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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Jan 31, 2021 20:00:31 GMT -5
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Post by brobear on Feb 5, 2021 9:24:52 GMT -5
THE AMBUSH - thecatsite.com/threads/ambush-cats.96339/ I guess we all have cats who like to lie in ambush, from under the bed, the couch, or any corner of the house, who love to attack without provocation. Yes, everytime I enter a room in the house I can expect a sudden attack. so I am especially careful when carrying anything from room to room as we have a four month old kitten who loves playing his ambush cat attacks. I know that we do not have an unusual kitten, but would love to hear from other people who are constantly attacked in ambush from their beloved friends. Just a topic of conversation. *A cat begins his ambush practice just as soon as he is old enough to stand on four feet. No cat is too young to ambush. If the kitten is strong enough to stand, walk, and jump, he is old enough and strong enough to ambush. Ambush predator is what a cat is; its what they do.
*Edit and add: Three Steps of an Ambush Attack...
#1- Before the ambush: Choose and stalk the prey. Get as close as possible without being discovered. ( Stealth is needed here ).
#2- The Ambush: The cat gathers himself and then launches himself at high-speed. Once in range, the cat leaps upon his intended victim. Once physical contact with his victim is made - ambush complete. ( Speed is needed here ).
#3- After the ambush - the Kill: Once upon his intended victim, the cat positions himself, holding on with wickedly-curved claws ( meat-hooks ) and uses his jaws according to his prey choice. In some cases, the prey animal must first be pulled down onto the ground before the jaws can be properly placed. ( Strength and Agility is needed here ).
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Post by brobear on Feb 18, 2021 12:34:42 GMT -5
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210218094536.htm Increasingly fragmented tiger populations may require 'genetic rescue' Even Bengal tigers from India, which comprise about 70 percent of the world's wild tigers and exhibit relatively high genomic diversity compared to other subspecies, showed signs of inbreeding in some populations, the study concluded.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Feb 19, 2021 8:51:45 GMT -5
The smaller the number of animals, inbreeding is more likely to occur.
Most Icelandic people for example are related to each other.
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Post by brobear on Mar 4, 2021 7:22:39 GMT -5
www.zmescience.com/ecology/fossils-in-la-brea-tar-pits-redraw-picture-of-saber-toothed-cats/ Fossils in La Brea Tar Pits redraw picture of saber-toothed cats. Usually described as fierce predators, saber-toothed cats are imagined as stalking the open savannah in pursuit of bison, horses and other grassland-dwelling prey. But a new study paints a much less fierce image of the now long-extinct animals. Previous research had focused on carbon and nitrogen isotopes found within a bone protein called collagen. These analyses concluded that prehistoric predators from saber-toothed cats to dire wolves and American lions hunted in open environments, competing for the same limited pool of prey. “When we look at the enamel, we get a totally different picture,” DeSantis said. “We find that the saber-tooth cats, American lions, and cougars are actually doing what cats typically do, which is hunting within forested ecosystems and using cover to potentially ambush their prey.
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Post by King Kodiak on Mar 4, 2021 14:47:27 GMT -5
And this is a researcher talking. Very nice. If ambush is what cat fans like, well then that is what they like. But then i dont want to hear crying when their favorite cat is not favored in a face to face fight because of the simple fact that most cats cant fight for crap head on.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Mar 4, 2021 21:02:45 GMT -5
A smilodon populator might be a powerful grappler and its canines are good for slashing and stabbing but they can also serve as a ‘weakness’. Broken tooth could mean starvation.
The American lion (despite ambushing too) would do better than the smilodon when it comes to close quarter grappling. The smilodon ambushes large prey before slashing.
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Post by King Kodiak on Mar 7, 2021 14:15:31 GMT -5
Do tigers displace leopards? If so why?
