w This is your free sample of Bug Club. Big Cats Brown B NC 3B Contents BIG CATS Introducing cats 2-3 Cat habitats 4-5 Written by Sarah Walker Tiger tales 6-7 King of the beasts 8-9 Water cat 10-11 Did you know that a lion’s roar can be heard up to eight kilometres Lounging leopards 12-13 away? Or that two-thirds of Snow cat 14-15 the world’s big cats are rare or Powerful pumas 16-17 endangered? Discover the Speed king 18-19 fantastic world of big cats, Curious cats 20-21 from the shy snow leopard to Forest felines 22-23 the powerful Amur tiger. Cat families 24-25 “I liked finding Solitary killers 26-27 Jacket Images Front Getty Images: out about the Minden Pictures/Jim Brandenburg habitats of the Team tactics 28-29 All other images © Dorling Kindersley. For further information see www.dkimages.com wild cats” Super senses 30-31 Kurtis www.bugclub.co.uk Glossary and Index 32 ISBN 978-0-435-07583-5 www.pearsonschools.co.uk T 0845 630 33 33 [email protected] F 0845 630 77 77 9 780435 075835 1 178886_Big_Cats_Jkt_FINAL.indd 1 14/02/2012 11:16 178886_BigCats_FINAL.indd 1 14/02/2012 11:18 120 cm Big Cats Introducing cats The height of a big cat is measured from its shoulder Cat-like creatures have existed for millions of to the tips of its paws. How tall are you compared years. In size order, the seven biggest cats in the to these cats? world today are: the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, snow leopard, puma, and cheetah. The 100 cm largest cat is the Amur tiger. It can be up to 4 m long, from head to tail. Cat Facts •Cats kill other 75 cm animals for their food, which makes them carnivores (meat eaters). •Cats are mammals, which means that females 50 cm produce milk to feed their young. 25 cm 0 cm 2 Domestic cat Bobcat Puma Tiger 3 178886_BigCats_FINAL.indd 2 14/02/2012 11:18 178886_BigCats_FINAL.indd 3 14/02/2012 11:18 Cat habitats Disappearing WorlD Today more than two-thirds of the world’s There are 37 species of wild cats in the world. They live in many Mountains wild cats are now rare or endangered. This habitats from snow-capped mountains to deserts, and grasslands The snow leopard lives high-up in is because many habitats Save our Save our homes! homes! to tropical rainforests. Most of the seven biggest cats are found are disappearing as the freezing Asian mountains. Save our homes! in places with wet and dry seasons where the weather is humans move into places where big cats live. warm all year round. Key Map Guide Russian Federation Canada Siberia Rainforest EUROPE Forest NORTH China Snow leopards ASIA live in the mountains Grassland AMERICA of central Asia. Desert CENTRAL India AFRICA Leopards live in Mountains AMERICA the forests and Pumas live in a variety grasslands of Equator of habitats, and in Southeast Africa as well as countries ranging from SOUTH Asia parts of Canada, down through Tigers live in the Asia and the US, to Central AMERICA forests of India, Siberia Middle and South and Southeast Asia. East. America. Lions live in Cheetahs live in Jaguars live in prides in the AUSTRALIA the grasslands of the rainforests grasslands southern and eastern and swampy of Africa, and Africa and Asia. They grasslands of a small part of have also been seen Central and South India. in desert regions of America. the Middle East. Leopard ANTARCTICA Forests and rainforests Tropical rainforests in Central and grasslands TundraTundraSouth America are home to jaguars The rich grasslands of Africa are BroadleafBroadleafhome forestforest (temperate(temperate forest)forest) RainforestRainforestand pumas. Tigers and leopards are to lions, cheetahs and leopards. A few of MountainMountain GrasslandGrasslandfound andand inScrubScrub forests in Asia. these cats also live in some parts of Asia. PolarPolar 4 DesertDesert SeaSea 5 ConiferousConiferous forestforest SeaSea IceIce 178886_BigCats_FINAL.indd 4 14/02/2012 12:55 178886_BigCats_FINAL.indd 5 14/02/2012 12:55 Tiger tales Fun in the water Tigers are the largest and most powerful of all the big Although they spend cats. A tiger is ten times stronger than a person. All five most of their time on land, tigers do types of tiger are covered in striking stripes. Each animal’s love the water. They markings are unique, just like human fingerprints. often lounge around in the water to cool The biggest of them all down on hot days. Amur tigers are the largest of all tigers. They live in the freezing forests of Russia, China and North Korea. A thick, furry coat protects them from the cold. A rare sight Only Bengal tigers give birth to white cubs, and these are very rare. Few white tigers exist in the wild. Skills for life Play fights teach cubs important skills. When they are older they will have to protect their own territories and cubs. 6 7 178886_BigCats_FINAL.indd 6 14/02/2012 11:18 178886_BigCats_FINAL.indd 7 14/02/2012 11:18 w Glossary Index camouflages hides or disguises bobcat 2, 22-23 puma 2-4, 16-17, feline relating to cats caracal 21 24, 29 habitats places where animals or cheetah 2, 5, serval 20, 29 plants live or grow 18-19, 24, 28 snow leopard 2, predators animals that hunt other clouded 5, 14-15 animals for food leopard 12 tiger 2-3, 5-7, 25 That’s the end of prey animals that are hunted for food domestic cat 2 scrubland land that is thinly covered fishing cat 22-23 your free sample. by plants jaguar 2, 4, 10-11 siblings brothers and sisters leopard 2, 4-5, 12-13 solitary living alone lion 2, 5, 8-9, species group of animals or plants 24-27 Book an appointment now made up of similar individuals lynx 22-23 stealthy careful not to be seen or ocelot 22-23 by calling 0333 212 4988 heard panther 13 tactics methods for getting something and selecting option 1. done territories areas defended by animals against others of their kind unique different from any other vibrations shaking movements 32 PEUK W843 178886_BigCats_FINAL.indd 32 14/02/2012 11:20.