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Many people have asked me: “Do big cats /really/ play and have fun like little [domestic] cats do?” The answer is: “Yes! Absolutely!”
I’m doing a little series here today, that will hopefully convince all those out there that this is indeed not a myth and in fact, true. Big cats of all sized and species /do/ play, and in fact, have a lot of fun doing it. Sometimes they play single, and for siblings that are together, whether in the wild or in captivity, have been seen playing together, whether running and chasing one another, or stealing the play-toy (such as a branch or newly caught, smaller prey-thing) from one another.
In this pic here, is Drifter, as is my entire “series” today. In this image, Drifter is just zooming around his cage, roaming as cats are often wont to do, and in this case, doing that amazing and graceful balancing act as he marches smartly across his in-cage log.
This is also a great behavioral display picture, which is one of the other reason I chose this one to conclude the series. You’ll notice that all of Drifter’s paws - fore and aft - are almost in a perfect line. Also, the lead forepaw, has the digits spread. While Drifter’s staring elsewhere, he is utilizing all those instinctual gifts that Nature gave him to be able to better position himself, no matter what terrain he happens to be on. In this case, he’s on a non-flat surface, and one that’s a bit slick besides, so he instinctually feels with that forepaw before he actually puts it fully down and applies some weight to it, to test and see if he’s on steady ground or not. Once he’s sure, then he’ll take the next step forward, and this forepaw - the left - will look just like the right one does, closed and firmly planted to hold his weight. Of course, even should he find himself on slick surfaces, that’s no problem at all. You’ll just see all those built-in cleats come right out, and off he goes!
So this is the last of my short Kitty-At-Play series, Drifter doing the Balancing Act, on his sacred (aka Used and Abused) log.
This picture was taken 20-Jun-03. The image was taken with a Canon EOS 10D and the EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM lens. The original was taken at full frame of 3072x2048x24b, ISO eqv 400, 1/125 shutter, f/5.6. This image was cropped and shrunken down for space conservation.
Disclaimer: I hate to have to put this on here, but the pic is copyright me. Please do not distribute, copy, alter, etc, without my permission. Having said all that, feel free to download and use it for your own inspiration.
I’m doing a little series here today, that will hopefully convince all those out there that this is indeed not a myth and in fact, true. Big cats of all sized and species /do/ play, and in fact, have a lot of fun doing it. Sometimes they play single, and for siblings that are together, whether in the wild or in captivity, have been seen playing together, whether running and chasing one another, or stealing the play-toy (such as a branch or newly caught, smaller prey-thing) from one another.
In this pic here, is Drifter, as is my entire “series” today. In this image, Drifter is just zooming around his cage, roaming as cats are often wont to do, and in this case, doing that amazing and graceful balancing act as he marches smartly across his in-cage log.
This is also a great behavioral display picture, which is one of the other reason I chose this one to conclude the series. You’ll notice that all of Drifter’s paws - fore and aft - are almost in a perfect line. Also, the lead forepaw, has the digits spread. While Drifter’s staring elsewhere, he is utilizing all those instinctual gifts that Nature gave him to be able to better position himself, no matter what terrain he happens to be on. In this case, he’s on a non-flat surface, and one that’s a bit slick besides, so he instinctually feels with that forepaw before he actually puts it fully down and applies some weight to it, to test and see if he’s on steady ground or not. Once he’s sure, then he’ll take the next step forward, and this forepaw - the left - will look just like the right one does, closed and firmly planted to hold his weight. Of course, even should he find himself on slick surfaces, that’s no problem at all. You’ll just see all those built-in cleats come right out, and off he goes!
So this is the last of my short Kitty-At-Play series, Drifter doing the Balancing Act, on his sacred (aka Used and Abused) log.
This picture was taken 20-Jun-03. The image was taken with a Canon EOS 10D and the EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM lens. The original was taken at full frame of 3072x2048x24b, ISO eqv 400, 1/125 shutter, f/5.6. This image was cropped and shrunken down for space conservation.
Disclaimer: I hate to have to put this on here, but the pic is copyright me. Please do not distribute, copy, alter, etc, without my permission. Having said all that, feel free to download and use it for your own inspiration.
Category Photography / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Housecat
Size 1024 x 1177px
File Size 230.3 kB
From a total stand still, a typical cougar can leap straight up about 16ft (5m). At a full sprint, they can leave the ground and clear 40+ft (12+m) rather easily, more if they need to. When in a tree, they can jump down from a 60ft (18m) height and not even feel it.
Cougars have been observed to jump from one canyon wall to another, in excess of 80 feet with the right combination of running start and leap. In the cat community, cougars /are/ the supreme jumpers.
Cougars rock!
Cougars have been observed to jump from one canyon wall to another, in excess of 80 feet with the right combination of running start and leap. In the cat community, cougars /are/ the supreme jumpers.
Cougars rock!
Cougars are one of the most fascinating cats because they have traditionally had the broadest diversity in habitat of any predator on earth. They /still/ hold that record and title even with the large-scale depredatorization going on throughout the world. But, to the point...
Cougars traditionally spanned almost the entirety of the Americas, from the norther parts of Canada to the corner of Alaska, from the west-coast to the east-coast of North America, all thru Central America, and down to almost the very tip of Chile. Obviously, over that huge expanse of land, all the various native peoples that observed the cougars had a different name for them.