Abstract and Figures
We investigated predictions concerning the competitive relationships between tigers Panthera tigris and leopards Panthera pardus in Bardia National Park, Nepal, based on spatial distributions of scats and territorial markings (sign), analyses of scat content and census of wild ungulate prey. Medium-sized ungulates, in particular chital Axis axis, was the main food of both predators, but leopards consumed significantly larger proportions of domestic animals, small mammals, and birds than tigers. Tiger sign were never found outside the park, while leopard sign occurred both inside and outside, and were significantly closer to the park border than tiger sign. Significantly higher prey densities at locations of tiger sign than that of leopards were mainly due to a preference of the latter species for the park border areas. Our results imply that interference competition––and not competition for food––was a limiting factor for the leopard population, whose distribution was restricted to the margins of the tiger territories. We suggest that the composition of the prey base is a key factor in understanding the different results and interpretations reported in studies on tiger/leopard coexistence. There are two potential mechanisms that link interference competition and prey: (1) low abundance of large ungulate prey decreases foraging efficiency of tigers, leading to increased energetic stress and aggression towards leopards; and (2) increased diet overlap due to scarcity of large prey leads to increased encounter rates and increased levels of interference competition. KeywordsAvoidance behavior-Resource partitioning-Exploitative competition-Competition refuge
www.researchgate.net/publication/225339314_Do_tigers_displace_leopards_If_so_why_Ecol_Res
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smedz
Ursus abstrusus
Recent Graduate
Posts: 410
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Post by smedz on Apr 18, 2021 11:34:40 GMT -5
www.zmescience.com/ecology/fossils-in-la-brea-tar-pits-redraw-picture-of-saber-toothed-cats/ Fossils in La Brea Tar Pits redraw picture of saber-toothed cats. Usually described as fierce predators, saber-toothed cats are imagined as stalking the open savannah in pursuit of bison, horses and other grassland-dwelling prey. But a new study paints a much less fierce image of the now long-extinct animals. Previous research had focused on carbon and nitrogen isotopes found within a bone protein called collagen. These analyses concluded that prehistoric predators from saber-toothed cats to dire wolves and American lions hunted in open environments, competing for the same limited pool of prey. “When we look at the enamel, we get a totally different picture,” DeSantis said. “We find that the saber-tooth cats, American lions, and cougars are actually doing what cats typically do, which is hunting within forested ecosystems and using cover to potentially ambush their prey. After this, you'd think they'd switch over to tooth enamel entirely. Nope. Bone collagen's still used for some reason.
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Post by brobear on Apr 18, 2021 14:55:20 GMT -5
Quote; “When we look at the enamel, we get a totally different picture,” DeSantis said. “We find that the saber-tooth cats, American lions, and cougars are actually doing what cats typically do, which is hunting within forested ecosystems and using cover to potentially ambush their prey. *I figure this also means that the "pack hunter" theory concerning saber-toothed cats and American lions just got shot down the drain. Big cats of forest environments are loners.
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smedz
Ursus abstrusus
Recent Graduate
Posts: 410
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Post by smedz on Apr 18, 2021 17:45:01 GMT -5
Quote; “When we look at the enamel, we get a totally different picture,” DeSantis said. “We find that the saber-tooth cats, American lions, and cougars are actually doing what cats typically do, which is hunting within forested ecosystems and using cover to potentially ambush their prey. *I figure this also means that the "pack hunter" theory concerning saber-toothed cats and American lions just got shot down the drain. Big cats of forest environments are loners. I do agree with American lions being solitary, but I wouldn't discount S. fatalis being social quite yet. www.sci-news.com/paleontology/smilodon-fatalis-unique-growth-strategy-09230.html Paleontologists from the Royal Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto have found and examined the fossilized remains of two subadult and one adult saber-toothed tigers (Smilodon fatalis) — likely a mother and two adolescents — in the Pleistocene coastal deposits in Ecuador. Their results show that saber-toothed tigers had a unique growth strategy that combined a growth rate that is similar to a tiger and the extended growth period of a lion. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181105105422.htm "The fact that they're eating food that really shouldn't be available to them unless they're being provided for, and that they're living with these injuries for prolonged periods of time suggests they're being provisioned food by other cats," she says. DeSantis will share her findings on Monday, 5 November, at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. Microdamage patterns recorded in tooth enamel, like mountains and valleys in a topographic map, tell the history of an animal's diet. These patterns allow researchers to glean information like whether a predator was scavenging on bone or eating tougher foods like flesh. Anthropologists have pioneered the same technique to explore the diets of early human ancestors. DeSantis and her colleagues compared the dental microwear patterns of injured versus uninjured cats, thanks to a large pathology collection available at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles, California. Many of the fossils show signs of prolonged infection and bone growth associated with healing -- signs that the animals survived after what would have been fatal injuries if not part of a social group. "What's really exciting about this," DeSantis says, "is that you see pretty clear evidence that they're surviving for longer. That in itself gives you evidence of potential care within the social group."
