http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetr...book-Share 
 
Between the later part of the Triassic and the very end of the Cretaceous, the seas of the world (and some of its rivers, lakes and estuaries as well) were inhabited by the remarkable group of swimming reptiles known as the plesiosaurs.

Zoos. A controversial topic discussed thoroughly by many with both sides having very valid arguments which are well known. So I present a very simple question, are you for or against zoos? Or stuck in a cross road? Please explain your choice below.

For a bit more insight into the perspective of each side: http://animalrights.about.com/od/animals...t-Zoos.htm

The Congo lion or Northeast Congo lion (Panthera leo azandica), also known as Uganda lion, was proposed as a lion subspecies from northeastern D.R. Congo and western parts of Uganda.


The lion sub species is the The Northeast Congo Lion (Panthera Leo Azandica)
Transcript of Northeast Congo Lion
History
The Northeast Congo Lion has been around since 120,000 years ago, which was when scientists estimated that the lion subspecies had diverged from a common ancestor. They now live in the Congo, but it is unlikely that they had originated there.
Northeast Congo Lion
(Panthera Leo Azandica)
Coloring
As with other subspecies of lion, these lions are typically one solid color; a light brown, or a form of goldish yellow. The coloring gets lighter as it descends from their back to their feet. Male's manes are a darker shade of gold or brown, and their mane is noticeable thicker and longer than the rest of the fur on their body.

"Basic Facts About Congo Lions." Defenders of Wildlife. N.p., 20 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.

Bradford, Alina. "Lions: Facts & Information." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 02 Oct. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.











Tree Climbing Lions of Uganda


Tree-climbing lion, Ishasha sector of the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda.

(Photo Copyright © Alexander Krivenyshev, WorldTimeZone.com)

More on the Tree-Climbing LIons in Uganda




The Real Lion King: Photographing a Regal Male Lion in Uganda



*This image is copyright of its original author

I recently spent a few days in Kidepo Valley National Park, a remote reserve in the North of Uganda that borders South Sudan and Kenya.



*This image is copyright of its original author

I hadn’t been in the Valley long when I met the resident male lion, a handsome chap known as “Spartacus”. It was late in the afternoon and the light was beautiful, but he was in long grass and I couldn’t get a clear shot. Over to my right was a beautiful kopje (a small hill) and I thought it would be an incredible shot if he sat on top of it. Well, he must have heard my thoughts because the next thing I knew, he was up and heading in that direction.


*This image is copyright of its original author

I willed him to keep going and I was pinching myself as he started to climb. He sat himself down exactly where I had hoped and then looked at me with his regal gaze. I couldn’t believe my luck! It is so rare that a wild animal actually does what you want it to! In front of me was a scene straight out of the Lion King…


*This image is copyright of its original author

After I had the front-lit shot, I moved round to silhouette him as the sun went down behind the distant mountains. It was a thrilling welcome to the Kidepo Valley!


*This image is copyright of its original author

I didn’t see Spartacus again after this encounter, but the “Lion King” photo above went viral online.






A lion has been spotted in Gabon for the first time in nearly 20 years, raising hopes the animals long feared extinct in the country could be returning, conservationists said on Thursday.

Lions used to roam Central Africa in their hundreds in the middle of the last century. But the population has fallen sharply due to poaching and loss of habitat."


"Hidden cameras planted as part of a chimpanzee study in southeastern Gabon's Bateke Plateau have captured on tape a single male lion three times since January, said Dr. Philipp Henschel, Lion Program Survey Coordinator for campaign group Panthera.

"I couldn't believe it. As soon as I could, I went there to set up more cameras," he told Reuters by phone from Libreville, adding that a new study was being launched in the hope of finding more of the big cats.

Lions are known to live a few hundred kilometers (miles) away in Democratic Republic of Congo and Henschel said the animal could have swum across the Congo river, one of the world's largest, and traveled over to Gabon's savannah."

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gabon-...I720150312


http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/02/africa/gab...irst-lion/

Back in 2013, I've traveled down to South Africa to visit my mother's relatives for the summer vacation. Within my stay there, I went to the Rhino and Lion Game Park as well as a private owner's sanctuary. 

I was only 15 at the time, but that trip was definitely the event that got my interest in non-arctic creatures and thus, both the WildFact and Carnivora forums.

I will provide a few pictures of my visit to these two parks:

Based on the documentary you've all probably seen, I present to you 4 future scenarios in which you decide which big cats will survive/thrive, and which will go extinct in each one and why.

The 4 future scenarios are:

- A Water World

- An Ice World

- A Desert World

- A Jungle World




There is not too much more to it but yeah, I'd like to hear your guys' opinions on this

Within historic times, the lion is unique in the fact that he is a social predator. We can sometimes witness some amount of group cooperation among other big cats but nothing to compare with a pride of lions. My question is: What big cats of the distant past were group-hunters and what evidence do we have?

Jaguars from Rio Bravo Conservation area, Belize. 

Programme from Belize:
"A Jaguar wonders in front of our motion camera. Photo taken at Hill Bank Field Station." 

*This image is copyright of its original author

"Jaguar on the road. Photo taken at Hill Bank Field Station by motion camera."

*This image is copyright of its original author

"Jaguar on the RBCMA (Rio Bravo Conservation & Management Area). photo taken by motion camera set in place by Ms Marcella Kelly."

As some of you know, I'm leaving to go on safari this upcoming Sept. I'll be going through the Serengeti and finishing at the Ngorongoro Crater. (East Africa)

I'd like to know of any specific individual lions I should keep an eye out for, I don't really see any threads on lion pride names or coalitions throughout that area, can anyone help me with this?
Thanks

I wanted to start a thread where unknown tiger pictures will be posted. After they are recognized from which location they are, then they will be shifted to appropriate sections, others will stay here as far as they are recognized. I had this idea much before but started it now. In this way everyone can solve their doubts and can save the pictures in appropriate sections. Hope all will understand about the notion of this thread. Here are tigers from different national parks but i do not know excatly which national park they belong to. Can anyone please say which national park they belong to?









Found - http://wildfact.com/forum/topic-unknown-...1#pid24561

 




Found - http://wildfact.com/forum/topic-unknown-...2#pid24782

This question has been long engrained within my mind for quite a while now, so I decided to ask it here.

Most humans will automatically assume that they are the most intellegent species, but I do not agree. While we are quite high up the scale in terms of some forms of intelligence, other animals (even primative mollusks and arachnids) can be quite intellegent in other forms.

Most carnivores know how to use their environment to determine how their hunt will go, as well as what physical action they will take to get that prey, and for how long of an estimated time to acquire it.

We, on the other hand, know how to control (or corrupt) financial and societal systems according to our needs (or the government's needs, in most cases.) We also have ones who know how to make weaponry based on their environmental needs, and have ample knowledge of how to physically disarm the human body (all other animals have this knowledge for their own kind too). 

Social animals such as us, other primates, and lions know how to use numbers to their advantage, and to create a sort of hierarchy in order to not cause each individual member of the group (or pride) to assume the wrong position.

Heck, octopuses have been shown to escape out of closed aquariums and even count!

I think this topic is quite an interesting one. My postulate is to say that all animals (at least the non-insectoid ones) are different in how they express their intellegence, one not more or less than the other in total intellegence levels. It is one that should be discussed with scientific research and anecdotal evidence, if any.