Temperate forest
Temperate forests occur in eastern North America, northeastern Asia, and western and central
Europe. Well-defined seasons with a distinct winter characterize this forest biome. Moderate
climate and a growing season of 140-200 days during 4-6 frost-free months distinguish
temperate forests.
From left: Wisconsin woods; a forest along California's north coast; the forested hills of the Adirondacks, New York.
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Temperature varies from -30° C to 30° C.
Precipitation (75-150 cm) is distributed evenly throughout the year.
Soil is fertile, enriched with decaying litter.
Canopy is moderately dense and allows light to penetrate, resulting in well-developed and
richly diversified understory vegetation and stratification of animals.
Flora is characterized by 3-4 tree species per square kilometer. Trees are distinguished by
broad leaves that are lost annually and include such species as oak, hickory, beech,
hemlock, maple, basswood, cottonwood, elm, willow, and spring-flowering herbs.
Fauna is represented by squirrels, rabbits, skunks, birds, deer, mountain lion, bobcat,
Only scattered remnants of original temperate forests remain.
Source: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/forests.php
Siberian Tiger
Source: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/007/cache/siberian-tiger_707_600x450.jpg
http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar557740&st=siberian+tiger
Source: http://themoscownews.com/images/18830/71/188307155.jpg
Dangerous exotic animals make home in Texas
By Lindsay Wise
Updated 11:08 p.m., Monday, March 19, 2012
When Monique Woodard was 6 years old, she begged her father for a puppy. He gave her a bobcat
kitten instead.
"Somebody had shot its mother," Woodard said. "I called him Tom, and I loved him. I trained him like
a dog."
Now Woodard, 68, keeps eight tigers, two bobcats, a leopard, a one-winged owl and a rhesus monkey at
the Exotic Cat Refuge and Wildlife Orphanage, a sanctuary she founded in 1988 near Kirbyville in
East Texas.
But she is the first person to tell you such animals make terrible pets.
"You cannot take the wild from a tiger," Woodard said. "You can put 'em in your living room, you can put
'em in your bathroom, you can put 'em in your backyard, but a tiger is a tiger is a tiger. They are wild
animals, and they could kill you."
The plight of Mike the kangaroo drew attention to exotic pet ownership in Texas earlier this month, after a
homeowner association ordered Spring residents Nick and Jeni Dreis to get rid of the 6-month-old
marsupial. The Dreises protested, saying they had acquired Mike as a vocational training animal for their
teenage daughter Kayla, who has Down syndrome. The HOA reversed course in response to a media
frenzy and granted Mike a reprieve.
If a pet kangaroo caused such a ruckus, what about a pet tiger?
Bill supports ban
Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House by Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., would prohibit private
possession of big cats nationwide, except at zoos and other "highly qualified" facilities.
The Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act also would outlaw the breeding of big cats and require
anyone who now owns one to register with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Violators could face fines
of $20,000 and five years in jail.
Eighteen states ban exotic animal ownership. Texas allows it, subject to some permitting requirements,
which vary from county to county.
Local laws governing the ownership of exotic animals are lax. Records show there are 32 "dangerous"
animals living in Harris County: five tigers, two hyenas, two cougars, a panther, a serval, an African
lioness, six monkeys, seven lemurs, and seven binturongs, or bear cats.
Ownership of such wild animals - even an elephant or a rhinoceros - is allowed in unincorporated Harris
County, as long as you get a permit from the Public Health and Environmental Services agency. The
agency issues permits for a list of 20 wild animals Commissioners Court has identified as dangerous.
Kangaroos are not on the list.
Within Houston city limits, it is unlawful for anyone to keep a wild animal.
In the past year, the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken in two tigers and
two mountain lions seized in animal cruelty cases, said Patricia Mercer, Houston SPCA president.
"The reality is there are very few people who would be able to afford to be able to care for these animals
and provide the kind of enrichment and nutrition that they need," Mercer said. "So for the most part these
animals do not have good quality of life - in most cases they are dying - and they pose a really big threat to
public health."
'It's a way of life'
Exotic pet owners are "a little bit strange," admitted Todd Westin, a veterinarian and exotic animal
enthusiast from Beaumont.
