Lioness

Lioness (Panthera leo)

A Lioness resting in her habitat at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, FL. This image was taken while on a Safari on a bumpy road in a truck, with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300 mm VC lens. The 28-300 is my go to lens for travel and for just walking around with no particular capture in mind. It's the perfect lens.

Lions (Panthera leo) are one of the five big cats second in size to the Tiger. They are called King of the Jungle for their beauty and strength. The males are easily recognized by their manes that surround their neck, head, and face, which protects them during fights with other males. The female has no mane and looks similar to Panthers. 

They are carnivores and their diet consists of other animals such as, Wildebeests, Giraffes, Buffalo, Hogs and sometimes Rhinos and Hippos. When food is scarce, they have been known to attack Elephants. They will also eat smaller animals occasionally. 

The Lion population has halved since the 50's and are considered vulnerable at this time. Their range is in southern and eastern Africa and the southern Sahara Desert. 

Lions are the only social member of the cat family and live in Prides with up to 15 related females or Lionesses with maybe 2 or 3 males. Males are territorial like most cats. Females do the hunting and will hunt in groups to ambush their prey. Lions inhabit grassy plains, savannahs, open woodlands and scrub country. This allows them to hunt stealthy and hide in the long grasses. 

Males grow to about 4 ft tall and 5-8 ft long. They weigh 330-500 lbs with females being a bit smaller. They live 10-14 yrs and have a top running speed of 50 mph for short distances.

Cheetah

Cheetah

The Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is one of the 5 big cats. They are carnivores that grow from 4 to 6 feet in length. Their tails are 25 to 31 inches. They weigh between 77 and 143 pounds.  They live 10-12 years. Their status is Vulnerable.

Cheetahs are the fastest land animals, and a record has recently been set at 100mph. Cheetahs can hit 0-60mph in 3 seconds. These cats are day hunters and blend easily into the tall grasses just before they sprint to catch their prey. They especially like Antelopes and Hares.

Cheetahs range in eastern and southern Africa.

Meet Tom-Tom

Tom-Tom

This is Tom-Tom. He is my son and daughter-in-law's cat. Tom-Tom is roughly 1-year old and is a rescue cat. He's part Maine Coon, and I wish this photo could show you his actual size. He's already 14 lbs! 

At first when I arrived, Donna told me he was kind of skittish but she felt that he'd warm up to me after a while. He stayed on the stairs while he gradually stuck his head just between the bars to sniff me. Little did Donna know, that I have a way with animals. Within 3 minutes I was petting him. I was there 10 days and most of the time he was following me around. 

What a cool cat! He plays catch with his paws. Joey throws dry food in the air, Tom-Tom stands on his hind feet and catches the food (providing it was a good throw) between his two front paws, then eats the food with one hand just like a parrot. It's so cute to see him do that. 

I'm going to miss this big guy...

Tom

Meet Tom. Tom is one of my grandchildren's cats. He had a partner, Jerry, who was recently run over by a car when he darted across the street. Now Tom is not allowed outside. We all thought the kids would be devastated by the accident; and they were--for a couple days. Mommy and Daddy explained that Jerry is up in heaven with Grandpa and Grandpa is taking care of him for them. They seem to be fine with that.

What's amazing is that their father doesn't especially like cats. He only agreed to allow the kids to have a cat after their Grandpa died to help them with their grieving. The one who's devastated the most is the kids' father. He's lost without that cat. It's amazing how an animal in the house can become a part of the family in no time at all.

I made this photo "just in case". It's too bad I wasn't able to make one of Jerry, but the cats are only a few months old, and I never met Jerry.

The kids love this photo, and since they have a link to Grammy's photo blog, I'm sure they'll be pleased to see Tom on it tonight.

This is for you all, Nick, Nathan, Noah, Austin and Alexis; Grammy loves you! XOXOXOXO