Read book on leopards today.
Leopards
Got a lot of technical information today. Some of it was repeat: biggest threats to leopards are habitat loss, killings and trapping by farmers and ranchers, and poaching for fur and body parts for medicine. Honestly, it's getting boring.
But some of it was new. Researchers figure that there's only about 50,000 leopards still alive today. That may seem like a lot, but apparently not for an animal species! The rarest leopard is the Amur leopard. This species is extinct in South Korea, where it had once spread throughout the whole Korean Peninsula. Researchers has estimated that less than 50 of this species still lives!
There are a ton of leopard subspecies, some named after their home-place (like Chinese leopard). Though their names seem to imply this, the snow leopard and clouded leopard are not leopards. You can even tell this in the scientific names of the animals. Leopards (part of the Felidae family) have the scientific name of Panthera pardus. The snow leopard shares the first part, but not the second. Their name is Panthera unica. Clouded leopards have a whole separate scientific name: Neofelis nebulosa.
I've covered that leopards live in all sorts of places, and even different temperatures. We all know that they live in grasslands, even dry ones... because we all know of the leopards of the African savanna! And some of you may know about the ones in the rain forests. But some leopards live in mountains! And there's some in woodlands that are open, and even deserts!!!
Leopards eat tons of stuff. Leopards in one part of Africa have been seen to eat 33 different species! And get this... elephant can be one of them! Leopards are not picky like the Cheetah... they even eat already-killed meat. The book tells of one leopard that joined a bunch of lions eating a killed elephant. It was quiet in doing so, but the whole scenario was cool.
Males are usually heavier than males. But the average weight for leopards is 66-176 lbs. (30-80 kg). Their length varies within the average, however, but the average is around 3-6 ft long (91-191 cm). Their tail lengths can differ from 22 inches (58 cm) to 44 inches (110 cm) long! Scientists really know how to get their measurements!
A female leopard is pregnant for about 3 1/2 months, giving birth to a litter of 3-4 cubs (usually). Cubs have a lot of predators (including hyenas and the surprising enemy of the baboon!). And leopards have their usual human threats. But if they survive, the lifespan of a wild leopard is usually 12-17 years. If they're captive leopards, the number of years jumps up to 23 years.
I also learned some of how animals photographers and researchers live. They have tents (apparently, have to double-lock because baboons are smart). Jeeps are needed go through all sorts of places... even deep rivers! Like, up to the seat-belt deep rivers! Yikes! Lots of supplies and stuff are needed... glasses, mosquito nets, water (needed, because the African midday goes up to 130 degrees! Yikes!), writing material, cameras (of course for photographers), and all sorts of stuff. I read about a recording system (with a microphone of course) that can pick up a leopard's panting 50 yards off! Cool! They live a life of adventure.
I've mentioned that people are starting to help the leopards. Every book I've read so far says that learning about leopards is the first step in helping them. Of course, we all know there's multiple ways of doing this... there's books, movies, and shows. There's libraries, bookstores, zoos, and other places to learn about them.
Extra
The younger sibs were watching shows, so I got some extra facts. Mainly, they were on horses today. Horses are big. They're very strong, and can exert a lot of force (hey, they pull heavy carts!). Some wear hats made for horses as well as their equipment for their work. Cool... apparently sometimes horses look nice while working too! We know they wear ribbons and stuff in shows, though, and they have different attitudes too. Talk about similar to us and interesting! And the different-attitudes can apply to all sorts of creatures... pets, leopards, and all sorts of animals! That's very interesting!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Animal Central: Even MORE On Leopards
Today, read book on leopards, and got some big-cat data too.
Leopards
There are three big cats with spots. And they're different from each other. Leopards have "rings" (called rosettes for their rose-like look) with no spots in them. Jaguars have rosettes with spots in them. Cheetahs don't have rosettes at all... just solid spots.
Leopards are highly adaptable. It doesn't matter if the climate's hot or cold. As long as the leopard has hiding and hunting spots, they adapt to their location. Even some sub-urban places got them!
And black leopards do have spots! They're a darker color than the coat, which is black. The "black panther" we all know is usually a black mountain lion or a black jaguar.
Leopards are endangered. It's clear that their numbers are dropping, even though they're hard to find, and, therefore, hard to count. In some parts of Asia, they're almost extinct!
A lot of it is the usual stuff: poaching for furs and parts for traditional medicine, habitat loss, killings by farmers and ranchers (since the leopard hits there when it's got to hunt and there's no where else to go). But get this: some parts of Africa allow leopard-hunting! Now, the hunters get a permit that limits how many leopards they can kill, but it's still killing, and, let's face it, poachers don't have permits, so it just helps the killing numbers. Especially since we're not sure how many leopards can be killed "safely", since there's not a good way of telling their numbers!
