Indoor and outdoor “runners”
Cats are far from running marathons; they are sprinters by nature.
It is quite logical that cats who live on the street, or who often find themselves there, need good athletic shape. They hunt birds and mice, which are not so easy to catch if you are physically unprepared. And most importantly, they often have to escape from dogs, otherwise they won’t survive. Domestic “fluffies” generally live freely - they only remember hunting as a game, when the owners offer them to catch a toy mouse or a bow on a string. Their bowl is always full, so there is no need to get food for themselves, and in general, the owners take care of everything. And you have to save yourself only from the master’s slipper.
In any case, a cat cannot run at high speed for long. If she does this to escape, she usually climbs a tree or otherwise hides from danger. But, if there is no shelter, then the animal may begin to suffocate and even die, since its heart is not adapted to such stress.
What does a liger eat?
Photo: Liger cat
The liger eats a lot of meat, so the costs of keeping it in zoos are enormous. To maintain the genetic potential of a predator, ligers are regularly introduced to live prey so that the cats can hunt and learn the nuances of wild life. In general, a liger eats from 10 to 15 kg of meat, depending on its gender, age and size.
The following “dishes” are most often served to ligers:
- chickens, including live ones, which ligers kill on their own;
- rabbits, also sometimes live;
- processed beef meat, offal, heads and hooves with hard bones for ligers to wear down their teeth;
- eggs, in particular - white, crushed with shell;
- fat milk.
Ligers do not refuse raw fish and play with it with pleasure. Also, large cats are often offered watermelons: they play with them and, in the end, bite them. Plant food is included in the daily diet of ligers. They are given all kinds of vitamin mixtures to keep the big cats healthy. Such mixtures are especially important for babies, who need to strengthen the skeleton and prevent possible diseases.
There is always a lot of fresh growing grass in the liger's enclosure. Big cats often lie among tall grass and bite it - this indicates the need for vitamins in the body of a big cat. They are offered peaches, apricots, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and many other fruits and vegetables as natural vitamins.
Features of character and lifestyle
Photo: Hybrid liger
The character of ligers can be called versatile. These cats have inherited behavioral traits from both their lion father and tiger mother. From lions, ligers adopted a love for social groups. Lions have a very positive attitude towards all big cats. They easily get along with each other and fit into prides of lions. In relation to other cats, ligers are non-confrontational, love affection, and strive to be close to other relatives.
On the other hand, ligers have adopted from tigers the tendency to mark territory and defend it. The liger has a flock, which he perceives as family, but he also has his own corner, which belongs only to him. Female ligers are especially prone to this, just like tigresses do. Also, from tigers, ligers inherited a love of water and swimming. They willingly frolic in ponds, drag prey there, dive and simply lie in the water - lions have a dislike for water and even fear of bodies of water.
The liger is also similar to the tiger in that it can easily withstand low temperatures. Tigers are adapted to cold weather - their fur is known for its dense undercoat, which the tigress passed on to their children - the ligers. At the same time, ligers do not suffer from heat, since their fur provides competent thermoregulation. In severe frosts, ligers happily roll around in the snow, and in hot weather they lie in the water.
Social structure and reproduction
Photo: Liger cubs
Male ligers are absolutely sterile, but females have a chance of having offspring, although it is very low
This does not negate the fact that female ligers have a period of estrus, during which they show increased attention to males of all species: ligers, tigers and lions. A ligress can only have offspring from lions. In search of a partner, a female liger is even able to climb over the high fence separating her from the enclosure with other large cats.
Regardless of whether she ends up with a tiger or a lion, the female’s behavior will be the same.
A ligress in heat marks her territory, letting the males know that she is ready to mate. In zoo conditions, keepers do not allow any exhibition tournaments between male tigers or lions, so the female, as a rule, does not choose a partner for herself - he is simply released into her enclosure. Big cats have very beautiful foreplay. They affectionately rub their heads against each other, lie next to each other for a long time and lick each other's fur. For lions, such foreplay is faster, but for tigers it can last more than a day. After mating, the female and male separate.
Pregnancy lasts about 110 days. As a result, the female gives birth to one or two cubs, and most often these are the same infertile males. The descendants of a lion and a ligress are called liligers, and this is an extremely rare case when the offspring are born alive and healthy. As a rule, cubs do not survive until three months. In theory, female liligers could have offspring with lions, but lions have a strong genetic potential, which is why the resulting offspring will not resemble ligers - they will be ordinary lion cubs. Often, female ligers do not have milk, which is why zookeepers feed their offspring.
