Carnivora - Tumblr Posts
QUICK PALEO FACT
Xenosmilus hodsonae (an early pleistocene sabrecat from Florida) has an absoloutely NASTY set of incisors. Its incisors were not only huge, but serrated. It also, apparently, has serrated carnassials.
(Illustrations by Massimo Molinero and Ville Sinkkonen respectively)
#Wolverine
Many babies Wolverines have been seen in the Grand Valley this season. They are cute but extremely dangerous and powerful. Any kids or small pets, cats or dogs, shouldn't be left outside unattended.
There is a strong smell of wild animal surfing around here, I wouldn't be surprised to see one of them.
#Wolverine
Many babies Wolverines have been seen in the Grand Valley this season. They are cute but extremely dangerous and powerful. Any kids or small pets, cats or dogs, shouldn’t be left outside unattended.
There is a strong smell of wild animal surfing around here, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of them.
A pair of brown hyena pups (Parahyaena brunnea) in Madikwe National Park, South Africa
by flowcomm
"Carvings"
2020
Tiger (Panthera tigris)
"The Real Baloo"
2019
Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus)
The Sloth Bear is most assuredly the bear that inspired Kipling's Baloo, yet he is not accurately depicted as such in any of the Jungle Book's screen adaptations (at least not that I know of). A shame, since that fur and those ears would make for quite a character.
"Once Upon A Time In India"
2020
Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) and Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
The meeting of our world's two supercats, the Tiger and the Lion, likely has not occurred in the wild for a couple of centuries, but it has stirred our collective imagination since antiquity, and continues to do so today. Though the historic range of Asiatic Lions did overlap with that of Caspian Tigers in parts Central Asia and the Middle East, and with Bengal Tigers in parts of India, I actually believe encounters and competition would have remained fairly limited by habitat preferences. The Tiger is essentially a forest predator, and the Lion prefers open, drier terrain. When they did meet, they would have done so in transitional zones, where grasslands and bushlands merged into dry forests.
A fight could go either way depending on each individual animal's size, fitness and temperament. But most historical and contemporary records, opinions of big cat experts, and my personal views, favor the larger, more powerful Tiger. In any case, I've always thought a bit silly to waste so much energy arguing over which animal would beat the other in a fight, as if they were dueling monsters in a movie or wrestling champions in an arena, and conservationists and experts tend to share in that view. There's a whole lot more that makes these animals amazing than just their fighting capabilities, and their coexisting in the wild is interesting beyond the question of who would win in a fight.
Though still threatened on many fronts, Bengal Tigers and Asiatic Lions have grown in numbers and are beginning to outgrow their sanctuaries in India, with one Tiger recently wandering into the state of Gujarat, the only place in the world where Asiatic Lions reside. Only the future will tell if this scene will one day happen again, or if it will remain a picture of the past.
"World Tiger Day"
2021
Tiger (Panthera tigris)
"World Leopard Day"
2022
Leopard (Panthera pardus)
I've always found leopards to be underrated. They may not be the biggest, or the most imposing, but they may be the most elegant, and they certainly are the most adaptable of the big cats.
"World Tiger Day"
2022
Tiger (Panthera tigris)
There's not much I can say about this animal that I haven't said already. The biggest, fairest, and most powerful cat on Earth-paradoxically also the most endangered: the mighty, incomparable Tiger.
"World Lion Day"
2022
Lion (Panthera leo)
"World Snow Leopard Day"
2022
Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)
"World Jaguar Day"
2022
Jaguar (Panthera onca)
"The King of Winter"
2022
Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)
Probably the best tiger I've made to date.
"Man-eater"
2024
Tiger (Panthera tigirs)
The Champawat Tiger was probably the most prolific killer in the history of man-eating animals. Before being shot down by Jim Corbett in 1907, she had killed some 436 people across two countries. Her two right canines had been broken off, which is probably why she stopped hunting her habitual prey and shifted to stalking human beings. Imagine the terror she inspired!
Something a bit different to commemorate World Tiger Day on Monday.