If a top predator of an area goes out, the ecosystem goes out of whack! Without something hunting the prey, the prey multiplies, and eats up the plant life. There's starving, and the plant life becomes endangered itself. Plus, predators help keep a herd strong by taking out the weak ones. And since there's the danger of a predator, the prey herd also stays moving, and therefore fit. They're also alert, and ready to flee from any spots they see, since it may be a leopard or other predator.
Luckily, people are starting to help. They're turning against hunting, and there are national parks to help protect leopards. Conservation groups sometimes pay for farm animals killed by leopards to keep the cats alive!
Leopards
There are three big cats with spots. And they're different from each other. Leopards have "rings" (called rosettes for their rose-like look) with no spots in them. Jaguars have rosettes with spots in them. Cheetahs don't have rosettes at all... just solid spots.
Leopards are highly adaptable. It doesn't matter if the climate's hot or cold. As long as the leopard has hiding and hunting spots, they adapt to their location. Even some sub-urban places got them!
And black leopards do have spots! They're a darker color than the coat, which is black. The "black panther" we all know is usually a black mountain lion or a black jaguar.
Leopards are endangered. It's clear that their numbers are dropping, even though they're hard to find, and, therefore, hard to count. In some parts of Asia, they're almost extinct!
A lot of it is the usual stuff: poaching for furs and parts for traditional medicine, habitat loss, killings by farmers and ranchers (since the leopard hits there when it's got to hunt and there's no where else to go). But get this: some parts of Africa allow leopard-hunting! Now, the hunters get a permit that limits how many leopards they can kill, but it's still killing, and, let's face it, poachers don't have permits, so it just helps the killing numbers. Especially since we're not sure how many leopards can be killed "safely", since there's not a good way of telling their numbers!
If a top predator of an area goes out, the ecosystem goes out of whack! Without something hunting the prey, the prey multiplies, and eats up the plant life. There's starving, and the plant life becomes endangered itself. Plus, predators help keep a herd strong by taking out the weak ones. And since there's the danger of a predator, the prey herd also stays moving, and therefore fit. They're also alert, and ready to flee from any spots they see, since it may be a leopard or other predator.
Luckily, people are starting to help. They're turning against hunting, and there are national parks to help protect leopards. Conservation groups sometimes pay for farm animals killed by leopards to keep the cats alive!
Friday, November 9, 2012
Animal Central: More On Leopards
Today, read a cool book on leopards.
Leopards
Got a couple of interesting facts. First, let's cover some animal relationships. It turns out that Momma keeps an eye on her kids using the scent and markings techniques. The next animal relationships cover the prey/predator area... lions hunt leopards, even chasing the cats up trees and yanking them down from trees!
But here's something wild... Baboons are sometimes on the leopards' lunch list. But a bunch of baboons can rip a leopard to shreds! So, usually, leopards usually take a powder and try to avoid the baboons. Leopards usually ignore each other, unless mating time and raising cubs.
Here's some technical facts. Leopards have unique spots in certain places... on either side of their nose on their lip, for example, with whiskers growing out of them! The pattern is unique per cat. The same is for the spots around their neck (these spots are called a "necklace"). Scientists use these, and the spots on the sides of the body, for identifying the cats.
A leopard's roar sounds like a cough. It's deep and raspy, but it's a cough. Their roaring helps them keep their territory by telling other leopards, "Hey! I'm here! Stay away!" They, of course, do all the other ways of marking their territory too (peeing on stuff, making marks). Speaking of territories, turns out that cubs stick around Momma's territory for a bit after they're grown.
Oh, and apparently trees with holes are a good spot for a Momma-and-cub pair (one in the book was a sausage tree).
Here's an interesting tibbit--a leopard's eyes change color! As cubs, they're one thing ("steel gray" is how the book describes them), and then turn into the golden-like color we know later (the book uses "amber" and "honey" to describe them). And, no, they do not change their spots!
The book also says that leopards have to be playful. A leopard was once spotted chasing a squiriell (sp?) for an hour! The book says that the leopard must have enjoyed the chase, because the reward wasn't worth all that effort. I would have to agree with that reasoning... plus, it's just plain cool.
Oh, and apparently leopards are usually shy, despite the people killings it's been known to make sometimes. Not always... but that's the usual case.
Leopards
Got a couple of interesting facts. First, let's cover some animal relationships. It turns out that Momma keeps an eye on her kids using the scent and markings techniques. The next animal relationships cover the prey/predator area... lions hunt leopards, even chasing the cats up trees and yanking them down from trees!
