they chase their mother on her hunting expeditions and activate to booty allotment in hunting at 5–6 months of age. At the age of 2–3 years, they boring alpha to abstracted from the ancestors accumulation and become brief — attractive out for an area, area they can authorize their own territory. Adolescent males move added abroad from their mother's area than adolescent females. Once the ancestors accumulation has split, the mother comes into calefaction again.