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smedz
Ursus abstrusus
Recent Graduate
Posts: 410
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Post by smedz on Apr 18, 2021 17:52:16 GMT -5
news.vanderbilt.edu/2021/04/15/diet-of-homotherium-sabertooth-cat-included-baby-mammoths-according-to-new-research/ Diet of Homotherium sabertooth cat included baby mammoths, according to new research by Marissa Shapiro Apr. 15, 2021, 10:00 AM When you think of sabertooth cats, chances are you picture the iconic Smilodon fatalis, which has massively elongated canines and is best known from specimens found in the La Brea Tar Pits in Southern California. (Smilodon fatalis fossils were also found in Nashville, Tennessee—which led to the name and mascot of the NHL’s Nashville Predators hockey team.) However, the cat that once occupied all continents except Australia and Antarctica is the scimitar-toothed Homotherium. This cat’s teeth were more flattened and less elongated, but it was still a formidable predator. According to a new study led by paleontologist and Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Larisa DeSantis and published in the journal Current Biology on April 15, Homotherium had a unique ecology that included the consumption of prey that resided in open grasslands. Among the prey were baby mammoths. “Clarifying predator-prey relationships in the ancient past can provide insight regarding . . . conservation and management of apex predators living today—including lions, tigers and polar bears,” DeSantis said. Ernest Lundelius Jr. (left) and Larisa DeSantis (right), two of the studies co-authors examining fossils in Texas. One of the most remarkable Ice Age fossil sites in the world is Friesenhahn Cave, a site outside San Antonio. Along with an abundance of Homotherium specimens, numerous prey species there (including a multitude of juvenile mammoths) led to the formation of the “Homotherium den” hypothesis—that these cats brought their prey back to the cave to consume it. DeSantis’ team of researchers integrated data from stable isotopes, dental microwear texture analysis and morphology—the branch of biology that deals with the form of living organisms, and with relationships between their structures—to reconstruct the ecology and biology of Homotherium. “Morphology can give us a first approximation of diet and behavior, and in the case of Homotherium it indicates that it was a unique predator. It was truly a cat like no other, though it did share similarities with cheetahs and hyenas,” DeSantis said. “Features like their inferred partially retractable, small claws and gracile forelimbs indicate that Homotherium was moderately cursorial,” said Mauricio Antón, co-author of this study, world-renowned scientific illustrator and Homotherium expert, based at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid. “But unlike cheetahs, which exhibit short bursts of high speeds, Homotherium probably ran farther for longer, though likely not as fast as living cheetahs.” Homotherium was also unlike the Smilodon fatalis in that it had a preference for more open-habitat prey, based on the specimens in the cave (including a large number of approximately 2-year-old baby mammoths) and data from the teeth of Homotherium. “As the saying goes, you are what you eat. In the case of fossils, we can examine the chemical makeup of their teeth and infer if they consumed prey that resided in grasslands or forests or both,” DeSantis said. “In our study, the stable carbon isotope data of tooth enamel from Homotherium were indistinguishable from that obtained from baby mammoths, while also consistent with the consumption of other primarily open-habit prey like bison and horses.” In addition to studying the chemical signatures in their teeth, the researchers also studied the microscopic wear patterns formed during chewing. This study revealed that Homotherium not only avoided bone, much like modern cheetahs do today, but also ate tougher food than any living cat studied—consistent with the consumption of the tough flesh of baby mammoths. “Our study essentially confirmed that Homotherium was an open-habitat predator that dined on baby mammoths,” DeSantis said. “While it is likely that Homotherium