But here's something wild... Baboons are sometimes on the leopards' lunch list. But a bunch of baboons can rip a leopard to shreds! So, usually, leopards usually take a powder and try to avoid the baboons. Leopards usually ignore each other, unless mating time and raising cubs.
Here's some technical facts. Leopards have unique spots in certain places... on either side of their nose on their lip, for example, with whiskers growing out of them! The pattern is unique per cat. The same is for the spots around their neck (these spots are called a "necklace"). Scientists use these, and the spots on the sides of the body, for identifying the cats.
A leopard's roar sounds like a cough. It's deep and raspy, but it's a cough. Their roaring helps them keep their territory by telling other leopards, "Hey! I'm here! Stay away!" They, of course, do all the other ways of marking their territory too (peeing on stuff, making marks). Speaking of territories, turns out that cubs stick around Momma's territory for a bit after they're grown.
Oh, and apparently trees with holes are a good spot for a Momma-and-cub pair (one in the book was a sausage tree).
Here's an interesting tibbit--a leopard's eyes change color! As cubs, they're one thing ("steel gray" is how the book describes them), and then turn into the golden-like color we know later (the book uses "amber" and "honey" to describe them). And, no, they do not change their spots!
The book also says that leopards have to be playful. A leopard was once spotted chasing a squiriell (sp?) for an hour! The book says that the leopard must have enjoyed the chase, because the reward wasn't worth all that effort. I would have to agree with that reasoning... plus, it's just plain cool.
Oh, and apparently leopards are usually shy, despite the people killings it's been known to make sometimes. Not always... but that's the usual case.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Animal Central: Skunks, Armadillos Lamas, Frogs, & Cheetahs
Yesterday, got animal facts when sibs were watching Curious George and Go Diego Go!
Skunks
We all know that skunks spray a stinky smell, and apparently tomato juice takes it out. Turns out skunks spray when scared... bright lights, loud noises, enemies, and bigger creatures do the job, and then they spray. They sleep under houses sometimes.
Lamas
While Lamas live in zoos, they also hang out up in the mountains. Their strong, padded feet help them climb... and they're apparently fast creatures. They're strong too... for ages, they've been used to carry stuff, similar to what donkeys do. They have long necks. They hum for their sound. It's fun to hear Linda the Lama from Go Diego Go hum... "HUM! HUM!"
Armadillos
Armadillos have hard shells, usually from protection. In Go Diego Do, they say that the armadillos are frightened of Maned Wolves. Armadillos roll up in a ball sometimes. They can use this to roll too. They're also good diggers... their claws are made for digging!
And I got an extra from How It's Made to boot!
Extra
Fishing flies was the subject. But it was different this time... instead of in a factory, we watched one guy make a fishing fly! Guess fishing flies are factory material! But when used right (and moved realistically) they help catch some fishies!
It was cool watching the dude. A lot of string and string-like material went into it. There was a lot of wrapping and looping with a wax (sticky) string. Different materials, natural and synthetic, go into making fishing flies. Plastics, furs, feathers, and metals are used. Usually, they're "usually dyed bright colors" (How It's Made).
Flies have to imitate their subjects (little fish and bugs) to fool the fishies. I actually got some animal facts too... trout eat a certain moth's pupa when the pupa rise to the surface of the water and spread their wings. This causes air bubbles. Fly-makers use shiny string to make the illusion of these bubbles. To make wings, a material (in the show, deer guard hair) was put into a hair stacker, which was shaken, to evenly align the hairs. Some extra hair was left on the fly then needed to make the head.
Today, got some spare froggie facts from Seseame (sp?) Street, in the part called Elmo's World. They showed some frogs to go with it, which was cool.
Frogs
Frogs live in many places... trees, ponds, apartments (as pets usually), woods, and even deserts! We all know they start out in water as tadpoles (tadpoles live in water after hatching in water), then grow legs and stuff, and then leave the water as frogs. But get this... tadpoles have gills! Frogs have different colors. Some of them, usually the bright colors, are warnings to other animals to leave them be. Some are for camouflage. There are big frogs and small frogs... there's one that's small as a penny! WOW!
Then I read a book, and got more data on Cheetahs, though a lot was the same.
Cheetahs
Apparently, these cats can be more solitary than I thought. Some males take up solitary lives. Females live alone, unless mating and/or raising cubs. And females ignore each other.
