We're counting down the top 10 most extreme cats in the animal kingdom, and examining what makes them such accomplished killers. Get ready for the world's biggest cat fight when killer cats take it to.
Earth is a planet of extremes. Extreme places, and extreme animals.But some animals are more extreme than others.Join us as we count down to find the most unusual,the most extraordinary.
Don't be fooled by the cat's cute and cuddly packaging.The 300 breeds of domestic cat and their 35 wild cousins are all natural born killers hiding behind a fluffy exterior.
The tools of their predatory practice are jaw and paw, but some cats can kill with more skill than others.
And, as the list of species on the menu grows longer the body count rises and we get closer to finding the most extreme killer cat. The first feline in our countdown is built for speed.It is the fastest land animal on the planet.
But because it mostly lives off just three types of animal,the cheetah crosses the line at number 10.
The stalk is as important as the sprint.It slowly moves to within 15 meters of an intended victim.
Then the starter's pistol is fire dand the cheetah is off like a shot.The cheetah can run more than 100 kilometers per hour.The cheetah is a runner not a fighter, so it's got to pick a target that won't strike back.
Even wildebeest are a risky proposition.It's safer to hunt the smaller antelopes that live on the African plains and ignore the bigger beasts.
If humans wanted to run like a cheetah then we'd have to be built like one, and there are a number of features we'd need. Cheetahs are the only cats whose claws don't retract, which means they dig in like cleats when running. Our limbs would need to be long and slender to reduce our weight, but our chests would need to be huge to accommodate an enlarged heart and lungs.
And we'd need a really big noseto feed lots of air to them. But of course, speed comes at a cost.
And for the cheetah, it's longevity. Nevermind nine lives, cheetahs in the wild are lucky to live nine months. 90% of newborn cheetahs won't even make it to three months old.
Most cheetah cubs fall victim to bigger predators, such as lions and hyenas, which is why cheetahs need to have the largest litter of any cat. There's no cheetah childcare on the plains, and after only six weeks they start accompanying mom out on the hunt. It takes cheetah cubs three years to learn to hunt successfully. Training cats takes time, just ask Yuri Kuklachev.
This Russian has spent years learning how to communicate with cats. He is a cat whisperer. The result of his efforts is a group of cats that appear to be happy doing anything for him, much to the delight of the Russian people who come to watch.
Yuri has developed a show that will astound anybody who has ever tried to get their cat to follow
even the simplest command. The key to training them is understanding what motivates the cat's behavior. A cat will only do what it wants, so to make it do what you want give it something it wants to do. And what cat doesn't want to get its claws into a dog?
Cheetahs want to get their claws into something even bigger, but their slim runner's body mostly limits them to just antelope. Our next killer cat shares its home with the cheetah, but where the cheetah specializes in running, this cat prefers to jump into the record books.
Leaping into number nine in the countdown is the serval. This unusual but beautiful cat is among the feline family's most successful. It has a small, delicate head, and extremely large ears. The serval uses its ears like radar dishes picking up the faint sounds of its prey. Unequaled in the cat world, the serval's hearing allows it to locate small mammals moving through the grass or underground, and to hunt its pray without seeing it until the final pounce. And no other cat can pounce quite like a serval.
They also have the ability to make vertical leaps of three meters, and snatch birds as big as they are right out of the air.
But in-flight meals are rare and the serval's size usually limits it to just seven species of rodent. And although the serval's technique is remarkable, its diet of rodents is a favorite of cats the world over.
It was the cat's rodent killing prowess that first brought them into our lives.Small wild cats were befriended by people that were starting to gather harvests and store their grain.
The cat's ability to protect precious grain was so great that soon the cat became a goddess that protected all.
In ancient Egypt it was adored to the point of worship. The cat goddess was called Bastet, and the cult of cat worshiping lasted more than 2,000 years. If a cat happened to die in a house in ancient Egypt, all the human occupants had to enter full mourning and shave off their eyebrows.
Cat killing was punishable by death. Egyptian cats were even given the same ritual treatment as their owners, and were made into mummies. Archaeologists have found thousands of them.But the biggest cat mummy of them all lives in Turkey. Turkan Akalin is truly a cat lover.
She owns 600 cats and a dog, all of them cohabiting in her four apartments.This 69-year-old Turkish woman spends around $2,000 a month for two assistants who help her cope with the task of feeding her pets and keeping them fit.
Turkan's feline love affair began 57 years ago when she started sheltering 30 cats in a single apartment because she could not bear to see lonely and sick cats in the streets. Mrs. Akalin, who has no children, has had to sell her previous houses in order to afford her 600 feline friends. Servals aren't so friendly. You'd need 2,500 square kilometers of land to keep 600 servals happy. Fortunately, the serval is more than capable of looking after itself. We've seen cats that compete in the high jump of death, and savage sprint champions.
But coming up we go poolside to meet a cat that loves to swim. And what killer cat takes a real beating from his wife?
Goldfish hate cats. While on the other hand, cats hate water. Coming in at number eight in our countdown of killer cats is a feline that makes its home in the wetlands of tropical Asia.
The fishing cat hunts where few others dare to wade, and usually lives off just 10 species of animal. Although its a fantastic predator, the fishing cat's hunting territory depends on the size of the river or pond it lives next to. Which means its diet is limited to just a few species of fish, amphibian, and aquatic bird. But the fishing cat isn't the only cat that takes to water.
The cat's reputation as a killer quickly earned them a place on board ships during the days of exploration.
Rats infested the holds of ships spoiling food and spreading disease. So cats were treated as essential crew members and became as revered at sea as they were on land. Sailors believe they brought good luck to their ships and used them as weather forecasters.
If a cat licked its fur against the grain it meant a hail storm was coming. If it sneezed it meant rain, and if it was frisky it meant wind. It was even a popular belief that cats could start storms through magic stored in their tails. In fact, cat hair is a strong attractor of static electricity, so cats can detect the build up of electrical charge that precedes bad weather. A gathering storm often makes them nervous and restless. A bit of cold and rainy weather probably wouldn't bother the fishing cat, but for our next cat it's a way of life. So far we've seen a marine invasion and a deadly airborne attack. But still to come is a cold-blooded killer that hunts in the snow and ice. And later, what man eating monster prowls the swamps of Asia?
Number seven in our countdown of killer cats is definitely designed for cold weather. It wouldn't last long on a summer's day, but put it in the snow and its completely at home. And places don't get much snowier or windier than the Himalayas.
No wonder the cat that's next in the countdown is called the snow leopard. Despite its brutal environment the snow leopard's buffet list includes almost 20 different species of animal.
The snow leopard's made for the mountains. Its adaptations for high-altitude life include an enlarged nasal cavity, shortened limbs, strong chest muscles, and dense, wooly fur. And a tail over a meter long for balance. Snow leopards are strong. They can kill prey up to three times their own weight. Usually they'll hunt the various species of wild sheep and goats that live on the steep cliffs of the Himalayas. A study of radio collared snow leopards found that adults kill a large prey animal every 10 to 15 days.
But one good thing about living in a refrigerator is that your food stays fresh for a long time. Snow leopards are such powerful hunters that some of the local people see them as magical beings that protect the sanctity of the mountainsides. They believe that sinful or impure acts will attract the wrath of the big cat.
400 years ago a Japanese house cat waved at a nobleman and earned a spiritual following. Curious to see why the cat was waving at him the nobleman went to investigate. Seconds later a bolt of lightning struck the ground where he had just been standing. Ever since the cat that waved has been revered as a sign of good luck and mercy. These cats might be wishing they had a goddess of mercy.
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