"It's a mentality, and if you do it right, it's a way of life," he said.
Westin bought his first exotic pet at age 9: a tarantula named Fang.
"My mom was really freaked out about it, but she came to appreciate the beauty of it," he said. "And I'll
tell you, as a kid I was really popular for awhile! I would take her out and hold her in my hand and pet her
and stuff, and she seemed to like the interaction."
Westin now raises kangaroos in a pasture near his home in Beaumont. He sold Mike to the Dreis family. A
baby male kangaroo can sell for as much as $2,000, Westin said.
"I make my livelihood helping animals but I discourage exotic animal ownership," he said. "The biggest
thing I hear is, 'Oh my god I want a tiger cub so bad!' And I'm like, 'You have no clue what you're
getting into."
Westin doesn't support a ban on such animals, however. "I don't think the government has any right to step
in and say you can't own exotic pets, because once they start doing that they'll get out of control," he said.
Big food bill
Woodard said that rescuing big cats that have been abused or neglected is her calling from God, but it's a
daily struggle to meet the demands of caring for her beloved animals. It costs upward of $20,000 a month
to feed them all, she said. A big cat can devour 30 pounds of meat a day. And forget vacations. Woodard
hasn't taken one in 25 years.
Federal inspectors visiting her sanctuary in August noted several violations, including an untidy shed used
for food storage and lack of training records for employees. Two months later, Woodard let her USDA
exhibitor's license expire, which means she can't charge anyone admission to see the animals. The IRS
also has revoked the sanctuary's nonprofit status for failing to file tax returns three years in a row.
Woodard's daughter, Debora Horner, said her mother let the license and nonprofit status lapse during a
bout of ill health, but she plans to reapply soon.
"I love my cats more than life itself, that's all I can say," Woodard said.
Source: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Dangerous-exotic-animals-make-home-in-Texas-3419190.php
Trio of Teeny Tigers at Calgary Zoo Doing Well
BY JENNA MCMURRAY ,CALGARY SUN
As far as keepers can tell, Calgary’s newest striped residents are doing well.
Three Amur (Siberian) tiger cubs born Friday morning are nursing, reports the Calgary Zoo, which is watching the
cubs via a camera in the den.
Mother Katja, an 11-year-old tiger that’s lost three cubs in two separate litters, is being attentive and spending nearly
all of her time with the three newest cubs, said curator Colleen Baird.
“From Day 1, she’s been doing everything right,” said Baird, noting staff has not had any contact with Katja or the
cubs since they were born and probably wont for a number of weeks.
“The first few days are crucial for her to feel like her environment is safe.
“We won’t interfere with her at all unless something is medically wrong.”
The cubs, believed to each weigh about 750 grams at birth, will open their eyes around the Day 10 mark and though
still considered vulnerable, they seem to be growing stronger and more coordinated, said Baird.
“(On Friday) they could barely move around and now I can see them using their limbs,” she said Monday.
Amur tigers are considered an endangered species and the most recent estimate showed there were about 350-400
left in the wild.
Katja is one of three adult tigers at the Calgary Zoo.
She was born to mother Kita, 16, who is also at the zoo.
The third tiger, a 10-year-old male named Baikal, came to Calgary from New York in February of 2010 thanks to a
recommendation that he breed with Katja by the Species Survival Plan for Amur tigers.
Katja gave birth to two cubs in September of 2010, but as an inexperienced mother moved the pair around causing
trauma and neither survived, said Baird.
In January of 2011, she gave birth to a single cub and showed that she had learned her lesson.
She properly mothered the cub until realizing it had congenital health issues, at which point she abandoned it and
despite zoo staff intervening, it also died.
Zoo staff say the cubs can’t be viewed by the public for two-to-three months.
Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2012/04/02/trio-of-teeny-tigers-at-calgary-zoo-doing-well
Siberian Tiger Range
Source : http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/images/siberian-tiger-range.png
Source : http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZAI4y2DkBGw/S2eT4VU8FXI/AAAAAAAADQY/akVEtRdS9_s/s400/graph+wild+tiger.jpg