Description
Tiger (Panthera tigris)
The tiger is the largest and heaviest wild cat, but the known subspecies differ markedly in size and weight.
Dimensions
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The largest are Bengal and Amur tigers. Males are from 2.3 to 2.5 m in length, with a body weight of about 300 kg. The height at the withers reaches 1.15 m. Females are usually inferior to males in size.
Body
Tigers have a massive, elongated, muscular, flexible body. The tail is long and pubescent. The front paws are five-toed, the hind paws are four-toed, the claws are retractable. The head is round in shape, the forehead is convex. The ears are small and rounded. There are tanks on the sides of the head. White vibrissae are arranged in 4-5 rows. The animal has well-developed fangs, up to 8 cm in length. Tigers have well-developed night vision and color vision.
Tiger sleeps in the oasis
Color
The coat is short, sparse, dense and low in the southern subspecies, high and fluffy in the northern ones. The color ranges from rusty red to rusty brown, the belly, chest and paws are light inside. Light markings are also visible on the ears. The body is covered with stripes colored brown or black. The muzzle below the nostrils, the vibrissa area, and the chin are white, and there are black spots around the mouth. The tail has a black tip and transverse ring stripes. The shape and distance between stripes vary among subspecies, but their number on average is about 100. The arrangement of stripes on tigers is unique for each individual.
Color
If you look at a photograph of a tiger, you can immediately notice its miraculous appearance. The color of tigers is predominantly brick color with a reddish or brownish tone, the belly is much lighter, and sometimes even snow-white.
What makes a tiger extraordinarily beautiful are the black stripes along its entire body. According to statistics, they have about a hundred such stripes. For each tiger, the arrangement of stripes is individual, like the patterns of human fingers - this makes each of them special in their own nature.
Note!
- Euthanasia of animals.
- Spitz. Features of the breed.
Car hammock for dogs. What it is?
What does it eat?
The diet of tigers mainly consists of ungulates: Bengal tigers hunt sambar, axis, wild boar and nilgai; Amur tigers prey on red and sika deer, wild boar, roe deer and musk deer; Sumatran tigers - sambar, wild boars and black-backed tapirs. Tigers' prey also includes large herbivores, such as Indian buffaloes, gaurs and elk. Their diet includes monkey, pheasant, hare, reptiles and fish. Sometimes tigers also hunt domestic animals: dogs, cows, horses and donkeys. Plant foods, nuts, grass and fruits can be enjoyed in the summer.
Tiger eats prey
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Adequate nutrition for a tiger is 50-70 ungulates per year. At one time, a meal is 30-40 kg of meat. The tiger tolerates the lack of food relatively easily due to the presence of a subcutaneous layer of fat about 5 cm thick.
Where does he live?
The tiger is an Asian animal. Its historical range included the Russian Far East, Iran, Afghanistan, China, India and the countries of Southeast Asia.
Where does the tiger live on the map
Today, in most of these territories, the tiger has been exterminated; large populations remain only in India and Indochina and the Far East (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Iran, Cambodia, China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan , Russia, Thailand).
Tigers live in a wide variety of landscapes: in tropical rainforests, mangrove swamps and bamboo thickets in the tropics, in dry savannas, semi-deserts, bare rocky hills and taiga in the north. In the mountains they are found at altitudes up to 3000 m above sea level.
Common types
There are 9 subspecies of the tiger, three of which are now completely exterminated.
Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)
Known as Ussuri, Siberian, Manchurian or North Chinese, it is common in the Amur region, Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories of Russia. The population size reaches about 500 individuals.
Amur (Ussuri) tiger
The Amur tiger is a large subspecies. It is distinguished by thick, long and fluffy wool, light color and many stripes.
Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
The nominate subspecies that lives in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar. The population is estimated at 3100-4500 animals, but it is still under threat due to poaching. The average weight of males is 205-227 kg, for females - 140-150 kg.
Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti)
Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti)
Distributed in Cambodia, Myanmar, southern China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. The number of individuals is 1200-1800. This subspecies is distinguished by a darker color. The average weight of males is from 150 to 190 kg; for females this figure is in the range of 110-140 kg.
Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni)
Malayan tiger in a large zoo
Distributed only in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Previously, the population of this subspecies was classified as Indochinese tigers, but according to genetic studies, at the beginning of the 21st century it was separated into an independent subspecies. Its population is estimated at 600-800 individuals, that is, it is the third largest in nature.
Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
An inhabitant of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where there are about 400-500 animals. This is the smallest of all subspecies: males weigh 100-130 kg, females weigh 70-90 kg.
Chinese tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis)
Chinese tiger lies
This small subspecies is the most endangered species. Body length is 2.2-2.6 meters, weight of males is 127-177 kg, females - 100-118 kg. Currently, 59 individuals are kept in captivity in China, and they are trying to introduce them into the wild.
Extinct subspecies
The following three modern tiger subspecies are completely extinct:
Bali tiger
The subspecies lived only on the island of Bali. The smallest of tigers. The length of the male is 120-230 cm, weight 90-100 kg. Average life expectancy is 8-10 years.
The extermination of these tigers occurred rapidly. Only 26 years passed from the first animal killed in 1911 to the destruction of the entire population.
Javan tiger
Small subspecies. The average body length is 245 cm, weight up to 141 kg. Habitat: mountainous areas and tropical forests of the Indonesian island of Java.
