Get up close in personal with four of our planets most renowned predators join us as we journey from the bitterness of Alaska to the scorching open plains of Kenya and everywhere between. Wherever there is a thriving ecosystem you can bet on finding a species that rules as the apex predator.
THE BROWN BEAR
Known as the Grizzly Bear in North America, Ursus arctos can be found across the world with fragmented populations in Europe, Asia and North America, with it's largest numbers appearing in Russia, Alaska and Canada. This makes them the most widely distributed species of bear and is a testament to their ability to adapt to different environments.
Due to wide ranging populations there are a number of sub-species that exist throughout the world, from the smaller Himalayan brown bear with males standing around 5ft-7ft (1.5,-2.2m) tall, where-as coastal North American bears can be seen up to 9ft (3m) tall. Regardless of where you find them brown bears are formidably large creatures.
Asides from females and their cubs bears are mostly solitary animals although they do interact with their neighbors, with bears in the same region being relatively familiar with one another. This leads to complex social interactions with some forming friendships while others simply do not like each other, much like human relationships. Despite their huge size they are also relatively shy animals and have little desire to interact with humans under normal circumstances. Grizzly bears (although capable) are not excellent climbers and so do become aggressive when threatened especially when accompanied by cubs.
Brown bears are very curious though, and will regularly inspect oudours, noises and objects to determine if their edible/playable. Behaviorists have noticed bears exhibit"strange object response", in which they become alarmed/frightened by new objects and situations (not to be confused with aggressive behavior) but, will investigate what startled them after this initial repsonse.
THE JAGUAR
Like many of its big cat cousins the jaguar is a particularly elusive species residing in the dense jungles of South America their habitat being typical of tropical rainforest although they can be found in seasonal swamps and grassland. They closely resemble leopards however come with a much stockier build and an extremely powerful bit courtesy of their large head and robust canines. They are mostly solitary creatures becoming completely independent from their mother at around 24 months old (following a 6-7 month gradual period of independence within their mothers range), however the age of social circumstances associated with this are poorly known.
They are opportunistic hunters meaning they often eat almost any prey to hand, over 85 prey species have been recorded as part of a regular jaguar diet. Around 50% of this diet consist of prey larger than themselves on which they can feed on for several days. This availability of prey is a huge factor in jaguar size. The largest jaguars are found in the open flood plains like the Llanos in Venezuela and the Pantanal in Brazil as larger prey inhabits these open areas. Where-as in the dense jungles of Central America and the Amazonia much smaller prey is on the menu, restricting the potential size of jaguars in these regions.
Jaguars have a much stronger connection with water than any of the other big cats as even in drier areas they are usually only found around the main water sources in the region. This propensity to live close near water sources is thought to be a reason for their lower densities at higher altitudes where water sources are smaller and less available. This characteristic puts them at odds with the expansion of high intensity agriculture which seeks out these water sources for irrigation needs.
Fortunately commercial hunting for jaguar derived products (pelts, teeth etc) has been almost irradicated since the 1970s, particularly on an international level, thanks to anti-fur campaigns and CITES controls shutting down the international market. However their is still local demand for these products and coupled with expanding agriculture in South America their is potential for the jaguars conservation status to worsen from its current Near Threatened assessment.
THE GREY WOLF
The Grey Wolf goes by many different names across the world, Arctic Wolf, Mexican Wolf, Plains Wolf and many more. It's no surprise we have so many names for the common wolf as its such a widespread species with two subspecies in Europe, two in Asia and a further five in North America. There is some debate as to whether some of these sub-species should be considered as a seperate species however currently the IUCN classifies them as sub-species of Canis lupis.
The Grey Wolf is distinguishable from from other canis species by having slightly less pointed features on its ears and muzzles. Predominately they have a thick grey winter coat (as their name suggests) they can have pure white, red, brown and even black coats. While they are the smallest predator on this list weighing in at around 45kg for males ad 37kg for females they are by no means any less ferocious, existing as an apex predator across the majority of its range with only humans and tigers posing any serious threat.
Most notable about wolves is their social structure, a behaviour exhibited in other canines but strongly associated with wolves. The basic wolf pack consists of a mated pair accompanied by the pair's adult offspring, on average this consists of 5 to 11 animals although exceptionally large packs of other 20 individuals have been reported. They have a propensity to self regulate the borders of their territory and will rarely venture into that of other packs unless severe environmental factors force them to (lack or prey, extreme weather etc).
Locating food comes as courtesy of the wolves keen sense of smell being able to detect potential prey upwind as far as 2-3 kilometres (1.2-1.9 mi). When a scent is caught on the breeze the pack will stand alert, pointing their eyes, ears and nose towards their target. Once in sight prey is stalked, with the pack aiming to get as close as possible while remaining concealed. Usually their target will become aware of the packs presence resulting in a chase, with the pack aiming to catch smaller prey but, prolonging the chase with larger prey in order to tire it out. Feeding occurs almost instantly following a kill with the alpha male and female (the mating pair) in charge of the food and taking the first turn as such.
THE AFRICAN LION
As King/Queen of the jungle the lion is the most famous of all predators but the Marsh pride on the edge of Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya in particular is a group of the worlds best known lions and another star of the BBC Dynasties series also appearing in BBC's Big Cat Diary. The main pride tends to reside in the Musiara Marsh but will venture further north deeper into the Mara North Conservancy when the reserves long grass leads to a scarcity of prey.
Lions have a very broad habitat tolerance absent only from tropical rainforests and the interior of the Sahara desert, there have been reports of lions at elevations of over 4000m in the Bale Mountains and even Kilimanjaro. One of the main reasons for their adaptability is their ability to obtain all of their moisture requirements from prey and even plants, this allows them to survive in very arid environments, although they will drink regularly if a water source is available.
Lions are also the most social of the big cats with related females remaining in prides together with related and unrelated males forming coalitions to compete for power over prides. The pride tends to split up into smaller groups during hunts preying mostly on large ungulates. As an apex predator African Lions have no need to worry about any species other than humans, as showcased by the outbreak of lion poisoning in the region.
African Lions are currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list with habitat loss and conflicts with humans being the greatest causes for concern. As one of then most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture there is as much a philosophical case as well as conservationist case for the continued support of lion conservation in Africa.
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