And they do make territories. Usually the groups of males make a territory, which they wander and follow prey animals through year after year. They usually follow the same paths year after year, following the animals. The females are ignored, unless mating time, but if another male intrudes, the cats go wild on it. Single males are usually pretty gentle (hey, they back away from vultures taking their lunch!). The group of males are usually healthier than singles, since they get more food (and bigger, because the coalitions [groups] go after bigger prey sometimes).
Speaking of food, Cheetahs only have fresh kills. And it has to be kills that they do. This fact makes them less likely to fall into traps, since they ignore the bait. But once they're full, someone else has the leftovers. And when's there's more than one cat eating, they eat in a star pattern around the kill, so there's no fighting while eating over the meat.
These cats have chests bigger than usual, and longer legs than usual. Also, they aren't all completely spotted... the spots merge to become rings on the tails before the white puff at the end. They also have manes, but not as visible or big as lions, and it doesn't go around the head like a lion. And each cheetah's spots is unique to that cat. Cool!
Their speed and hunting techniques make them more successful at hunting than any other cat. 1/2 of their hunting attempts work! (The book said that other cats only get 1/3 of their hunts to work). Of course, they have predator and food-stealing problems... And they don't need to drink water as much! They get most of it from their meals, though they stop once in a while to take a drink from a watering hole. But they can go up to 10 days without taking a drink!!!
Momma also does a lot of cub-moving when little, since litters are open to attack. The cubs' "honey badger" disguise helps hide them as well as protect them with the whole "look-like-a-honey-badger" trick. They're helpless as first, but grow up. They crawl and open their eyes about a week or so after birth. Cubs also play a lot when not learning from Momma (when they're following her about 3 months later). Momma sometimes joins in the fun. They leave around 18 months old, and Momma goes to try and get pregnant again. When ready, their pee smells funny (so males can tell they're ready when they smell it), and they try with males. If fail, they're ready again in only 10 days! Litters can go up to 8 cubs and can be sometimes one cub, though 3-4 is the average amount for a litter.
Of course, they're in danger. The book listed the usual stuff: farmers, poachers, habitat loss, and ranchers. But it told why the zoo thing is hard... genetics! There used to be around three species of cheetah, but most got wiped out somehow. So all cheetahs alive are pretty genetically similar... which means less adaptable to change. This makes things harder, as well as breeding habits. Females usually mate with the strongest in the territory, but zoos makes things limited. Study of cheetahs is making things easier.
And for poaching, some people are getting farmers and ranchers to use dogs for protections. The big dogs, with big barks sometimes, scare off cheetahs, and protect the animals. Kids are also helping in many different ways.
Some people (the book I read did) call cheetahs the most elegant of cats. They're very popular. And have been for ages... even ancient Egyptians kept them as pets (a gold Cheetah artifact was found in Tutankhamen's [sp?] tomb), and made artifacts looking like them. And they were used in sports too, and as helpers in hunting. In one sport, a blindfolded cheetah was led into an arena where a gazelle was grazing. The blindfold came off, and the resulting hunt entertained many people (since the Cheetah went after the gazelle). Cheetahs are many people's favorite... and work is being done to save them, since they're so much in trouble (in danger of going extinct!). There's many programs and breeding programs that are good. And even Kids are taking part in whatever way to help, by joining programs and such. And some adults are helping too!
Oh, and all cats, even housecats, belong to one family: the Felidae. The Cheetah's scientific name is Acinonyx jubatus. (Names copied from the book: Nature Watch: Cheetahs Revised Edition by Dianne M. MacMillan).
Oh, and there was one cool picture in the book of a cheetah stretching (that's how they start their day according to the book), and it looked like it was doing the yoga pose Downward Dog! Cool! They rest during the hot parts of the day, and usually sleep in one place during the night.
Skunks
We all know that skunks spray a stinky smell, and apparently tomato juice takes it out. Turns out skunks spray when scared... bright lights, loud noises, enemies, and bigger creatures do the job, and then they spray. They sleep under houses sometimes.
Lamas
While Lamas live in zoos, they also hang out up in the mountains. Their strong, padded feet help them climb... and they're apparently fast creatures. They're strong too... for ages, they've been used to carry stuff, similar to what donkeys do. They have long necks. They hum for their sound. It's fun to hear Linda the Lama from Go Diego Go hum... "HUM! HUM!"
Armadillos
Armadillos have hard shells, usually from protection. In Go Diego Do, they say that the armadillos are frightened of Maned Wolves. Armadillos roll up in a ball sometimes. They can use this to roll too. They're also good diggers... their claws are made for digging!
And I got an extra from How It's Made to boot!
Extra
Fishing flies was the subject. But it was different this time... instead of in a factory, we watched one guy make a fishing fly! Guess fishing flies are factory material! But when used right (and moved realistically) they help catch some fishies!
