Carnivores and marine mammals

Carnivorous mammals have strong canines and carnassial teeth. The canid family includes the wolf, jackal, fox, corsac fox and raccoon dog. They have a very good sense of smell and chase their prey. Wolves live in pairs all year, hide by day and hunt at night; the female bears 3–13 blind pups, which suckle for 35–40 days. The wolf harms livestock, so its numbers are controlled, but it also benefits nature by removing sick and weak animals. The fox lives in deserts, steppes, mountains and around villages, bears 4–5 pups in a burrow in summer, benefits agriculture by eating rodents and insects, sometimes harms poultry and melons, and is hunted for its thick fur. The felids’ hooked claws are held in sheaths; they ambush prey, smell poorly and hear well. The tiger, cheetah, leopard, snow leopard, lynx and cats belong here. The tiger lives in South and East Asia; the Turan tiger that once lived in Uzbekistan has become extinct. Today the jungle cat lives in river thickets and the snow leopard and lynx in high mountains; they are rare and listed in the Red Book. Mustelids have short legs and a slim body that fits into crevices and burrows: badger, marten, mink. The badger lives in mountain forest, thickets and steppe, digs its burrow on a hillside, hunts at night, and eats insects, rodents, fruit and roots. Bears are big and strong. In our mountains the brown bear eats roots, fruit, insects and marmots and sleeps in winter; the Arctic polar bear exceeds 700 kg, swims well and eats seals. Safety: never approach or feed a wild predator; in the mountains go in a group with adults, and if you meet a bear or wolf do not run but back away slowly without noise; predators such as foxes can carry rabies, so do not touch them.