Animal Profile: Big Cats

I made a decision, today.  I have decided to start a sort of animal profile series.  Sometimes these profiles will be on one specific animal with their name, age, location, etc.  Sometimes -- like today -- it will be on a particular species or group; or a hybrid of the two.
Today, we are going to discuss big cats.  Despite being predators, big cats are quickly becoming endangered. 

Tiger

Tigers, for example, are the biggest of all the cats and pretty bad ass, I must say.  Tigers, however, are also endangered.  In places like Thailand, tigers have been hunted to the brink of extinction and are also now being farmed.  Like all of the big cats, they are hunted for parts.

Snow Leopard

Snow Leopards are indigenous to Asia.  As of now, there are only about 6,000 left in the wild.  They too are being hunted to extinction for their thick fur and organs.  As part of the black market dealing in big cat parts, the organs are used in medicines.  The rest of the parts are sold as decoration, souvenirs, and trophies of masculinity.

African Lion

The African lion is a social animal -- unlike many other big cats which are solitary -- and they are classified as vulnerable -- meaning not yet endangered.  They live in a family unit where the male, being very protective of his pride, watches over his women and cubs. 

Mountain Lion

There is a type of big cat indigenous to the area where I live.  The Mountain Lion.  Also called the puma, cougar, and catamount, this endangered cat is extremely territorial and is always on the lookout for invaders.  They inhabit all of South America and the most western part of the United States.  Mountain Lions used to inhabit all of the United States.  Now, the only other Mountain Lions are the endangered Florida panthers; hunters wiped them out of the mid west and eastern United States.

In California, we are vigilantly informed about the dangers of Mountain Lions.  Whenever there is a drought, the Mountain Lions prey population grows thin and there is little water.  This causes the lions to come down out of the Mountains and hills into cities and towns.  They have also been known to attack hikers during these times of starvation.  When this happens, people cry for justice and chaos ensues.  Everyone acts like we're all in danger of being eaten by lions.  Yes, lions are dangerous.  They're hunters.  Predators.  Carnivores.  They, however, occupy a different habitat from ours.  The only time they enter into our habitat is when something has happened to damage theirs or there is no food and/or water. 

The reason they usually have to leave their own environment is because of us.  We pollute their air which has led to climate change.  This causes droughts, floods, and extreme changes in weather.  We are the big cats primary predator.  We destroy their homes, hunt them for their pelts and parts, and create conditions that disenfranchise them.

National Geographic has a campaign called Cause An Uproar.  To Learn more about this campaign to save big cats, please click the link above.  Also, watch the trailer for The Last Lions.  For every view, National Geographic will give $0.10 to lion conservation; all you have to do is take 1 minute and 51 seconds of your life and listen to Jeremy Irons (Scar from The Lion King) as he narrates this stunning film.  For all of the effort it will take you, watch it over and over again.

Whether or not you find big cats scary or vicious is irrelevant.  They are part of this planet just as much as we are and they have every right to live.  Like us, they are mothers, fathers, and children.  They socialize.  They mate.  They eat.  They sleep.  They protect.  They feel pain.  They show fear.  They play.  They get excited.  They mourn.  They may not possess as high a level of brain function as we do but they are still living beings that feel.  Listen to the people who study these amazing animals and work with them in sanctuary's.  Like our pets that we all love so much, these animals have personalities and idiosyncrasies that make them unique.  They are not things.  They are individuals.  They're all different; just like we are.

So, help big cats.  They have as much of a right to live on this planet as we do.  OH!  And sign the petition for sled dogs at the bottom of my blog.