Do you have a cat at home? Did you know there are really big cats that live in the jungle? Come with me, Jungle Jim, on a jungle adventure and lets meet 5 wild cats.
Leopards
First let’s go to Africa and meet the Leopard. You can recognize a leopard by the pretty dark circles on its fur. It uses these circles for camouflage. Camouflage helps an animal to hide. Deep in the thick, dark jungles, leopards can have all black fur.
The leopard is really good at jumping, running and swimming. It can leap ten feet high, that is as tall as a basketball hoop! The leopard can run almost 40 miles per hour, that’s faster than your mom or dad can drive a car in your neighborhood.
Lions
Now let’s check out a different part of Africa. Lions live in the grassy plains and dry places in Africa. They are the only big cat that likes to hang out in groups. These groups of lions are called “prides.” A mama lion is usually in charge of the pride. Together, they like to hunt and raise their cubs, that is what a baby lion is called.
The daddy lions have a big thick crown of fur that goes all the way around their head. This is called a mane. Lions are one of the biggest cats and the biggest carnivore or meat eater in Africa!
Cheetahs
Lions share the grassy plains and open spaces in Africa with the cheetah. Cheetahs are the fastest land animal. They can run as fast as 70 miles an hour. That’s faster than your mom or dad can drive your car on the highway! While they are running they use their tail to steer and turn. Unlike lions, cheetahs can’t roar, but just like a pet cat they can purr.
Jaguars
Next let’s take a plane to South America. In the Amazon rain forest you can find a jaguar. Jaguars look a lot like leopards and in the zoo they are hard to tell apart. Lucky for us in the wild they live all the way across the ocean from each other. A little detail that makes them different from a leopard is each black circle on a jaguar also has a little dot in the middle. Jaguars can have all black fur too!
Do you know what a habitat is? A habitat is a place that has all the things an animal needs to live like food, water and shelter. Jaguars love to swim so they need plenty of water in their habitat.
Tigers
Come with me to a new continent, Asia. There are a few different types of tigers that live in different countries in Asia. Some live in swampy jungles in places like India and China and others live in cold forests full of pine trees in Russia. All types of tigers need a lot of trees and shrubs or thick grass in their habitats so they can hide. They also need water to drink and to cool off in on hot days.
Look at you fingers. Can you see your fingerprints? Every person has different, unique fingerprints. Just like everyone has different fingerprints, every tiger has a different pattern of stripes. A tiger’s stripes are camouflage; they help them to hide in the thick grasses, trees and shrubs. Do you remember what a leopard uses for camouflage? What other animals have camouflage?
Siberian Tigers, the ones that live in Russia, are the biggest cats of all. They can weigh up to 700 pounds. A big black lab can weigh about 100 pounds, so imagine an animal as big as 7 big dogs!
Amazing Cats
Big cats are really amazing. They live all over the world in many different kinds of jungle habitats. Click this link for songs that can help you remember how camouflage helps a tiger hide and how fast a cheetah runs. What is your favorite wild cat?
Sources
Image: “Swimming Tiger” by Tambako the Jaguar
Image: “Leopard lying in the shade looking back at me” by Tambako the Jaguar