Big Cat Case Study

Cats entered the New World on the Mayflower. A new breed called the American Shorthair was created. This tame cat would have been distinguishable from the wild cats by their color patterns, hair length, and size. The tame cat could help hunt for birds and rodents because they are hardy, tough, and athletic. It is also likely that the tame cat bred with the wild cats, so new breeds that had the characteristics of the wild ones entered the domestic stock. Cats were not always liked though. There were many superstitions about cats, which made people afraid of them. The cat became known as an indispensable pet for all the genuine witches. The black cat also became known as one of the symbols of Satan. These superstitions may have started because nightly, silent expeditions of feral cats, or their weird cries and shining eyes in the dark. So, cats have not always been accepted as a domestic pet.

A gravesite in Cyprus about 10,000 years ago contained remains of a wildcat with a human body. In the East about 10,000 year ago 600 million cats was traced back to five female species, the modern day cat is descended from their wild ancestor called Felis Silvestris Lybica. Cat breeds have been emerging for over 150 years, there is so many different kind of cat breeds. Almost every cat looks different in some way. “National academy of sciences study analyzed eight bones from at least two cats, the bones were found in Quanhucun, in China’s Shaanxi Province”(“Cats Were Domesticated At Least 5,300 Years Ago, Study Shows”). The main way of figuring out how far cats have been domesticated is by finding their bones. Finding the bones show everything you need to know about cats really. Researchers have found bones of multiple cats that they believed lived in Rural China with farmers to help catch mice, help around the

11. Explain how different defensive behaviors of animals help them to survive (ex: tightening of quills on a porcupine, making the body larger).

Some reasons being that they serve as a social support during difficult times, such as the loss of a loved one. Cats have been shown to help people get over their loss more quickly and relieve physical symptoms of pain, such as crying.

• Be able to use the terms variation, adaptation, natural selection, and evolution as they apply to this and

The first thing temple Grandin explains is that cats domesticated themselves because early human civilizations had lots of mice for the cats to eat and pray on. Then she explains that when cats were domesticated there brains got smaller and they purr even when they are adults also meow. The next big point that the author explains that cats are closer to their wild counterparts than any other animal which means that they can easily return to the wild than say dogs. Temple Grandin then explains that cats weren't domesticated when dogs were because early humans wanted something to protect them and the cat being small could fight like a dog could. Then she explains that domesticated cats do not look that much different from non domesticated cats. She says “They evolved some different coat colors, but most

Being natural predators, they would hunt rodents, which encouraged Middle Eastern farmers to keep them around. Grange explains that this set up could be dubbed as “mutually profitable for both sides” (qtd. in Saey). Also, as many cat owners know, cats typically mark their territory and stay in one place. Using this knowledge, scientists have drawn conclusions that cats were transported to Europe; they didn’t migrate there themselves. This idea is backed up with evidence from mitotypes. “European wildcats carried one mitotype. It’s called clade I. A 6,400-year-old Bulgarian cat and a 5,200-year-old Romanian cat had a different type of mitochondrial DNA. They both had mitotype IV-A” (Saey). These mitotypes are relative to location, so when cats in Africa were found with mitotypes previously only found in Egypt, it suggested that cats were being transported by people. Saey also brings up a valid point, “Thirty-two of 70 cats from Southwest Asia also had that mitotype. That rapid spread may indicate that sailors traveled with cats, some of which could have jumped ship to find a new

Unlike dogs, cats are said to have domesticated themselves. When humans started settling North America and farming land, cats came in and protected the crops from rodents. The humans saw that they were good so they fed and protected the cats (Carver). The humans also began to store crops, such as grain, and with storage, came rats. The cats were delighted by the great amounts of prey and the people appreciated cats even more (Zax).

Big cats species include lions, tigers, jaguars, cheetahs and many more. Big cat species exist in wide-ranging habitats including the savannas, tropical rain forests, mangrove swamps and boreal forests. The big cat populations are declining as the result of human threats. For the last thousands years, human populations are increasing at an unprecedented rate. The increase in human populations has caused the big cats population to encounter an ongoing poaching, loss of habitat, and pollutions.

2) Which hypothesis of inheritance, common at Darwin's time, caused many to question the ability of natural selection to bring about adaptation in populations?

As you are learning about different adaptations and interactions among living things. You and your partner will choose one animal from the options below and investigate the animal’s habitat and explain how the animal’s physical and behavioral adaptations help it survive in its particular environment. You will also describe how the animal interacts with other organisms and discuss how an increase or decrease in your animal’s population can potentially affect other animals in a similar environment.

Cats came to the United States from Europe. They came from Egypt before that, and they were treated very special in Egypt because one of their gods was a cat. This is when they got domesticated, which was almost 4,000 years ago. Even though they have been domesticated they still do what every living thing does. In order for cats to survive they must get energy, move and grow, adapt to the environment protect themselves and reproduce.

I started with a topic concerning how the company Pandora was influenced by Greek mythology, but quickly began to realize there was little information about it. I changed my topic to the domestication of cats and dogs. There was three times as much information on the second topic. I knew a little about the domestication of dogs and cats. I knew a major reason for the domestication of dogs was for hunting. I also knew that cats played a role as a companion. The last thing I knew beforehand was that both animals were bred with a tame mate to produce an even tamer offspring. I want to find out how cats were domesticated, and if there is another reason for their domestication.

Cats have been around for a long time, they have been worshipped, praised, and cared for like family. Originally, it didn’t start that way since unlike dogs they have not been domesticated yet nor were they ever domesticated since ancient times. It all started as a mutual friendship or a symbiosis relationship where both benefit from it. Depending where once origin lies it can be an alternative where cats were treated or depicted in legends and stories. In the end, it can be ambiguous that cats never were ruled by humans but more that cats ruled over humans, and they still do so today.

Scratching is an all natural cat behavior. Regrettably, often, cat owners who come to mind about the furniture will need the cat to become declawed. Most cat owners usually do not actually understand precisely what the implications of declawing their cat could be.