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• Black Bears

On Wednesday, July 6th 2011 a 57- year old man was mauled to death by a female grizzly bear on a trail at Yellowstone National Park. Unfortunately the hiker (and his wife, who survived) encountered the bear sow while she was with her two cubs. Without exception mother bears are violently protective against any perceived threat to their offspring. An encounter with a mama bear is easily one of the most hazardous scenarios for a hiker in North America.

The recent tragedy in Yellowstone reminds us to respect the beasts we visit when we spend time in the outdoors. Of all the wildlife a wise hiker is bound to respect, bears rank first and foremost. Intelligent, curious, common, powerful and fierce, bears are among the most magnificent- and the most dangerous – of all creatures to be found on the trail.

There are 3 major types of bear to be found in North America- Black Bear, Brown Bear, and Polar Bear (The ever-famous Grizzly Bear is now considered a sub-division of Brown Bear). All should be treated with respect, and given a wide berth indeed.

Black Bear Ursas americanus

The most common- and because of this perhaps the most dangerous - of all bear species in North America is the black bear. Black bears are the smallest of North America’s bears – with adult males weighing in at fewer than 550 lbs, usually. From nose to toes, the length is about six and half feet. They’re incredibly strong for their size, and can casually flip over boulders that weigh over 250 lbs. In addition, black bears are surprisingly graceful runners, able to hit speeds of 25-30 mph. No human could ever hope to outrun a black bear (or any other type of bear) under any circumstances.

Despite the name, “black” bears come in several shades, including black, brown, blonde, and cinnamon. Albino black bears are rare, but they exist.

Black bears are so common that International Union for the Conservation of Nature classifies them as “Least Concern” – their population is high enough that they’re in no perceived danger of extinction.

This is good news for the black bears and for their ecosystem, which relies on the bears to keep the insect population in check. Black bears are omnivorous, and thus place plants, animals and bugs on their menu. They love to feast on young trees and other plants, saplings and shoots being a favorite. Black bears are also fine connoisseurs of nuts, berries and fruits, causing much consternation amongst the gray squirrel and chipmunk populations, who are powerless to defend their winter hoards against kleptomaniac black bears. Possessing a sweet tooth, black bears enjoy raiding beehives as well, considering the stings of the indignant bees a small price to pay for the golden honey goodness inside. Black bears will occasionally augment their diets with a some good old fashioned prey, sometimes a moose calf or faun, and very often fish in a local river or creek.

Black bears are found throughout Canada, the Pacific Northwest, the entire Rocky Mountain range, all throughout New England, and up and down Appalachia and the Great Smokey Mountains. They’ve even found places to live in northern Mexico, and in parts of Arizona and New Mexico. Always adaptive, black bears can tolerate most climates, and can be found almost anywhere there’s a food source, and timber for a habitat. This adaptability and large population means that these bears have the highest occurrence of human vs. bear encounters.

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Animal World All About Leopard Around The World

The leopard, Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its range of distribution has decreased radically because of hunting and loss of habitat. It is now chiefly found in sub-Saharan Africa; there are also fragmented populations in Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Malaysia, and China. Because of its declining range and population, it is listed as a "Near Threatened" species by the IUCN.

Compared to other members of the Felidae family, the leopard has relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but is smaller and more slightly built. Its fur is marked with rosettes similar to those of the jaguar, but the leopard's rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not usually have central spots as the jaguars do. Both leopards and jaguars that are melanistic (completely black or very dark) are known as black panthers.

The species' success in the wild is in part due to its opportunistic hunting behavior, its adaptability to habitats, its ability to run at speeds approaching 58 kilometres per hour (36 mph), its unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy carcass, and its notorious ability for stealth. The leopard consumes virtually any animal that it can hunt down and catch. Its habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains.

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Animal World About Lion

The lion (Panthera leo) is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with an endangered remnant population in Gir Forest National Park in India, having disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. They were found in most of Africa, across Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru. The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of thirty to fifty percent over the past two decades in its African range. Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern.

Lions live for ten to fourteen years in the wild, while in captivity they can live longer than twenty years. In the wild, males seldom live longer than ten years, as injuries sustained from continual fighting with rival males greatly reduce their longevity. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. Lions are apex and keystone predators, although they scavenge as opportunity allows. While lions do not typically hunt humans, some have been known to do so.

Highly distinctive, the male lion is easily recognised by its mane, and its face is one of the most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture. Depictions have existed from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves, through virtually all ancient and medieval cultures where they once occurred. It has been extensively depicted in sculptures, in paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature. Lions have been kept in menageries since the time of the Roman Empire and have been a key species sought for exhibition in zoos the world over since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies.

The lion's name, similar in many Romance languages, is derived from the Latin leo; and the Ancient Greek λέων (leon). The Hebrew word לָבִיא (lavi) may also be related. It was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus, who gave it the name Felis leo, in his eighteenth century work, Systema Naturae.