It was cool watching the dude. A lot of string and string-like material went into it. There was a lot of wrapping and looping with a wax (sticky) string. Different materials, natural and synthetic, go into making fishing flies. Plastics, furs, feathers, and metals are used. Usually, they're "usually dyed bright colors" (How It's Made).
Flies have to imitate their subjects (little fish and bugs) to fool the fishies. I actually got some animal facts too... trout eat a certain moth's pupa when the pupa rise to the surface of the water and spread their wings. This causes air bubbles. Fly-makers use shiny string to make the illusion of these bubbles. To make wings, a material (in the show, deer guard hair) was put into a hair stacker, which was shaken, to evenly align the hairs. Some extra hair was left on the fly then needed to make the head.
Today, got some spare froggie facts from Seseame (sp?) Street, in the part called Elmo's World. They showed some frogs to go with it, which was cool.
Frogs
Frogs live in many places... trees, ponds, apartments (as pets usually), woods, and even deserts! We all know they start out in water as tadpoles (tadpoles live in water after hatching in water), then grow legs and stuff, and then leave the water as frogs. But get this... tadpoles have gills! Frogs have different colors. Some of them, usually the bright colors, are warnings to other animals to leave them be. Some are for camouflage. There are big frogs and small frogs... there's one that's small as a penny! WOW!
Then I read a book, and got more data on Cheetahs, though a lot was the same.
Cheetahs
Apparently, these cats can be more solitary than I thought. Some males take up solitary lives. Females live alone, unless mating and/or raising cubs. And females ignore each other.
And they do make territories. Usually the groups of males make a territory, which they wander and follow prey animals through year after year. They usually follow the same paths year after year, following the animals. The females are ignored, unless mating time, but if another male intrudes, the cats go wild on it. Single males are usually pretty gentle (hey, they back away from vultures taking their lunch!). The group of males are usually healthier than singles, since they get more food (and bigger, because the coalitions [groups] go after bigger prey sometimes).
Speaking of food, Cheetahs only have fresh kills. And it has to be kills that they do. This fact makes them less likely to fall into traps, since they ignore the bait. But once they're full, someone else has the leftovers. And when's there's more than one cat eating, they eat in a star pattern around the kill, so there's no fighting while eating over the meat.
These cats have chests bigger than usual, and longer legs than usual. Also, they aren't all completely spotted... the spots merge to become rings on the tails before the white puff at the end. They also have manes, but not as visible or big as lions, and it doesn't go around the head like a lion. And each cheetah's spots is unique to that cat. Cool!
Their speed and hunting techniques make them more successful at hunting than any other cat. 1/2 of their hunting attempts work! (The book said that other cats only get 1/3 of their hunts to work). Of course, they have predator and food-stealing problems... And they don't need to drink water as much! They get most of it from their meals, though they stop once in a while to take a drink from a watering hole. But they can go up to 10 days without taking a drink!!!
Momma also does a lot of cub-moving when little, since litters are open to attack. The cubs' "honey badger" disguise helps hide them as well as protect them with the whole "look-like-a-honey-badger" trick. They're helpless as first, but grow up. They crawl and open their eyes about a week or so after birth. Cubs also play a lot when not learning from Momma (when they're following her about 3 months later). Momma sometimes joins in the fun. They leave around 18 months old, and Momma goes to try and get pregnant again. When ready, their pee smells funny (so males can tell they're ready when they smell it), and they try with males. If fail, they're ready again in only 10 days! Litters can go up to 8 cubs and can be sometimes one cub, though 3-4 is the average amount for a litter.
Of course, they're in danger. The book listed the usual stuff: farmers, poachers, habitat loss, and ranchers. But it told why the zoo thing is hard... genetics! There used to be around three species of cheetah, but most got wiped out somehow. So all cheetahs alive are pretty genetically similar... which means less adaptable to change. This makes things harder, as well as breeding habits. Females usually mate with the strongest in the territory, but zoos makes things limited. Study of cheetahs is making things easier.
And for poaching, some people are getting farmers and ranchers to use dogs for protections. The big dogs, with big barks sometimes, scare off cheetahs, and protect the animals. Kids are also helping in many different ways.
Some people (the book I read did) call cheetahs the most elegant of cats. They're very popular. And have been for ages... even ancient Egyptians kept them as pets (a gold Cheetah artifact was found in Tutankhamen's [sp?] tomb), and made artifacts looking like them. And they were used in sports too, and as helpers in hunting. In one sport, a blindfolded cheetah was led into an arena where a gazelle was grazing. The blindfold came off, and the resulting hunt entertained many people (since the Cheetah went after the gazelle). Cheetahs are many people's favorite... and work is being done to save them, since they're so much in trouble (in danger of going extinct!). There's many programs and breeding programs that are good. And even Kids are taking part in whatever way to help, by joining programs and such. And some adults are helping too!
