Post by Draco on Apr 1, 2012 10:18:35 GMT -5
Species: Lion
Social: Lions are the ONLY big cats that live in social groups. These groups are called prides. Prides can consist of up to three males and as many females and young as the land can provide for. Female cubs stay with the pride as they age while males usually leave once they reach sexual maturity. Pride lands can have up to 100 square miles of land. Female lions are the hunters but, the males eat first.
Life span: 10- 14 years. Females live longer than males.
Average litter: 1-4 cubs
Temperament: Somewhat lazy (sleep 20 hours a day) but, females are more active. Activity generally peaks after dusk with a period of socializing, grooming, and defecating. Despite their long sleeping hours, they are the most likely to attack another lion or another cat for food, land etc. They are more aggressive than other cats and will fight often.
Height: up to 4 ft for males and 3 ft for females.
Length ( without tail):Between 5 ft 7 in and 8 ft 2 in for males and 4 ft 7 in and 5 ft 9 in for females.
Weight: 330–550 lb for males and 264–400 lb for females.
Benefits: Live in groups. They are large so, they would rarely lose their meals.
Downfalls: They are not very fast. Hunting alone is much more unsuccessful than in groups.
Species: Cheetah
Social: They like to live in the open like parries. Females are solitary and like to avoid others though, some mother/daughter pairs have been formed. Males are often social and may group together for life, usually with their brothers in the same litter; although if a cub is the only male in the litter then two or three lone males may form a group, or a lone male may join an existing group
Life span: 10-12 years
Average litter: 3-5 cubs and are born with spots.
Temperament: Fairly mild. It tends to be less aggressive than other big cats because of it's smaller size. Cheetah's rarely fight with each other or bigger cats but, they are more likely to fight with another cheetah than with a lion or a leopard.
Height: 4-5 feet
Length (without tail): 3.5 to 4.5 ft
Weight: 77 to 143 lbs
Note: Cheetah's can run up to 75 miles per hour but only for 1,600 feet.
Benefits: Very fast. Trip their meals instead of jumping on top of them. Their aggressive nature is mild to moderate.
Downfalls: They are the smallest in terms of weight of all the cats so they often lose their meals to others. They do not live in groups.
Species: Leopard
Social: Very comfortable in trees. Strong, graceful, and often drags kills into trees. Strong swimmers.
Life span: 12-17 years
Average litter: 2 cubs
Temperament: Leopards live mainly in grasslands, woodlands, and riverine forests. Leopards are elusive, solitary and largely nocturnal. Leopards are versatile, opportunistic hunters, and have a very broad diet.Their diet consists mostly of ungulates and monkeys, but they also eat rodents, reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds (like the Vulturine Guineafowl), fish and sometimes smaller predators (such as bat-eared foxes, martens, and jackals).
Height: 45 to 80 cm
Length (without tail): 4.25 to 6.25 ft
Weight: 66 to 176 lbs
Benefits: Very stealthy. Only cat that can climb trees. They can jump from trees to catch their meals. They are medium sized so they are still fairly big and rather fast.
Downfalls: Tend to be timid and shy.