In the 1950s, there were about 25 tigers on the island, half of which lived in the local reserve and national park. The number of animals steadily decreased. The last tiger was presumably destroyed in the 80s.
Caspian (Turanian) tiger
Lived in reed thickets along the banks of rivers in Central Asia, in the south of Russia, and in the countries of the Middle East.
Identical to the Amur and Bengal tigers. Relatively large subspecies. The male's body length is more than 2 meters, weight up to 200 kg, sometimes more.
In search of prey, he went thousands of kilometers from his territory, for which he received the name “julbars” - “stray leopard”. The last Caspian tiger was killed in the late 60s.
Tiger behavior
Tigers are most active in the morning, evening and at night. They usually spend the day in dens. They move in large steps. They don't climb trees. They do not avoid water and swim well, and residents of the southern regions even swim regularly. Tigers are also hardy to low temperatures. They molt twice a year: in March and September.
A satisfied tiger lies on his stomach up
Tigers are mostly silent and rarely speak. Only during the mating season do males begin to roar dully, and when they get angry or attack prey, they growl. An adult tiger is a territorial animal that leads a solitary lifestyle and fiercely defends its territory. The tiger marks its personal territory in different ways: it leaves urine marks on tree trunks, rocks, bushes, loosens snow or soil, rubs against trees and leaves scratches on trunks. The size of personal territories is determined by habitat, amount of prey, and the presence of females (for males). Tigresses usually occupy an area of about 20 km², and males - 60-100 km². Females can live in the male's territory.
Tiger fight
The territorial behavior of males is very aggressive; they do not allow strangers into their territory and engage in serious fights with them; they only get along with tigresses. In turn, the females get along well with each other and can make peace in areas where they overlap.
Tigers hunt only alone, either creeping up on prey (in winter) or lying in wait for it in ambush (in summer). They often track their victims near bodies of water. They can pursue prey for 100-150 m, reaching speeds of up to 60 km/h.
Lifestyle and habits
Tigers are loners by nature. They contact their relatives when the mating season begins.
Ussuri go out hunting day and night. They lie in wait for their prey from a secluded place, suddenly jump on their backs and gnaw through the vertebrae. The victim's carcass can be moved several kilometers. If the jump is unsuccessful, the cat gives chase, but no further than 150 m. During the hunt, the tiger does not make the slightest sound.
For humans, the tiger is the most dangerous predator. If you believe statistics, then over the entire period of its life, a tiger can take the lives of more than 500 people. Often these representatives of the cat family become cannibals due to a lack of regular food. Fortunately, such reports about tigers do not come very often.
Reproduction
Tigers are polygamous animals. Their mating season is December-January. At this time, males often fight for females. Since the tigress is capable of fertilization only a few days a year, mating occurs at this time many times. The first offspring of females is observed at the age of 3-4 years. A tigress usually gives birth once every 2-3 years. The duration of pregnancy is 97-112 days.
Mating season of tigers
To breed offspring, the female makes a den in a hard-to-reach place: in crevices among stones, in a cave, in a windfall. Tiger cubs are born in March-April, there are 2-4 of them, they are blind, helpless, weigh 1.3-1.5 kg, their eyes open after 6-8 days. Breastfeeding lasts for the first 6 weeks. Only the female takes care of them, and does not allow males near them. At 8 weeks, the cubs leave the den and follow their mother. They begin to live independently at 18 months, but can remain with the female until they reach sexual maturity.
Two tiger cubs together in the grass
Females become sexually mature at 3-4 years, males at 4-5 years. During her life, a female gives birth to 10-20 tiger cubs, but half die at a young age. In the wild, tigers live about 25 years.
Tiger menace
Throughout its entire range, the tiger is the top of the food chain and other predators do not attack it or compete with it. On the contrary, tigers attack wolves, leopards and pythons. The Amur tiger and the brown bear pose a danger to each other. Crocodiles are potentially dangerous to tigers.
Tiger with prey
The main factor that limits the size of the tiger population is human economic activity and hunting for trophies (for obtaining skins) and for medicinal purposes (use in traditional oriental medicine).
Due to hunting and destruction of natural habitats, the number of tigers is rapidly decreasing. A hundred years ago, the population was estimated at 100,000 wild tigers, but now there are about 5,000 left. About 20,000 animals are kept in captivity, which prevents the complete destruction of the species. In addition, tigers are under international protection, listed in the IUCN Red List, and hunting them is strictly prohibited.
Enemies
Striped animals have few natural enemies among animals. The cat is at the top of the food pyramid, so it has almost no competitors. Sometimes a tiger has to confront packs of Indian red wolves.
Brown and Himalayan bears periodically take prey from tigers, for which they receive a well-deserved punishment. Another potentially dangerous predator is the crocodile, with which the wild cat periodically has clashes.
The most terrible enemy of these giants is man, who, over centuries of his destructive activity, has brought this species of wild cats to the brink of extinction.
Interesting facts about the tiger:
Tiger Facts
- July 29 is celebrated as International Tiger Day.
- The destruction of tigers was associated with the use of their organs and tissues in traditional Eastern (Chinese) medicine. The best-known medical products of this type are painkillers and aphrodisiacs. Such use is now prohibited and criminalized; but illegal trade still persists.