The fastest cats
What helps the fastest cats run
Among purebred cats, the Egyptian Mau is considered the record holder for speed. He was lucky with the structure of his hind legs, which have leathery folds at the base. Due to them, while running, the step reserve and amplitude of movements increase, and therefore the speed increases.
The normal speed of cats (on average) is 13.5-13.8 km/h. If a cat moves at a leisurely trot, then it will barely overtake a walking person, and its speed will be about 8 km/h. Whereas the maximum speed of cats is 50 km/h.
How does running speed depend on breed?
Breeds differ greatly in skeletal structure and physical skills, and how fast domestic cats run will depend on a number of criteria. In particular, the light skeleton and neat physique of the animal will contribute to excellent sprinting qualities.
Thus, the Egyptian Mau is recognized as the fastest breed today, a representative of which set a speed record of 50 km/h. The adaptation of these animals to running is largely due to the folds of skin at the base of the hind legs, which helps increase the amplitude of the jump.
Bobtail cats also have a high running speed. These strong, muscular animals are very active and energetic. But cats with a massive skeleton and not very long legs, for example, Persian cats, are not very well adapted to running, however, they can develop sufficient speed in case of danger.
The fastest cats in the world
Wild cats are fast and agile animals that are excellent hunters. Even a domestic cat can run at a speed of 40 km per hour. The pet will not be able to cover a long distance at this pace. He will be able to make a tiny leap. Wild cats have greater endurance, so they are able to run at high speed for much longer.
When measuring indicators, the distance and time it takes the animal to cover the distance are taken into account. There are many cats in nature that are capable of running with incredibly high agility.
Coyote
The coyote is the fastest predator on earth, excluding felines. These animals belong to the canine family, are small in size and weight, but can accelerate up to 65 kilometers per hour, although most often they run at a speed of about 50 kilometers per hour. They use their speed to hunt hares, marmots, ground squirrels and other small mammals, and sometimes take pheasants.
Sixth place – Puma
The predator runs very quickly over short distances. The animal is capable of reaching speeds of up to 75 km/h. That is, a cougar can even catch up with a car that is not going too fast.
In the United States of America, the cougar is commonly called the “mountain lion.” The name is associated with the animal's habitat. The predator can be found not only in forests, but also in the mountains. Moreover, the puma is found even in the jungle and swamps.
Differs in large sizes. Together with the tail, the body reaches 2 meters in length. At the same time, the weight is not too large - from 50 to 100 kg. Much depends on gender and individual characteristics. Due to its well-developed muscles and light weight, the Puma is able to run quickly and hunt deftly.
Jaguar | Speed up to 90 km/h
the Jaguar ranks second in the ranking of the fastest cats in the world. The predator is able to maintain maximum speed only for a short period of time while pursuing prey. Another feature of this giant cat is its ability to jump more than 6 meters. The jaguar is a large animal whose body length can reach almost 2 meters without a tail. Outwardly, it resembles a leopard, but is much larger.
Dune cat
Dune cats have very thick fur and strong, muscular legs. Even the pads are covered with fur to protect cats from the hot sand.
They live in hot, dry areas. These felines prefer to hunt at night. Dune cats have the ability to accelerate to 40 km/h. The main danger for them is from birds of prey and snakes (by the way, they can easily cope with some of them). The peculiarity of this cat is that it can easily do without water, receiving all the necessary fluid from food.
The lion is the only social feline
Photo: Neil Midlane/Panthera Male lions rarely take part in hunting, but they earn their right to kill by protecting the pride.
Photo: Nick Garbutt/Panthera All females in a pride care for their cubs, regardless of which one is the biological mother.
- Members of a pride of lions show touching tenderness to each other on vacation, and during the hunt they act as a well-coordinated team to repel the prey from the herd.
- If conditions are favorable and food is plentiful, female lions can remain in a pride for the rest of their lives. But the males, having reached sexual maturity, leave the family, forced out by the dominant tribesman. Such loners sometimes form “teenage gangs” and roam the savannah in the hope of creating their own pride, which they will protect from strangers.
- The terrifying roar of a lion can be heard at a distance of five kilometers.
- Lions and tigers are very close species, anatomically extremely similar to each other. By looking at their skeletons, only experts will be able to determine which is a lion and which is a tiger.
- Since the 1950s, the lion population has declined by half, and the big cats are now gone from 80% of their historical range. According to the latest data, less than 30 thousand lions live in Africa today.
Egyptian Mau
The fastest representatives of domestic cats are considered to be the Egyptian Mau (“Mau” means cat). The maximum record of these miniature darlings is acceleration to 58 km/h (over short distances). All zoologists claim that if these animals had larger dimensions, they could well compete with the cheetah for the title of the fastest animal on the planet.
