Film
Vocabulary
- Africa: Continent of the eastern
hemisphere South of the Mediterranean & adjoining
Asia on Northeast. Area 11,677,239 square miles
- Asia: Continent of the eastern hemisphere
North of equator forming a single landmass with Europe
- Binocular: Eyes positioned on the
front of the face giving felines the ability to focus
both eyes on a single object.
- Carnivore: any of an order (Carnivora)
of typically flesh eating mammals that includes cats,
dogs, foxes, bears, raccoons; broadly: a carnivorous
animal.
- Crepuscular: Most active at dawn
in the early morning and at dusk before sunset. (Found
on Cheetah page)
- Cub: A young carnivorous mammal (as
a bear, fox, or lion).
- Diet: Typical natural food substance
for an animal. Felines are known to gorge on their prey,
sometimes consuming 40-60 pounds of food at one time
and then fasting until the next opportunity arises. This "Feast
or Famine" method of eating and survival is prevalent
throughout the feline animal kingdom.
- Desert: Arid land with usually sparse
vegetation; especially such land having a very warm climate
and receiving less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of
sporadic rainfall annually.
- Diurnal: Most active during the daytime
rather than at night.
- Ecosystem: A community of organisms
and the physical environment in which they interact.
- Ecotourism: Economic revenue generated
by tourists who travel to a particular region to visit
areas abundant in wildlife within beautiful geographic
settings.
- Endemic: Species restricted or peculiar
to a locality or region.
- Extinct: No longer existing.
- False Eyes: Natural camouflage in
animals giving the depiction of "eyes". In
cats, particularly on the back of the ears. Most cat
species are equipped with this natural disguise to confuse
predators and reduce vulnerability. Nature has given
many animals this protective feature including many species
of butterflies, fish, lizards and mammals.
- Feline: Of or relating to the cat
family. Any of the 36 species of cats that live in the
world today. Felines live in a wide variety of habitats
and geographic ranges and most are crepuscular or nocturnal
depending upon their habitat. All felines are carnivorous
predators.
- Food Chain: A sequence of organisms
each depending on the next in the survival sequence as
a source of food. A food chain with a cougar at the top
of the chain might be for example: Grasses, Deer, Cougar.
- Forest: Forest biomes are dominated
by trees and shrub growth, otherwise forest biomes can
vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- Habitat: The natural home of an organism.
The area in which the animal is naturally found, the
region in which it is endemic.
- Gestation: The process of being carried
in the womb. In biological terms a gestation period is
the time between conception and birth.
- Middle East: The countries of Southwest
Asia and North Africa - usually considered as including
the countries extending from Libya on the West to Afghanistan
on the East.
- Nocturnal: Active at night.
- Olfactory/Olfaction: Pertaining to
the sense of smell. Olfaction is used to hunt prey but
primarily to communicate with other felines in the area.
- Predator: An animal that feeds on
other animals. Felines are predators based on vulnerability
typically stalking prey, moving in closely and then attacking
from behind.
- Prey: Any animal taken by a predator
as food. Prey for the larger cats ranges anywhere from
65-2,000 lbs which typically includes wild boars, cattle
and several species of deer. Hares (a type of rabbit)
comprise much of the Lynx diet and weigh significantly
less.
- Pride: A group or family members
of lions.
- Pug Mark: An indentation print of
the cat's foot leaving its impression and scent marking
along its territory bounds.
- Purr: A low vibratory murmur typically
emitted by cats as a sign of a contentment or pleasure.
- Retractable: As pertains to felines
claws: to draw back or in <cats retract their
claws>
- Savanna: (Alternate sp: Savannah)
A tropical or subtropical grassland containing scattered
trees and drought-resistant undergrowth.
- Sexual Dimorphism: Differences in
physical characteristics due to gender. Example: Male
tigers are much larger than female tigers…. In
all these feline species size is a sexually dimorphic
characteristic. In Mallard ducks, feather coloration
is a sexually dimorphic characteristic.
- Siberia: Region of North Asia in
Russia extending from the Urals to the Pacific roughly
coextensive with Russia.
- Species: Plants or animals with clearly
defined characteristics that can interbreed and produce
viable (non sterile) offspring.
- Subspecies: A subdivision of a species.
A category in biological classification that ranks immediately
below a species. Plants or animals that genetically belong
to a particular species but are distinct in geographic
area, culture or minor physical variation.
- Taxonomy: General principles of orderly
scientific classification as pertains to animals and
plants according to their presumed natural relationships.
- Territory: Range of an animal. For
felines this includes den site, prey range and is well
defined with visual and olfactory boundary identifying
markings including urine scenting, claw markings leaving
scent gland secretions and fecal droppings. The territory
area is occupied and defended by those animals making
claim to its bounds.
- Tundra: A level or rolling treeless
plain that is characteristic of arctic and subarctic
regions, consists of black mucky soil with a permanently
frozen subsoil, and has a dominant vegetation of mosses,
lichens, herbs, and dwarf shrubs.
- Vocalization: To communicate making
sounds to make presence known or establish whereabouts
of other members of the group or to claim territory.
(Found on Cheetah page)
- Yukon: (Also: Canadian Yukon) Territory
in Northwest Canada between Alaska & British Columbia
bordering on Arctic Ocean. Area 205,345 square miles
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