Indholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2025 i Faces People, Places, and World Culture for Kids and Children

The tiger is the largest member of the cat family. Some tigers weigh almost 700 pounds (318 kilograms). That’s more than the combined weight of 80 house cats! 1 Once upon a time, tigers roamed from Turkey through Southeast Asia. Now, they can only be found in Eastern Russia, China, and Southeast Asia. 2 Today, we have fewer than 4,500 tigers left in the world. At one time in the early 20th century, there were more than 100,000 tigers. That’s a decline of more than 95 percent. 3 Tigers like a big lunch. They prefer to eat deer; one animal can provide a week’s worth of food. But tigers are opportunistic predators, which helps them to survive. They will eat a variety of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, and insects.…

We’re used to seeing cats in people’s homes. In fact, you or a friend may have one or even several living in your house. They might be sleeping on your bed, perched in a comfortable place to gaze out a window, or asking you to play with them. Some people who don’t share their home with a cat or don’t know someone who does think that people never really “own” cats. It’s more likely, they say, that cats simply put up with their human housemates for food and comfort. “A dog is a man’s best friend,” goes one saying. “A cat is a cat’s best friend.” Other people who have cats say they’re often misunderstood by those who don’t have one. Cats can be affectionate and form close bonds with…

Is there a cat in your household? If so, chances are it isn’t a special breed. Maybe your cat came from the animal shelter or from a friend whose cat had kittens. Most of us have cats that are the feline version of mutts: no particular breed, but we love them just the same. But cats come in more varieties than you can imagine. You may have heard of fluffy, long-haired Persian or Angora cats. But how about cats whose ears fold over or whose legs are short and stumpy? Or what about cats that don’t have tails or don’t even have fur? Welcome to the wonderful world of cat breeds! Some 50 to 100 breeds of domesticated cats are thought to exist in the world. Some cat breeds have…

EYES To see better in darkness, cats have eyes with a reflective layer at the back that helps bring in more light. Special adaptations give cats a minimum light sensitivity that’s seven times lower than that of humans. Cats also have an extra eyelid that helps protect their eyes, called the nictitating membrane. It’s a thin, translucent cover that closes from the side. You can see it when a cat opens its eyes. WHISKERS Located on the muzzle and brows, a cat’s whiskers are sensitive to movement and vibration. Cats use whiskers to feel their way around and give them information when hunting. Whiskers also are good indicators of a cat’s mood. Cats move their whiskers forward when curious and backward when cautious. UNDER THE SKIN Cats have so many…

The image of the mighty jaguar played a significant role in the most advanced civilizations of the pre-Columbian Americas. (This is the era prior to the 16th century, before Europeans arrived.) To these people, the jaguar represented fear of the unknown, the ferocious beast lurking unseen in the dark jungle. The jaguar was a mysterious and supernatural creature that moved between our world and the spirit world. Above all, the jaguar meant power. Even the mightiest king or priest wanted to possess the power of the great jaguar. It’s no wonder the jaguar (Panthera onca) commanded such fear and respect from the people who lived in its realm. As the largest big cat in the Americas, a male jaguar can weigh more than 200 pounds (91 kilograms)! The ferocious cat…

“Perhaps it is because cats do not live by human patterns, do not fit themselves into prescribed behavior, that they are so united to creative people.”—Andre Norton(American writer of fantasy and science fiction) A Muse With Meows “I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.”—Edgar Allan Poe(American author, The Black Cat, The Raven, and many short stories and poems) Before the popular Grumpy Cat culture of internet video and social media superstars, companion cat muses have inspired curiosity, innovation, and imagination in creatives for centuries. The result? The creation of some of the most timeless works in literature and art from the greatest talent. What is it about cats that prompt writers to spin their yarns? Why do felines provide the purrfect painter’s partner? Sometimes, an image or…

The lion has been a symbol of strength, courage, and royalty for thousands of years. In ancient Egypt, the goddess of war was Sekhmet, a woman with the head of a lioness. Lion-human hybrids called sphinxes guarded the gates of cities, temples, and royal palaces in Egypt and Assyria (now Iraq). In Greek mythology, Hercules’ first labor was to slay the Nemean Lion. And Oedipus had to answer the famous riddle of the sphinx who guarded the entrance to the city of Thebes. The question: “What creature walks on four legs in the morning, on two at midday, and on three in the evening?” (The answer: It’s the human being, who crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and walks with a cane…

Imagine an island where cats outnumber people. Does it sound like something from a movie or cartoon? Welcome to Tashirojima, a small island in the Pacific Ocean. It’s located off the east coast of Japan’s Töhoku region in the north of the country’s largest island, Honshu. This island is a great place to be a cat. The cat population numbers in the thousands, much larger than the island’s human population of about 100 people. These cats are fed and taken care of by residents and tourists. The Japanese in general have had a long relationship with cats in their history and culture. Cat shrines can be found all over Japan, and many folktales feature cats as well. But how did Tashirojima get to be Cat Island? At one time, the…