If you do some earnest research which is a bit easier today with the advent of the internet, you will find more than 70 different names for the same kitty. So to answer the question, "cougar" and "puma" are the same cat, just called by a different name.
North Americans (from European stock) call him the "Mountain Lion". Native Americans had /many/ names, a few of the more common ones being "Painter" (thought to be a slur of "panther"), and "Catamount" (short for cat-of-the-mountain), whereas the spanish-speakers of Central and South American use the word "Puma" (pronounced more like "pyu-ma").
So, Felis Concolor (now named "Puma Concolor", or the "Cat of One Color" is really the "Cat of Many Names". :)
I hope that answers the question. :)
Cougars traditionally spanned almost the entirety of the Americas, from the norther parts of Canada to the corner of Alaska, from the west-coast to the east-coast of North America, all thru Central America, and down to almost the very tip of Chile. Obviously, over that huge expanse of land, all the various native peoples that observed the cougars had a different name for them.
If you do some earnest research which is a bit easier today with the advent of the internet, you will find more than 70 different names for the same kitty. So to answer the question, "cougar" and "puma" are the same cat, just called by a different name.
North Americans (from European stock) call him the "Mountain Lion". Native Americans had /many/ names, a few of the more common ones being "Painter" (thought to be a slur of "panther"), and "Catamount" (short for cat-of-the-mountain), whereas the spanish-speakers of Central and South American use the word "Puma" (pronounced more like "pyu-ma").
So, Felis Concolor (now named "Puma Concolor", or the "Cat of One Color" is really the "Cat of Many Names". :)
I hope that answers the question. :)
(Shasta nodnods) Well, in truth, next to leopards and jaguars, cougars are the most mysterious of the wild cats. Very few people have studied them, and even fewer have actually made films about them.
I hope that in the future, that will change. In the meantime, I'll have to keep doing my little part, one pic at a time. :)
I hope that in the future, that will change. In the meantime, I'll have to keep doing my little part, one pic at a time. :)
(much belated comment) It's all fun and games until that thing goes THWACK and hurts someone! Drifter has the longest tail of any cougar I've ever known. When he was a kitten, I could actually take his tail and thump his nose with it. The more astonishing part it, he LET me. :) He'd probably reach out a big paw and thump me for that now.
But, to your comment, ayup! Cougars, like most cats, use their tails as a counter-balance in most everything they do. It really does have some significant mass to it, as it is entirely muscular, making up (in some cases) 5% of their body-weight. So whether chasing prey and needing to make one of those fast corners by shifting the tail sideways which heaves the hinnie around with it, or to change a trajectory while mid-air, the tail is a handy contraption. It's almost as useful as the purrpurr-motor. :)
But, to your comment, ayup! Cougars, like most cats, use their tails as a counter-balance in most everything they do. It really does have some significant mass to it, as it is entirely muscular, making up (in some cases) 5% of their body-weight. So whether chasing prey and needing to make one of those fast corners by shifting the tail sideways which heaves the hinnie around with it, or to change a trajectory while mid-air, the tail is a handy contraption. It's almost as useful as the purrpurr-motor. :)
This series was most enjoyable to read and to see! That's the advantages to photography; "capturing the moment." Who could guess that such an animal with a mystique of aloofness and seriousness could have a penchant for fooling around. :) This mini-series brightened up my otherwise rather grey day.
This is great! He/She looks to be a bit of a juvinile, so he's still got some of that kitteny playfulness. Older kitties will play too, but young kittens look for it. :) And hey, we're not Reeaaally BIG cats, we just happen to be larger than your average fluffball. :p
(much belated comment) Drifter has always had a wonderfully rambunctious streak, which on occasion, turns into a deviant one. Been on the receiving side of that one a couple times.
Drifter was about 4-y-o in that pic, so he was full grown, but he's not a big kitty, and very active besides, so he's always had that very lanky, teenage'ish look to him. He didn't really loose that until he turn about 7-y-o. He turned 9 this year. :)
Drifter was about 4-y-o in that pic, so he was full grown, but he's not a big kitty, and very active besides, so he's always had that very lanky, teenage'ish look to him. He didn't really loose that until he turn about 7-y-o. He turned 9 this year. :)
(much belated comment) Drifter has /really/ big paws. Most cougars have some pretty large, front mitts, but Drifter has always been silly-large. You would have loved to see him as a kitten, as he had adult-sized paws, and just looked /so/ funny when he was jumping around on his way-too-big paws!
If you have any specific cougar poses that you'd like to see, let me know. I might have something that will help you out for references. :)
If you have any specific cougar poses that you'd like to see, let me know. I might have something that will help you out for references. :)
How about the cougar on his back doing that cute pawing at the air thing? Kinda like this: http://tigress.mootnet.us/Show/cat%.....he%20grass.jpg
And I would really love a pose of a cougar sitting on their haunches using their forepaws. Something like this: http://www.gizmodiva.com/entry_imag...../cat_toy_1.jpg
And I would really love a pose of a cougar sitting on their haunches using their forepaws. Something like this: http://www.gizmodiva.com/entry_imag...../cat_toy_1.jpg
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