What is the weight of a tiger? The largest tiger in the world
Tiger is the most major representative cat family. It ranks third in the ranking of the largest terrestrial predators after polar bear and a brown bear. The tiger lives mainly in dense forested areas. Tigers live in the taiga and tropical forests of the South and Southeast Asia.
Tiger species and habitat
There are several types of tigers. The largest of them lives in Eastern Siberia, and the smallest is on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali /
Most large tiger- Amur, weighs up to 420 pounds
- Bengal tiger (Panthera Tigris) - India, Nepal, Bangladesh. Population size: 2000 individuals.
- Chinese tiger (Panthera t. amoyensis) - China. Population size: only about 60 individuals in captivity.
- Indochinese tiger (Panthera t. corbetti) - Cambodia, Laos, Mjanma, Thailand, Vietnam. Population size: 400 - 1000 individuals.
- Malayan tiger (Panthera t. jacksoni) - Malay Peninsula. Population size: 600 - 800 individuals.
- Sumatran tiger (Panthera t. sumatrae) - Sumatra. Population size: 440 - 680 individuals.
- (Panthera t. Altaica) - Eastern Siberia. Population size: 450 - 500 individuals.
Tigers hunt a variety of animals, but the main diet of these predators is deer and wild boars. In Eastern Siberia, tigers even attack bears, although they do not always emerge victorious from the fight.
How tigers hunt
The tiger is a solitary hunter and, unlike lions, rarely hunts in a pack. Having noticed the victim, he crouches to the ground and slowly, silently creeps up. When the victim is at a distance of about 20 m, he suddenly rushes at him, grabs him by the neck and tries to overturn him with his weight. If a tiger has only wounded its prey, it can chase it for about 200 m. But such chases rarely end in success for it.
The tiger is big, beautiful, but extremely dangerous cat.
Tigers are an endangered species
Unfortunately, tigers are endangered. These beautiful animals once lived throughout Asia, but the reduction of their natural habitat, deforestation and illegal hunting have caused the population to plummet. In some Asian countries work special programs for the protection of tigers, which may be able to prevent complete destruction the most big cats in the world.
Did you know that
- The largest tiger, the Amur tiger, that the researchers came across weighed 432 kg.
- The tiger has well-developed all five senses, especially vision. Thanks to this, he sees in the dark five times better than a human.
- Despite the high skill of the hunter, on average only every tenth tiger attack is successful.
- The characteristic color of the tiger allows it to camouflage perfectly. The predator's striped fur makes the contours of its body unclear, which allows it to sneak up on its chosen prey unnoticed.
- A tiger can jump to a height of 5 meters. This opportunity is used when the victim is in a tree.
- A tiger can eat up to 50 kg of meat at one time.
- A tiger can run at a speed of 60 km/h.
- The tiger, like the jaguar, is a good swimmer.
Tiger Dimensions:
- Length: 1.7 - 3.3 m.
- Height at withers: 0.8 - 1.2 m.
- Body weight: 90 - 423 kg (males), 65 - 160 kg (females).
- Lifespan: 10-15 years wildlife, in captivity 16-20 years.
Rare and unusual tigers world September 7th, 2010
This year's symbol is the tiger. As you know, this is the most big representative the cat family that lives in Asia. Tigers can reach 4 meters in length and weigh up to 384 kilograms.
Today I want to tell you a little about the most amazing tigers that are found on Earth.
Maltese tiger
The unique Maltese tiger is the most... rare species tigers in the world. It is also known as the blue tiger. Habitat: Fuzhian Province, China. According to eyewitnesses, this cat has bluish fur with dark gray stripes. The term "Maltese" comes from felinologist (cat lovers) terminology for blue fur and refers to the bluish-gray coloring of the animals.
Majority maltese tigers, reported to belong to the South China subspecies. About existence blue tigers also reported from Myanmar and South Korea.
Heterozygous golden tiger
The unique heterozygous golden tiger is the second most rare tiger in the world after maltese tiger. A heterozygous golden tiger is like other golden tigers except for one important aspect– this tiger has a recessive gene responsible for its white color.
Golden striped tiger
A very unusual golden striped tiger has a light golden wool, pale paws and dim orange stripes. Its fur is much thicker than that of ordinary tigers. This color of tigers is found only in 30 animals living in captivity, and it is caused by a recessive gene. This is a type of color, not separate species these cats. These tigers are also larger in size than ordinary tigers and are of Bengal origin, like their closest relatives - white tigers.