Oh, and all cats, even housecats, belong to one family: the Felidae. The Cheetah's scientific name is Acinonyx jubatus. (Names copied from the book: Nature Watch: Cheetahs Revised Edition by Dianne M. MacMillan).
Oh, and there was one cool picture in the book of a cheetah stretching (that's how they start their day according to the book), and it looked like it was doing the yoga pose Downward Dog! Cool! They rest during the hot parts of the day, and usually sleep in one place during the night.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Animal Central: Leopards (Plus an Extra on Animation)
Today, read a book on series I liked, and got data on leopards.
Leopards
Some of it, it was the usual stuff on big cats that I'm bored of. You know... they're solitary creatures with territories. Female territories are smaller than male's, and males' territories overlap females. When cubs are three months old, they follow Mom and learn to hunt. Cubs leave Momma when they're 2 years old. They face all the same threats as other big cats: territories being destroyed, killed by humans (ranchers when they hunt livestock and/or people for food because natural prey's short), killed for their furs, and some of their body parts are part of traditional Asian medicine, so they're hunted for that too. And it's illegal to hunt them to boot. People are trying to help them too.
Some stuff, however, was new. Leopards have ringed spots called rossettes (sp?). They're small cats, but some of the strongest. Get this... they drag their prey up trees sometimes to make sure that dinner's all theirs. Talk about strong, and pretty clever! Of course, they have to deal with lions and hyenas for lunch.
Leopards live in a lot of places (grasslands, forests, deserts, and mountains), and they eat a ton of stuff, from insects to even baby giraffes! Their fur also differs on their places, though most have spots. The black leopard (also called the black panther) is the exception.
There are 3 species called leopard. Each of these is a separate species. While leopards are good with trees in general, the cloud leopard spends a lot of time there. It even hunts from trees, bouncing down from up high onto the prey it's been waiting for. It also has the biggest canine teeth of all the cats. Snow leopards, meanwhile, have paws that have extra fur and act like snowshoes (so they don't sink), extra-long tails that sometimes are used like scarves, and bigger nostrils that scientists think help the leopard get more oxygen in their higher, mountain homes.
Momma has 3 cubs. For the first three months, they hide while Momma hunts. When they're following Momma, Momma keeps her tail up so her cubs can follow the white fur at the tip of her tail (and, therefore, follow her).
Extra
Another How It's Made, another cool sight.
This time, I saw how animation was done. There was a lot more done on paper than I thought, like making the characters and backgrounds. Then a lot's done on computer, like making the characters move. They first make a skeleton figure on the computer, and then make the character around it. Of course, they have to make the characters around it. A lot of complicated computer programs go into everything. And matching mouth movements to talking can take months. And get this: it can take a whole year to make a 24 minute show! Wow! And, from one scene I saw, the voice actors can see their characters while they're doing the recording (the sound-matching thing takes special programs too). Oh, and before making the final thing, they make a rough version of the show they can play around with and make better.
Leopards
Some of it, it was the usual stuff on big cats that I'm bored of. You know... they're solitary creatures with territories. Female territories are smaller than male's, and males' territories overlap females. When cubs are three months old, they follow Mom and learn to hunt. Cubs leave Momma when they're 2 years old. They face all the same threats as other big cats: territories being destroyed, killed by humans (ranchers when they hunt livestock and/or people for food because natural prey's short), killed for their furs, and some of their body parts are part of traditional Asian medicine, so they're hunted for that too. And it's illegal to hunt them to boot. People are trying to help them too.
Some stuff, however, was new. Leopards have ringed spots called rossettes (sp?). They're small cats, but some of the strongest. Get this... they drag their prey up trees sometimes to make sure that dinner's all theirs. Talk about strong, and pretty clever! Of course, they have to deal with lions and hyenas for lunch.
Leopards live in a lot of places (grasslands, forests, deserts, and mountains), and they eat a ton of stuff, from insects to even baby giraffes! Their fur also differs on their places, though most have spots. The black leopard (also called the black panther) is the exception.
There are 3 species called leopard. Each of these is a separate species. While leopards are good with trees in general, the cloud leopard spends a lot of time there. It even hunts from trees, bouncing down from up high onto the prey it's been waiting for. It also has the biggest canine teeth of all the cats. Snow leopards, meanwhile, have paws that have extra fur and act like snowshoes (so they don't sink), extra-long tails that sometimes are used like scarves, and bigger nostrils that scientists think help the leopard get more oxygen in their higher, mountain homes.