Oncilla (lat. Leopardus tigrinus)
One of the most poorly studied cats lives in the mountainous and misty evergreen forests of Central and South America. The name of this predator is translated as “miniature jaguar,” which is quite justified - in all its appearance, oncilla resemble a reduced-sized jaguar.
Oncilla. Photo: Anne-Marie Kalus
Oncillas are only slightly larger than their domestic relatives: an average weight of about 3 kg, body length 65 cm, tail - 30-40 cm. The main difference between the oncilla and other representatives of the genus of tiger cats (Leopardus) is its disproportionately large eyes and ears.
Beautiful soft ocher-colored fur with dark spots played a cruel joke on the animals. In the 1970s and 80s, tens of thousands of oncillas were exterminated as a result of poaching; in 1983 alone, border guards seized 84,000 skins. According to some estimates, over these 20-odd years, 95% of the small jaguar population was destroyed.
Today, any hunting of oncillas is prohibited, as is the sale of any products made from their skin, but the population is nevertheless in no hurry to recover; on the contrary, due to massive deforestation, it is only declining.
Small jaguar in the wild. Photo: Carlos Alfaro
A small jaguar can also be domesticated relatively easily, but in a “gust of passion” the wild nature of the animal can still take its toll - you need to play with the oncilla very carefully
Leopard
This wild beast can accelerate to 63 km/h. The leopard never hunts on the ground; it catches its prey while in the trees. After the predator has waited for the right moment, it attacks with a sharp jump and, if necessary, catches up with its prey.
Speed is practically not important to them, despite the fact that the number on their “speedometer” is quite impressive - 60 km/h. When a leopard makes a jump, the tail serves as a rudder and helps make maneuvers. Having grabbed the prey, these predators, as a rule, drag it back to the tree and start eating there. They are able to adapt to any terrain. The patterns on a leopard's fur are individual and are never repeated in nature.
The tiger has also long been on the list of the fastest representatives among predatory cats. At short distances, it is capable of reaching speeds of up to 60 km/h. Just imagine that in pursuit of a victim they will be able to jump 5-6 meters in length (and in height, by the way, too).
But, even despite these physical abilities, not every tiger hunt is successful. These cats are very massive, their weight can increase up to 300 kg, and their body length (excluding the tail) can vary up to three meters. That is why, despite their physical dominance, they are significantly inferior to the cheetah in speed.
The puma (or mountain lion) consistently occupies sixth position in the world top of the fastest cats. These predators reach speeds of up to 75 km/h over short distances.
These large animals reach two meters in length (including tail). The weight of these cats reaches 100 kg. A well-developed muscular system and low weight contribute to the speed and agility of mountain lions. They can accelerate to 75 km/h.
Females are smaller in size than males. But, at the same time, they are not inferior to them in agility and speed.
Leo | Speed up to 80 km/h
Leo ranks fourth in the top ten fastest cats. At a distance of 20 meters, the giant kitty can maintain a run of 80 km/h. While chasing its prey, a lion can maintain a speed of up to 60 km/h for the next hundred meters. These are quite heavy animals. The weight of some individuals can reach 250 kilograms, so it is very difficult for them to maintain their speed record for a long time. Because of this, lions hunt at short distances, trying to sneak up on their prey as unnoticed as possible. Usually the hunter overtakes his prey with a lightning-fast jump.
Snow Leopard
This top is completed by the snow leopard. They are capable of jumping over a distance of 6-7 meters (the height of the jump reaches 3 meters). The leopard has short, but muscular and strong legs and a fairly long tail, which is necessary to maintain balance during a sprint. By the way, the maximum speed of this representative of the cat family can reach 80 km/h. The snow leopard is the highest mountain animal among all the inhabitants on the planet.
The first position in the ranking is still occupied by the cheetah. This spotted hunter is capable of reaching a speed of 112 km/h. in just 3 seconds. The maximum speed reaches 130 km/h. The length of one jump of this predatory cat can reach 7-8 meters. In addition, the cheetah is able to change the trajectory of its movement almost at lightning speed. That is why the victim has virtually no chance to escape the attack.
Sources:
https://zen.yandex.ru/media/id/592edbdf7ddde8b70fb1be78/5d50fdcda06eaf00ada8abb4 https://kipmu.ru/samye-bystrye-koshki-v-mire/ https://prokyr.ru/info/top-6-samyh -bystryh-kosek-v-mire-47297/
