Persian Leopard

Persian leopard is the biggest subspecies of leopard. It is also one of the rarest. Also known as Iranian Leopard, it is found in scattered numbers in a number of countries extending from South Asia to Middle East, including some Central Asian states. A particularly strong animal, the Persian Leopard, Panthera Pardus Saxicolor, grows up to a height of near three feet and weighs as much as one hundred and fifty pounds, in case of healthy adult males.

Not much is documented about any unique physical attributes of this big cat. It is similar in appearance to other members of its species, with a tawny coat marked with rosettes. It has seldom been photographed in the wild and rarely studied in detail. As a result not much is known about its behavior, hunting and reproductive profile, though the leopard is known to prey upon a variety of animals including deer, goat, sheep, camel, dog, mule, wild boar and birds.

The elusive Persian Leopard resides in rugged mountainous terrains in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Georgia and Russia. It is a secretive animal like all leopards and is seldom seen in the wild. Residing in a combination of hilly and forested areas, it is a solitary feline that faces a variety of threats in its natural habitat and is struggling to survive in nature.

The splendid cat has had to withstand a lot over the years owing to the war torn conditions in its geographical range. This along with poaching for fur, prize hunting, poisoning, wild fires and habitat and prey loss has meant that there are fewer than thirteen hundred Persian Leopards in the wild today. Highest numbers are in Iran with around six to eight hundred animals reportedly existing. There are some conservation projects underway but the big cat is still endangered at the moment.

The author is a blogger about cats and an expert on Persian Leopard Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Omer_Ashraf

Wild Animal Intelligence is Often Hiding From View

It is always difficult to capture wild animal intelligence on film or in actual observation, but it is not impossible nor is it to be consider non-existent. Many times wild animals are caught and nurtured back to health when injured by humans and then set back free, during the minor periods of captivity they are taught new skills. Yet so often once back in the wild they do not teach their local grouping the skill or even their offspring. It does happen and has been documented, but still it is rare.

Much therefore is often hidden from view. And my point being that we do not see this in animals as it is hidden from view as well; Never the less, a study of them up close in the wild is of value. And if an animal is taught a skill by lets say a higher order mammal or being and they have little need for it having evolutionarily already solved that problem in their current living environment or habitat they will lose it if they do not use it and fail to teach it to their offspring as it is not needed.

But if the animal is creative it will take that skill and modify it for some other purpose and that is the point at which you could really say that that Wild Animal Intelligence is more than we think, as they will use the new skill if needed and it comes in handy for a particular purpose and will not use the new learned skill if it is not. And wouldn’t that be the smartest thing to do? Interesting indeed, now let’s take a potential scenario of a new learned skill of a wild animal in captivity.

For instance lets say you teach a Chimpanzee how to mow the lawn, well pretty cool and the Chimpanzee is intrigued by this and gets a kick out of it really, thinking it is funny and laughing at the process, while he or she gets a free banana. When you put them back into the wild let’s say, well there are no CCRs or neighbors telling them to cut the grass.

But perhaps they find a sharp object and think well, there are snakes down there and if we cut the grass back we can see them if they try to sneak up on us. So they cut the grass back. Now to some this may seem like a so what? Yet, in reality it shows quite a bit of planning and adaptation and this is a skill that would be passed on and not the skill of the operation of a modern day lawn mower or push mower, as there are no gasoline stations they can use, no electrical plug ins, no lawnmowers either. So in that regard although perhaps un-noteworthy to some, it is a sign of higher level thought, strategizing and planning, reasoning and creativity to problem solve. Interesting indeed, so consider this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

Animal Skill Learning And Creativity In And Out Of Their Natural Environment

Many researchers have noticed that you can train a wild animal to do something, like a shark, wolf, guerilla, tiger or Chimpanzee, but when they go back into the wild they simply dismiss the skill and do not bother to teach it to their wild companions. Yet some skills, which are of value to the animal they will teach their offspring and local social groupings if they can in fact be used in that natural environment.

Indeed, well I do not have a problem with this logic. And would add that once back in the wild, if the new skill proved useful then it most likely would be passed on through teaching and imitation [another animal trait perhaps associated with empathy and thus mirroring] and one should not necessarily assign intelligence to mirroring or copying, although a form of intelligence, original ideas seem more a sign of intelligence in that regard and then there is the creativity with problem solving which seems to be the big kicker which researchers find hard to judge at times.

Creativity in my opinion needs a better metric, as I often consider this having possession of so much myself and do not know why. What I find interesting in that is that creativity without action goes un-rewarded and is hard to measure. Thus you can have extremely creative people yet do not know it until you have a discussion [with animals we don’t as communication is difficult presently] and often in humans you find very creative let’s say introverts and introspectives, but until you look at their drawings, video game creations, writing, art and such you would never know. They are just regular people. Perhaps this thought is of value to you or someone you know. If so consider this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

Wild Life Prints

The process of capturing a perfect picture of any wild life scene requires knowledge and patience. It may take a photographer up to 10 days to get a regular shot of a rare animal in a natural setting. Wild life pictures are difficult to capture, and successful ones are the result of luck, expertise, patience, and courage. Wild life photographers usually make good use of the background by centralizing the focus of the frame on the subject.

Exotic animals are captured on camera, and once the prints are developed, the immense beauty of nature is reveled. Theses prints may be used for a variety of reasons. They sometimes are used by non-governmental organizations to promote their stand against poaching of endangered species or to publicize the ill effects of deforestation. The use of wild life prints extends to the zoo where they are depicted, to showcase the various animals that form part of our ecosystem. Wildlife prints are also a medium of education for young kids and prove to be an efficient tool in generating awareness among the younger generation.

Wild life prints are often seen in homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, and hospitals. They are sometimes enlarged and framed and used as wall hangings and desktop show pieces. Many collectors are fond of their wild life print collections and have been accumulating prints from various photographers in order to exhibit them at exhibitions, museums, and galleries.

A photographer has the option of sending the prints to the Society of Animal Artists, where they are evaluated and judged by a panel of artists to look for the authenticity and uniqueness of the picture. Based on these criteria, awards are presented that add value to the photographer?s career. Wild life prints can be easily ordered on the Internet or, alternatively, purchased from an art store. Most of the stores have a stock of wildlife prints as the demand for them is on an increase.

Prints provides detailed information on Digital Photo Prints, Prints, Art Prints, Print Shops and more. Prints is affiliated with Digital Art Schools.

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