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THE CAT OF PREY
The Cougar
The Cougar
is a symbol of strength and stealth. It is the American representative of the
Leopard of the Old World.
The sky god Viracocha of the
Inca Mythology
has been associated with the animal.
It is also very common in In North America mythology. To the Apache and
Walapai of Arizona, the wail of the cougar was harbinger of death.
The cougar is of the family
Felidae
(cats). It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas
for stalking, but it can live in open areas, too.
It is native to America extending from Yukon in Canada to
the southern Andes of South America.
The Lion
The Lion,
particularly the face of the male having its mane, is one of
the most widely recognized animal symbols in human culture.
Since a single male Lion governs a group he is the symbol of
a ruling king and royalty.
In Hinduism
the Lion is a incarnation of the God Vishnu.
The lion is of the genus
Panthera
of the family
Felidae
(cats).
They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although
they may take to bush and forest.
Until the late Ice Age the lion was the most widespread land mammal
aside from man. They were found in continents except Antarctica.
However, the
American Lion or
the Cave Lion
are extinct.
Even in relatively recent times the habitat of lions spanned the
southern parts of Eurasia. Today, Lions can be found only in the
Middle of Africa.
Lions are unusually social compared to other cats living in groups, called prides.
A single male lion governs the pride of females and their cubs.
The Jaguar
The Jaguar
as the almost invisble predator of the rain forest is the prominent symbol
of war and hunting in Meso- and South American culture.
In the Mesoamerican Mythology
the Jaguar is the symbol of one of the two warrior elites (the other one beeing
the Eagle).
The Black Panther
has a special meaning because it was able to
wander in the land of the dead. Thus, it was connected to the
Shaman to facilitate communication
between the living and the dead.
The jaguar is of the genus
Panthera
of the family
Felidae
(cats).
While dense rainforest is its preferred habitat, the
jaguar will range across a variety of forested
and open terrain. The jaguar is native to America.
The jaguar's present range extends from Mexico , Central America
and south to Paraguay and northern South America up to Argentina.
The Leopard
The Leopard
is a symbol of strength and stealth resembling the
American Couguar.
The leopard is of the genus
Panthera
of the family
Felidae
(cats). Similar to the Jaguar a Leopard can appear as a
Black Panther.
Once, the leopard was distributed across southern Eurasia and Africa,
from Korea to South Africa and Spain. But now it has disappeared
from much of its former range. There are fragmented populations in
India and in the South of Asia. Today, it occurs commonly in
subsaharan Africa only.
The Tiger
The Tiger as the
bigest cat of prey is the most prominent symbol for power and strength.
In Asia the
White Tiger
is a special symbol of spritual power, like the Black Panther
in Mesoamerica. In China the White Tiger stands for
the descending Energy flowing from the Sky to Earth.
The tiger is of the genus
Panthera
of the family
Felidae
(cats).
Tigers are found in a variety of habitats, including both tropical and
evergreen forests, woodlands, grasslands, rocky country,
swamps, and savannas. The tiger is native to much of eastern
and southern Asia.
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