White Tiger
White tigers are very rare in the wild, but have become frequently bred in zoos due to their popularity. This is one of the most beautiful animals in the world. It is easy to distinguish not only by white color, but also by blue eyes and pink nose. White tigers usually live shorter lives than their red counterparts. It is worth noting that white tigers are not albino. A white tiger can be born if both of its parents had a rare gene found only in white tigers. It has been estimated that this gene occurs only once every 10,000 litters. White tigers are also not a separate subspecies, but only differ in color from their relatives - bengal tigers, from which they come.
Liger (English liger from English lion - “lion” and English tiger - “tiger”)
a hybrid between a male lion and a female tigress, looking like giant lion with blurry stripes. Appearance and similar in size to those extinct in the Pleistocene cave lion and his relative the American lion. Ligers are the largest big cats in the world today. The largest liger is Hercules from the interactive theme park Jungle Island. Male ligers, with rare exceptions, have almost no mane, but unlike lions, ligers know how and love to swim. Another feature of ligers is that female ligers can give birth to offspring, which is unusual for feline hybrids. The extraordinary gigantism of ligers is due to the fact that ligers receive genes from their lion father that promote the growth of their offspring, while the tiger mother does not have genes that inhibit the growth of their offspring. While the tiger father does not have genes that promote growth, the lioness mother has genes that inhibit growth, which are passed on to her offspring. This explains the fact that liger is larger than a lion, and a tiger lion is smaller than a tiger.
In Russia, one ligress is kept in the Novosibirsk Zoo and the other in the Lipetsk Zoo. Ligers can also be seen at performances of the Great Moscow State Circus (2009).
Tigrolev (also tigon or tigon, English tigon: from English tiger “tiger” and lion “lion”)
a hybrid of a male tiger and a female lioness. Currently, tigons are not as familiar as their counterparts, ligers, although in late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century the situation was the opposite. Tigons are never found in nature, since tigers and lions have different habits, manners and distribution areas.
Tigons combine the characteristics of both parents: they can have spots from their mother (lion genes are responsible for spots - lion cubs are born spotted) and stripes from their father. The tigon's mane, if it appears, will always be shorter than the mane of a lion. Tigons are typically smaller than lions and tigers and weigh around 150 kg.
Male tigons are always sterile, while females are not.
Tiger ( Panthera tigris) is one of the most beautiful animals on Earth, the largest representative of the felines. The royal hunter, the most powerful of all predators, he is a symbol of strength and dignity. The tiger is a solitary predator, adapted to any climatic conditions, and in any weather he will get himself water and food. But, to our greatest regret, these animals are becoming less and less numerous, and some subspecies of tigers have completely disappeared.
Subspecies of tigers
At the beginning of the 20th century, hundreds of thousands lived in forests throughout Asia. striped predators. Habitat loss, in particular intensive deforestation, poaching and a reduction in food supply, has led to the fact that today the tiger population has decreased by 95%, and from eight subspecies of the tiger to today Only five survived: the Bengal, Malayan, Amur, Indochinese and Sumatran tigers. Three species of tigers were completely exterminated in the 20th century: the last Bali tiger was killed in 1937, the Caspian tiger in 1970, and a little later the Javan tiger shared their fate.
Bengal tiger(Panthera tigris tigris), also sometimes called Royal Tiger- the most numerous subspecies in our time. This is the national animal of India and lives here greatest number Bengal tigers. It is also found in Bangladesh, Burma, Bhutan, Nepal, Iran and Pakistan. It lives in all types of forests, including alpine and mangrove forests, and is found in savannas and swamps.
Males weigh from 160 to 250 kg, females - from 100 to 160 kg, body length from 1.4 to 2.8 meters. The color of the sides and back is from red-orange to brown-yellow with dark stripes, the belly is bright white.
Like all tigers, the Bengal is very fond of bodies of water where you can swim in silence.
(Panthera corbetti) found shelter in forests, savannas and lower swamps Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and the southeastern provinces of China. Its exact number is unknown - according to some sources, the population of Indochinese tigers is less than a thousand, according to others - from 1200-1800 individuals.
The coloring of the Indochinese tiger is more contrasting than that of its Bengal counterpart.
