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Lions And Tigers And Bears: Zoo Animals
By:
Published: August 27, 2007
“Lions and tigers and bears, Oh my!” Anyone who has ever seen “The Wizard of Oz” knows that quote, and knows it is hard to blame Dorothy for being frightened. After all, these three are all large and potentially dangerous animals. They are also among the most popular of all zoo animals.
Everyone comes to the zoo to see their favorite zoo animals and for some reason the lions, tigers and bears always seem to draw a crowd. Of course, we go to see these zoo animals in captivity; running into any of them in the wild could be cause for concern.
It is no surprise lions are popular zoo animals, human beings have been marveled by lions since the dawn of man. The lions most people see being kept as zoo animals are African lions. Of the different breeds in the world, scientists are more familiar with African lions than any others. Besides the African lions that are zoo animals, there are somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 of them still in Africa. The less commonly known lions are Asian lions which used to call India and the Middle East home.
However, Asian lions are an endangered species and there are only around 250 of them left in the wild. The good news is there are around 200 Asian lions being kept as zoo animals, where they spend their days just kicking back and relaxing. Unlike other zoo animals from the cat family, the gender of a lion is very easy to determine. A female and male lion each have distinct features that are obviously noticeable; for example, most male lions have a large mane of golden fur around their heads.
Tigers are the other zoo animals that make up some of the distant brothers and sisters of the cat family. There are six different subspecies of tigers; Siberian, Indian, Indochinese, Malaysian, South China and Sumatran. The Malaysian tigers are quite popular zoo animals in the United States; there are actually a few of them living at the San Diego Zoo. The tigers still left in the wild roam free throughout parts of Asia, India and Russia.
Unfortunately, be it zoo animals or not, there are not many tigers left in the world. Research indicates there are less than 2,500 tigers alive today. Other tigers that have become recognized as zoo animals are the Sumatran tigers. At the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., there is a family of Sumatran tigers. The cubs, only three years old, weight between 140 and 180 pounds each, and those are the smallest subspecies of tigers! Besides the happy Sumatran tigers living at the zoo, there are less than 500 of them in the wild.
Bears are the largest, and some might say the most intimidating, of the zoo animals. Bears are also some of the only large mammals still alive and well-numbered in different regions of the world. In North America, the most common are brown bears, which prefer a forest or mountain highland climate. There are also the polar bears, made famous thanks to Coca-Cola. Polar bears live in tundra-like habitats in places such as Russia, Greenland and parts of North America. While brown bears are intimidating, polar bears are the tallest of the bear subspecies. There are a few polar bears today living at the San Diego Zoo where people can watch the zoo animals dine on a healthy diet that includes dog kibble, thawed rabbits and cow femurs.
While the San Diego Zoo has brown bears and polar bears, they are missing the other popular zoo animals from the bear family, panda bears. Fortunately, the Smithsonian National Zoo has two panda bears living there temporarily for 10 years, on loan from the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Panda bears live in damp forests throughout China at altitudes higher than 4,000 feet. Sadly, as with some of the other popular zoo animals, Panda bears are an endangered species. Not counting the 1,600 panda bears still in the wild, there are less than 160 panda bears that are zoo animals, most of which live in China.
It is depressing to know so many of these zoo animals are in danger of eventually becoming extinct. This is also why it is important to learn about these creatures and visit them at the zoo. While these great creatures still roam the earth, we continue to learn more about their individual ways of life. Scientists continue into the future to work on ways to save as many of these zoo animals as possible from extinction. One can only hope that their children and their grandchildren get the opportunity to see these incredible zoo animals; these lions, tigers and bears.
Sources:
"Giant Pandas." Smithsonian National Zoological Park. 23 Aug. 2007. http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/GiantPandas/.
"Great Cats." Smithsonian National Zoological Park. 23 Aug. 2007. http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/GreatCats/.
"Animal Bytes: Mammals." Zoological Society of San Diego. 23 Aug. 2007. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/a-mammal.ht ml.
It is no surprise lions are popular zoo animals, human beings have been marveled by lions since the dawn of man. The lions most people see being kept as zoo animals are African lions. Of the different breeds in the world, scientists are more familiar with African lions than any others. Besides the African lions that are zoo animals, there are somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 of them still in Africa. The less commonly known lions are Asian lions which used to call India and the Middle East home.
However, Asian lions are an endangered species and there are only around 250 of them left in the wild. The good news is there are around 200 Asian lions being kept as zoo animals, where they spend their days just kicking back and relaxing. Unlike other zoo animals from the cat family, the gender of a lion is very easy to determine. A female and male lion each have distinct features that are obviously noticeable; for example, most male lions have a large mane of golden fur around their heads.
Tigers are the other zoo animals that make up some of the distant brothers and sisters of the cat family. There are six different subspecies of tigers; Siberian, Indian, Indochinese, Malaysian, South China and Sumatran. The Malaysian tigers are quite popular zoo animals in the United States; there are actually a few of them living at the San Diego Zoo. The tigers still left in the wild roam free throughout parts of Asia, India and Russia.
Unfortunately, be it zoo animals or not, there are not many tigers left in the world. Research indicates there are less than 2,500 tigers alive today. Other tigers that have become recognized as zoo animals are the Sumatran tigers. At the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., there is a family of Sumatran tigers. The cubs, only three years old, weight between 140 and 180 pounds each, and those are the smallest subspecies of tigers! Besides the happy Sumatran tigers living at the zoo, there are less than 500 of them in the wild.
Bears are the largest, and some might say the most intimidating, of the zoo animals. Bears are also some of the only large mammals still alive and well-numbered in different regions of the world. In North America, the most common are brown bears, which prefer a forest or mountain highland climate. There are also the polar bears, made famous thanks to Coca-Cola. Polar bears live in tundra-like habitats in places such as Russia, Greenland and parts of North America. While brown bears are intimidating, polar bears are the tallest of the bear subspecies. There are a few polar bears today living at the San Diego Zoo where people can watch the zoo animals dine on a healthy diet that includes dog kibble, thawed rabbits and cow femurs.
While the San Diego Zoo has brown bears and polar bears, they are missing the other popular zoo animals from the bear family, panda bears. Fortunately, the Smithsonian National Zoo has two panda bears living there temporarily for 10 years, on loan from the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Panda bears live in damp forests throughout China at altitudes higher than 4,000 feet. Sadly, as with some of the other popular zoo animals, Panda bears are an endangered species. Not counting the 1,600 panda bears still in the wild, there are less than 160 panda bears that are zoo animals, most of which live in China.
It is depressing to know so many of these zoo animals are in danger of eventually becoming extinct. This is also why it is important to learn about these creatures and visit them at the zoo. While these great creatures still roam the earth, we continue to learn more about their individual ways of life. Scientists continue into the future to work on ways to save as many of these zoo animals as possible from extinction. One can only hope that their children and their grandchildren get the opportunity to see these incredible zoo animals; these lions, tigers and bears.
Sources:
"Giant Pandas." Smithsonian National Zoological Park. 23 Aug. 2007. http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/GiantPandas/.
"Great Cats." Smithsonian National Zoological Park. 23 Aug. 2007. http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/GreatCats/.
"Animal Bytes: Mammals." Zoological Society of San Diego. 23 Aug. 2007. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/a-mammal.ht ml.
