Great Blue Marble Amazing Animal Images and Animal Facts - Images of Wildcats, Bears, Wildlife, Dolphins, and Sea Life.

Wild Cats	Lions & Tigers	Sea Animals	Dolphins

The lion stands out from the other 'big cats', not only in its distinctive appearance but also in being the only felid that lives in organized social groups.	The 36 species of the wild cat family are spread across most of the globe excluding Antarctica, Australia and some island groups.	Dolphins are large brained, sociable, air breathing mammals who nurse their young. Dolphins are not fish.	Dolphins and whales belong to the order "cetacea". Dolphins and porpoises are small toothed whales.

In appearance the lion is a powerfully built, muscular cat. The fur is short and generally uniform in color, ranging from gray/buff to reddish brown.	In general the tiger is a forest dweller but can also be found in grass land and swamp margins beyond woodland areas.	Female dolphins usually rejoin their mother's pod and males remain with other males, often forming lifelong cooperative coalitions.	There are approximately 57 species of dolphins. Most have an elongated beak called a rostrum.

The undersides of a lion are often white, especially in female lions.		The main difference between a porpoise and a dolphin is in the shape of the teeth.	Most porpoise live in colder waters and are smaller than most dolphins, and have no elongated beak.

	The typical tiger litter is 2 to 3 cubs. The young tigers will stay with their mothers in a family group for up to two years, learning the skills of hunting before separating to take up their independence.
The average lifespan of a lion is 15-20 years. The average litter is 3-4 lion cubs.		Dolphins have cone shaped teeth whereas porpoise have spade shaped teeth.	Dolphins have good eyesight both in the air and in the water.

The male Siberian or Amur Tiger, with a total body length in excess of 10 ft and weighing up to 300 kg is by far the largest and most powerful member of the cat family.	Young male tigers may travel far, living a solitary life before establishing their own territory. Females often stay close to their mother and in some cases share parts of her territory.	Dolphins live in temperate and tropical waters worldwide. There are several species of freshwater and river dolphins, all of which are threatened or in danger of extinction.	Dolphin eyes are designed for seeing in low light conditions. Their color vision is limited. They have no sense of smell but they have an excellent sense of taste.

Although popular in some zoos 'White Bengal Tigers' are extremely rare in the wild.		Dolphin pregnancies last approximately 12 months. Dolphins give birth to a single calf weighing 25 to 40 pounds.	Dolphins remain with their mothers for the first 5-8 years, learning social and feeding skills from mother-calf family groups.

	The tiger was once found throughout most of southern, eastern and central Asia along with small pockets in the Middle East. Today at least 3 of the subspecies of tiger, Caspian, Balinese, and Javan are now extinct. Of the remaining 5 subspecies the most numerous is the Bengal or Indian tiger with a population of between 3,500 and 4,000.
The last sighting of a white tiger in its natural habitat was in Central India in 1951. This male tiger was captured and it is this tiger that most of the white tigers in captivity today are related.		Dolphins have a special sense called echo location which is used for navigation and to find and obtain food.	The dolphin sounds are focused by the melon, an oil-filled sac seen as a bulge on the dolphin's forehead, and then projected toward objects in the water. Dolphin echo location only works within the water.

The white tiger is not a true albino - it has less dark colored pigment in its coat. The white tiger is not pure white but has brown stripes and blue eyes.	Tigers are never far from a source of water, are strong swimmers and have a particular love of bathing in pools and lakes in hotter regions.	Dolphins can form sound pictures of objects based on the difference between the density of the object and the density of the surrounding water.	Sounds that strike any object (a fish, human, boat or ocean floor) are reflected back to the dolphin and received by the lower jaw, where they are passed to the dolphin's brain.
Puma/Cougar	Black Leopard	Killer Whales	Whales
			The largest brain in the world belongs to the sperm whale. Weighing some 9,000 grams it is six to seven times larger than the human brain.
		The second largest brain in the world is the killer whale (or Orca) at 6,000 grams.
A cat of many names, the puma is also known as the cougar, or mountain lion.	All black leopards, often called 'Black Panthers', are born in the same litter as normally marked cats and carry the rosette markings, although these are masked by the darkness of the fur.
			Whales are the longest living animal on earth. Some whales have lived over 200 years.
The color of the fur varies from slate gray, through yellow buff to light reddish brown. The size and coloration of the cat varies greatly across its range, which stretches from the south west of Canada down the western U.S., and throughout most western parts of South America.	The term �Black Panther� is often used in connection with large black cats - however there is no distinct species of wild cat called a Black Panther. Black Panther has been used to describe any large black coated cat. When you see a Black Panther it is likely you are looking at either a leopard or a jaguar with a dark pigment.
		Whales are divided into two classes - toothed whales and baleen whales. Toothed whales include the sperm whale, killer whale and dolphins.	The baleen whales filter their food out of the water. Examples include humpbacks and blue whales.
Cheetah Cubs	Cheetah
Cheetah Cubs	Cheetah		When whales lift their tail in the air it is referred to as fluking. Fluking gives the whale thrust for steeply angled descents into deep waters. When whales launch themselves into the air and fall back with a spectacular splash this is called breaching.