In one sitting, a tiger can eat up to 40 kg of meat. However, this does not mean that he eats an entire herd in a month, because he does not have lunch every day and 30-40 large mammals a year is enough for him.
Amur tiger (Panthera tiger altaica) or Ussuri tiger is the beauty and pride of the Far Eastern taiga, a symbol of the Far East, listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.
By the end of the 1940s of the last century, Ussuri tigers were practically destroyed - then there were no more than 40 individuals living in the wild. Fortunately, today, thanks to environmental measures, the situation has improved significantly - as of 2016, more than 500 of these large cats live throughout their habitat.
95% of the entire northern tiger population lives in the southern, most developed part of the Far East, and 5% in China.
The Amur tiger is the largest of all representatives, it weighs from 250 to 320 kg with a body length of 2 to 3.8 meters.
The long, thick fur is yellow-orange in summer and becomes lighter in winter. The Amur tiger is accustomed to cold weather, and thanks to its layer subcutaneous fat even in severe frosts he can sleep in the snow.
(Panthera sumatrae) is an inhabitant of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where about 300-400 of these animals live in remote areas. Found in dense tropical forests and mangar thickets.
Compared to other species, this tiger is small: its body length is no more than 2.5 meters, weight is about 140 kg. This tiger is the most brightly colored.
(Panthera tigris jacksoni) is found only in the south of the Malay Peninsula (Southeast Asia). This tiger was identified as a separate subspecies in 2004, before which the population was considered to belong to its Indochinese relative.
This is the smallest of all tiger species, its body length is no more than 2.1 m, and its weight rarely exceeds 120 kg.
Lifestyle of a Lone Hunter
Depending on its habitat, the color of tiger fur varies from bright orange to straw yellow with the inevitable black stripes. The tiger looks great in its luxurious striped skin! This seemingly flashy outfit perfectly hides the tiger in bamboo thickets and tall grass. Each tiger wears a one-of-a-kind fur coat: the pattern on the tiger skin, like human fingerprints, is never repeated.
Tigers are very strong and powerful animals, capable of killing large prey with one blow. Nature arranges it in such a way that everything about tigers is adapted for hunting:
- The tiger finds its prey thanks to its exceptionally fine hearing. When attacking, he straightens his ears and points them forward, and when defending, he pulls them back. Vibrissae help to navigate the terrain;
- tiger eyes see well in the dark, their night vision is six times better than that of humans;
- powerful jaws and huge fangs, which can grow up to 7 cm in length, help the tiger deal with prey, which is sometimes larger than itself, the large skull increases the bite force of the upper jaw;
- the long flexible body and muscular pelvic limbs give the tiger speed, mobility and power, and long tail helps maintain balance during long jumps;
- Like almost all cats, tigers can retract their sickle-shaped claws into their pads. When hunting, claws are formidable weapons.
Tigers live as hermits, occupying a certain area of the forest. Their hunting grounds, the area of which sometimes exceeds 1 thousand km2, animals mark deep scratches on tree trunks, and on stones and bushes they leave odorous marks. Walking around his property, the owner regularly checks his own and others’ marks and mercilessly drives away competitors - other males.
The favorite habitats of tigers are impassable thickets along the banks of reservoirs, because these mighty animals, unlike most representatives of the cat kingdom, are excellent swimmers, and swimming gives them real pleasure. Tigers living in the tropics hot weather after swimming, they look for a shady place under the trees or hide in a cool cave. Tigers avoid open spaces.
The tiger prefers to hunt alone. Its activity peaks at dawn and dusk. Tireless on long journeys, and in search of prey it can travel up to 20 kilometers in a day. Like all cats, it locates its prey using hearing. Having spotted an animal, he crouches down and silently sneaks through the tall grass until he overtakes the victim with one powerful jump, and he can jump forward up to 10 meters and 5 meters up. Sharp claws dig into the victim's back, fangs bite through her throat. Large prey he knocks him to the ground with a blow of his paw and crushes the vertebrae with his fangs.The main objects of tiger hunting are ungulates: buffaloes, deer, wild pigs.
While protecting its territory, the Amur tiger can also attack a bear, although such a fight does not always end in victory for the tiger, and Bengal tigers sometimes attack even adult elephants and rhinoceroses.