Momma has 3 cubs. For the first three months, they hide while Momma hunts. When they're following Momma, Momma keeps her tail up so her cubs can follow the white fur at the tip of her tail (and, therefore, follow her).
Extra
Another How It's Made, another cool sight.
This time, I saw how animation was done. There was a lot more done on paper than I thought, like making the characters and backgrounds. Then a lot's done on computer, like making the characters move. They first make a skeleton figure on the computer, and then make the character around it. Of course, they have to make the characters around it. A lot of complicated computer programs go into everything. And matching mouth movements to talking can take months. And get this: it can take a whole year to make a 24 minute show! Wow! And, from one scene I saw, the voice actors can see their characters while they're doing the recording (the sound-matching thing takes special programs too). Oh, and before making the final thing, they make a rough version of the show they can play around with and make better.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Interesting Stuff: Random Tibbits From Off-Days, Cheetahs, and How Wine's Made In Factories Tibbits
The last two days were my off-days. But I caught an interesting tibbet while the younger sibs were watching Wonderpets... camels make an "rrrrrrr" noise. I wouldn't say a growl, but "rrrrrrr" is the closest I can come to describing it. I also saw a cartoon version of a certain squid... I believe a king squid, but I'm not sure. What I found interesting there was the fact that the tentacles were on the top of the squid's head, not the bottom.
Today, I read a book on today's topic... Cheetahs!
Cheetahs
Cheetahs are another big cat, one that lives in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa. They're smaller than some big cats, but definitely the fastest. Their top speed of 70 miles per hour could zoom past a car! They can only sprint for short times, however... after about a minute, they're too tired to run. Prey can be lost this way. They eat small-medium prey, using their sharp eyesight to find that prey, even when it's 3 miles off! They usually go after prey, or look for prey, that can't run away as easily. Since they must rest after sprinting, they usually drag their prey to a hiding spot once they're done killing, and rest for 20 minutes to a half-hour. Once they're rested, they eat as fast as possible. Cheetahs can't defend themselves well, so if enemies come, they usually back off. If this happens with prey, the enemy usually ends up with what used to be the cheetah's planned lunch.
Now, there are some stuff that is shared with other cats. The fact that they're endangered, for example. And all the reasons are the same... habitat loss, killing by ranchers, illegal hunting for furs. And the fact that cubs are born about 3 months after mating, or that males and females get together only for breeding time.
But they're more different from other cats than one might think. They hunt during the day, usually morning and early evening, when the mid-day sun is not overcooking everything. They have cool "Tear lines" on their faces that scientists think help cheetahs deal with the sun. Cubs have "Mohawks" and gray fur for a couple months, which scientists think make them look like a creature called a honey badger (not to be dealed with), while camouflaging. And cheetahs are not solitary! Yeah, I know... NOT! There's a big split when the cubs are 18 months, but there's some sticking together. The same genders usually stick together (cubs hang with the females), and the male groups are usually brothers, though not always.
Cheetahs are hunters, with their sprints, but unlike all other big cats I've studied so far, they're not the top of the food chain. Lions and hyenas prey on these cats. And, like always, the cubs are at danger. Momma is continually moving and hiding the cubs to protect them. (The growing up of cubs is like usual, so I'm getting bored. Summarized: milk, eat meat from Momma, go on hunts, trained, then leaving or kicked off).
Cheetahs also don't have retractable claws. Their dog-like paws once had people thinking that cheetahs were part-cat, part-dog. Cheetahs have been used in hunts and their hunting techniques have been a show for centuries.
While we're talking about people, people are trying to help the cheetah (ranchers make their ranches reserves or try to just drive away cheetahs instead of killing), but it's not easy. Breeding cheetahs in zoos is not easy, and they only live 7-10 years in the wild. They're in big trouble!
Extra
Not on the animal topic, but something very interesting anyway. On a cool show called How It's Made, I saw how factories make wine. It was very cool.
We all know that wine comes from grapes. Yeast helps turn sugar into alcohol in a process called fermentation. Different wines have different fermentation times, red wine taking only 10 days, and white wines and a half-red-half-white wine taking even longer. The red wine is allowed contact with air to help speed up the fermentation process (apparently, oxygen helps the yeast with fermentation!). Everything is used in making red wines... all parts of the grape! Any pieces are filtered out later on. White wine only uses grape juice.