also ate some forest-dwelling prey, it is also clear that Homotherium had a clear preference for open-habitat prey.” “This is the first study that shows Homotherium ate mammoths. It is a unique finding and presents breakthroughs in our knowledge of Homotherium,” said Julie Meachen, associate professor of anatomy in Medicine and Health Sciences at Des Moines University, who was not involved in this study. “It is hard to study carnivores when carnivores are inherently rare in the fossil record,” DeSantis said. “Sometimes we can study carnivores from tar seeps, like at the La Brea Tar Pits. Other times we just get lucky and can study apex predators from amazing cave localities like Friesenhahn Cave.” “Friesenhahn Cave is a jewel of a fossil locality,” said Ernest Lundelius Jr., professor emeritus at the University of Texas–Austin and co-author who published on the site in the early 1960s. “In addition to the big beasts like Homotherium, we can learn a lot from the other co-occurring animals in the cave.” The research was made possible by the National Science Foundation and supported by Vanderbilt University.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on May 1, 2021 7:31:36 GMT -5
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on May 1, 2021 7:33:19 GMT -5
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smedz
Ursus abstrusus
Recent Graduate
Posts: 410
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Post by smedz on May 1, 2021 21:17:13 GMT -5
Post #193
Smilodon grew up as fast as tigers, they stayed with their parents as long as lions do.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on May 1, 2021 22:42:49 GMT -5
Post #193 Smilodon grew up as fast as tigers, they stayed with their parents as long as lions do. That is a good point. Lion cubs stay with their parents much longer than tiger cubs do with their mothers.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Jun 1, 2021 6:00:34 GMT -5
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Post by theundertaker45 on Jun 26, 2021 3:27:41 GMT -5
Smilodon (Femur/Humerus comparisons per Christiansen and Harris, 2005)
Smilodon Gracilis
Femur Length: 269mm (n=1) Femur Circumference: 70.5mm (n=1) Femur Stoutness Index: 26.21%
Humerus Length: 247.75mm (n=4) Humerus Circumference: 81.5mm (n=4) Humerus Stoutness Index: 32.9%
Smilodon Fatalis
Femur Length: 391.53mm (n=6) Femur Circumference: 112.5mm (n=6) Femur Stoutness Index: 28.73%
Humerus Length: 361.4mm (n=6) Humerus Circumference: 121.17mm (n=6) Humerus Stoutness Index: 33.53%
Smilodon Populator
Femur Length: 390.2mm (n=1) Femur Circumference: 134.5mm (n=1) Femur Stoutness Index: 34.47%
Humerus Length: 365.17mm (n=3) Humerus Circumference: 147.5mm (n=3) Humerus Stoutness Index: 40.39%
1. Smilodon Populator was the most robust cat out of the three; not just due to size but also on a proportional basis. The proportional differences between Fatalis/Gracilis are minor whereas Populator exceeds both of them quite handily.
2. Smilodon Populator had a shortened Femur bone in relation to the Humerus bone which gave it a "slope" downwards when looking at it from the side, the posterior part of the torso was situated lower than the anterior part. This characteristic is also visible on the ancient Ursus Spelaeus.
3. In comparison to modern big cats these ancient brutes had way more robust skeletons and were actually closer related to bears than to cats in this regard; one reason why they were more dependant on ambushing their prey than our modern Panthera cats. The short tail and robust frame weren't indications for agility/balance/speed, the focus was set on strength and prey could easily run away when timing wasn't perfect.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Jun 26, 2021 5:15:02 GMT -5
The smilodon populator is stronger than all big cats just as the cave bear is stronger than all bears at least pound to pound. The kodiak and polar bear are still stronger than the smilodon populator and the Ussuri brown bear probably makes a good challenge for it.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Jun 26, 2021 5:17:01 GMT -5
The smilodon populator is shorter but more robust than the American lion.
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