The cheetah unlike other 'Big Cats' does not roar, however it does purr and other vocal sounds range from high pitched yelps and barks to longer chirruping sounds. A cheetah's litter size averages 3-5 cubs. Cheetah's live an average of 12-14 years.	A fully-grown cheetah can reach speeds in excess of 60 mph and can easily outrun any animal. The cheetah's paws are almost dog-like, narrow and hard padded they sport only slightly retractable claws, the only of its type amongst the species of cat.	The Orca or killer whale is the largest of all dolphins. The killer whale is the most powerful creature that lives in the oceans. It is the fiercest of sea predators and fears no other creature in the ocean.
Lynx	Leopard & Jaguar	Seal Pups	Seals

The lynx, in its four species, has by far the largest range of any of the felids.
The lynx of Europe, Asia, and Canada inhabits mostly forested areas. Lynx also inhabit scrub land and tundra in northern regions.
	In appearance the jaguar is often confused with the leopard. The jaguar can be distinguished by the presence of small dots or irregular shapes within the larger rosette markings, a more stocky and muscular body, and a shorter tail.	Seals are able to hold their breath for a long time during dives, using oxygen stored in the blood and muscles as well as the lungs. Seals have large eyes which gives them keen vision both above and below the water. Seals have a well developed sense of hearing and sensitive whiskers.
			Seals have a thick blubber layer which combined with a thick fur coat protects them from the frigid climates in which they live.
The lynx is very distinctive, with triangular shaped, tufted ears, a thick set body, long hind legs, a short, stumpy tail and large fur covered paws which help the lynx over deep snow.
Polar Bears	Grizzly Bears	Sharks	Turtles, Fish, & Reefs


Only polar bears, brown bears, American black bears and Asiatic black bears hibernate. Other bear species can find food all year round because it is warm where they live.	Only brown bears, polar bears and American black bears live in the U.S. and Canada. In Canada, only the province of Prince Edward Island has no American black bears.	New teeth are constantly being formed in rows in a shark's jaw. Teeth are usually replaced every eight days. Some species of sharks can shed as many as 30,000 teeth in their lifetime.	Turtles are long living animals, living 80-100 years. A turtle's sex is determined by temperature - under 29 degrees become males and over 29 degrees become females. Only 1 in 1000 hatchlings survive.

Much like dogs, the fur of a bear falls out and grows back each year. This is called molting.	In the United States, 32 states have American black bears living in the forests.	Great white sharks grow about 10 inches per year. They can grow to mature lengths of 12 to 14 feet.	Coral is composed of tiny animals called coral polyps. Coral refers to these animals and the skeletons that they leave behind after they die.

The skin of a polar bear is black. This helps them to absorb more of the heat from the sun.		The pygmy shark has a maximum length of 11 inches. There are more than 340 known species of sharks.
The fur of a polar bear is yellowish-white.		The average life span of a shark is 25 years, but some can live up to 100 years.
The fur of a polar bear is yellowish-white.			Coral reefs are huge limestone structures that provide shelter for nearly one quarter of all marine life. As one of the most complex ecosystems on the planet, coral reefs are home to over 4,000 different species of fish, 700 species of coral, and thousands of other plants and animals. Modern coral reefs have been in existence for over 50 million years.
	Brown bears, which live along the sea coast in Alaska and a land called Kamchatka in Russia, grow the largest. These bears feed mostly on salmon. Some of these bears live on Kodiak Island near Alaska. They are called Kodiak bears.
		Sharks first appeared in the fossil record over 400 million years ago.
Some American black bears are white in color. These bears are called Kermode bears. They live on islands off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. They are not albino bears. They have brown eyes and a black nose like other bears.

	The largest American black bear weighed 365 kilograms (805 pounds). It was living in Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, Canada.	Coral reefs provide a natural wave barrier, protecting beaches and coastlines from storms and floods.	Coral reefs are one of the most ancient ecosystems. The first stages of coral reef evolution began 350 million years ago.
Pandas	Koalas	Penguin Chicks	Penguins

For a long time, scientists believed that giant panda bears from China were more like raccoons than bears. Today, we know that giant pandas are really bears.	Koala bears from Australia are not real bears. Koalas belong to a group of animals called marsupials. Marsupials have a pouch where they carry their young. Kangaroos are also marsupials.	There are 18 different penguins species. Penguins can live for 20 years and they only live in the deep southern hemisphere. They cannot fly but are very nimble in the water.	Penguins lay eggs on land. Penguins are very social and live in colonies of sometimes millions of penguins. The Emperor Penguin is the largest penguin and lives in Antarctica.