And, apparently, light affects wine tastes as well... that's why wine comes in colored bottles (interesting!). Extra oxygen also messes things up, so the seals are airtight... and, another cool fact, corks (made of wood bark) have been used to seal wine bottles for a long time! Neat! We all know that wine tastes different with times, apparently caused by "organic changes" (to quote the show).
Wine factories are experimenting all the time with different processes to try and get better wines. We saw a quick example of this. And, during the fermentation, tests must be done to measure sugar and alcohol content. Certain wines need certain alcohol amounts, though usually all have to have no sugar.
Today, I read a book on today's topic... Cheetahs!
Cheetahs
Cheetahs are another big cat, one that lives in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa. They're smaller than some big cats, but definitely the fastest. Their top speed of 70 miles per hour could zoom past a car! They can only sprint for short times, however... after about a minute, they're too tired to run. Prey can be lost this way. They eat small-medium prey, using their sharp eyesight to find that prey, even when it's 3 miles off! They usually go after prey, or look for prey, that can't run away as easily. Since they must rest after sprinting, they usually drag their prey to a hiding spot once they're done killing, and rest for 20 minutes to a half-hour. Once they're rested, they eat as fast as possible. Cheetahs can't defend themselves well, so if enemies come, they usually back off. If this happens with prey, the enemy usually ends up with what used to be the cheetah's planned lunch.
Now, there are some stuff that is shared with other cats. The fact that they're endangered, for example. And all the reasons are the same... habitat loss, killing by ranchers, illegal hunting for furs. And the fact that cubs are born about 3 months after mating, or that males and females get together only for breeding time.
But they're more different from other cats than one might think. They hunt during the day, usually morning and early evening, when the mid-day sun is not overcooking everything. They have cool "Tear lines" on their faces that scientists think help cheetahs deal with the sun. Cubs have "Mohawks" and gray fur for a couple months, which scientists think make them look like a creature called a honey badger (not to be dealed with), while camouflaging. And cheetahs are not solitary! Yeah, I know... NOT! There's a big split when the cubs are 18 months, but there's some sticking together. The same genders usually stick together (cubs hang with the females), and the male groups are usually brothers, though not always.
Cheetahs are hunters, with their sprints, but unlike all other big cats I've studied so far, they're not the top of the food chain. Lions and hyenas prey on these cats. And, like always, the cubs are at danger. Momma is continually moving and hiding the cubs to protect them. (The growing up of cubs is like usual, so I'm getting bored. Summarized: milk, eat meat from Momma, go on hunts, trained, then leaving or kicked off).
Cheetahs also don't have retractable claws. Their dog-like paws once had people thinking that cheetahs were part-cat, part-dog. Cheetahs have been used in hunts and their hunting techniques have been a show for centuries.
While we're talking about people, people are trying to help the cheetah (ranchers make their ranches reserves or try to just drive away cheetahs instead of killing), but it's not easy. Breeding cheetahs in zoos is not easy, and they only live 7-10 years in the wild. They're in big trouble!
Extra
Not on the animal topic, but something very interesting anyway. On a cool show called How It's Made, I saw how factories make wine. It was very cool.
We all know that wine comes from grapes. Yeast helps turn sugar into alcohol in a process called fermentation. Different wines have different fermentation times, red wine taking only 10 days, and white wines and a half-red-half-white wine taking even longer. The red wine is allowed contact with air to help speed up the fermentation process (apparently, oxygen helps the yeast with fermentation!). Everything is used in making red wines... all parts of the grape! Any pieces are filtered out later on. White wine only uses grape juice.
And, apparently, light affects wine tastes as well... that's why wine comes in colored bottles (interesting!). Extra oxygen also messes things up, so the seals are airtight... and, another cool fact, corks (made of wood bark) have been used to seal wine bottles for a long time! Neat! We all know that wine tastes different with times, apparently caused by "organic changes" (to quote the show).
Wine factories are experimenting all the time with different processes to try and get better wines. We saw a quick example of this. And, during the fermentation, tests must be done to measure sugar and alcohol content. Certain wines need certain alcohol amounts, though usually all have to have no sugar.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Animal Central: Random Facts
Okay, my younger sibs were watching Go Diego Go and Wonderpets yesterday, and I got a few tibbits (sp?). Most were basic review. But there were a few extra interesting tibbits...
-Pandas apparently make an "ee-ee" sound.
-Mice come in both brown and gray, some with mixes, and a brown Dada can have a gray kiddo.
-Penquins (sp?) honk.
-Pandas apparently make an "ee-ee" sound.
-Mice come in both brown and gray, some with mixes, and a brown Dada can have a gray kiddo.
-Penquins (sp?) honk.
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