The tiger usually drags the prey, no matter how large, to its hiding place, often several hundred meters away, so that it can dine there quietly to its own pleasure. Each tiger consumes about three tons of food per year, but it never kills more than it can eat, unlike, for example, wolves.
Tiger breeding
Tigers do not have a specific mating season. When the female is ready for fertilization, the male spends several days together. After mating, the male leaves his girlfriend and goes in search of new partners, and the tigress looks for a secluded place for a den. Pregnancy lasts from 93 to 117 days. In a well-protected cave or in dense thickets of bushes, the female usually gives birth to 2-3 cubs, sometimes their number can reach up to 6. Helpless newborns, already dressed in striped coats in the manner of their parents, weigh about 1 kilogram. They open their eyes on the tenth day. The tigress raises her children alone, the male does not bear any paternal responsibilities and lives on his own.
The tigress is a very caring mother, she diligently licks her babies with her rough tongue, like that of all cats, jealously guards them and is ready to kill anyone who dares to be near her lair. Panthers, jackals, bears, pythons - all these animals pose a threat to little tiger cubs. She leaves the den only during the hunt.
For the first eight weeks of their lives, tiger cubs feed only on their mother's milk. Then the tigress begins to bring them small prey, so the babies gradually get used to their future daily food - meat. True, up to six months, and sometimes longer, the mother continues to feed the younger generation with milk. At two months, tiger cubs first emerge from their shelter into the world. They begin to master the wisdom of hunting at the age of 6 months, which takes about a year. Games with brothers and sisters, chasing and catching up prepare the animals for independent life. Young predators switch completely to their own bread only at the age of 1.5 years, but sometimes even up to the age of three they stay with their mother, and only when they have finally matured do they go in search of an individual plot. Puberty in tigers it occurs at 5-6 years.
The tiger is the only four-legged predator that enjoys the grim reputation of a cannibal. Although, as a rule, tigers do not consider people as prey, but if they feel threatened, the tiger will attack. In most cases, attacks by huge cats on people occur due to the lack of food supply in the habitat.
A tiger can knock out its prey or even kill it with one single blow of its front paw. The springy power of the muscular hind legs comes in handy at the moment when the tiger suddenly collapses from cover on its prey with several giant leaps.
Among tigers, albinos are very rarely born, with fur devoid of pigment, which gives the animal a red color. Albinos Blue eyes And white fur With brown stripes. The Maharajah of Rewa, a princely state in India, managed to preserve a rare deviation from the norm. The offspring of this tiger are now able to pass on their unique coloring to generations. White tigers are considered national treasure India.
Tigers cannot purr like cats. When experiencing a state of bliss, they squint or close their eyes. And a tiger can afford to cover the evil eye only when it is confident in its absolute safety.
The stripes on a tiger’s skin are its trademark; their number can reach up to a hundred, but what’s interesting is that not only its fur is striped, but also its skin itself.
Tigresses are capable of conceiving only 4–5 days a year.
Tigers have round pupils, not slit-shaped pupils like cats'.
In nature, tigers rarely live longer than 15 years, only in ideal conditions At the zoo, their ages are longer – 25-year-old individuals are not uncommon.
The tiger is the largest animal from the cat family. This family also includes the panther, lynx, and cheetah, but the tiger surpasses them in size.
Species: Tiger
Genus: Panthers
Family: Felines
Class: Mammals
Squad: Carnivores
Type: Chordata
Kingdom: Animals
Domain: Eukaryotes
Tiger anatomy
The size and weight of a tiger animal depends on its species. There are 6 types of tiger in total. Most large species tigers can reach up to 2.5 meters in length without a tail. The tiger is approximately 115 cm in height. The weight of the largest individuals can vary up to 200-300 kg. The coloring of a tiger also depends on its species, the color of the coat is from rusty red to rusty brown, while inner part ears, paws, belly and chest are light. The iris of the eye has yellow. The whole body is covered in black stripes. Each animal has a unique arrangement of stripes, which helps to recognize different individuals. The tail is long, even, also with black stripes, the tip of the tail is always black. The tiger's spine is flexible, the body is muscular, pelvic bones have such a structure that the animal can develop higher speed, and also had good strength jump.
It is extremely difficult to detect the appearance of a tiger in advance, because its feet have soft, fleshy pads, thanks to which its steps become silent. The tiger's skull is short, rounded, and powerful. Has a massively developed jaw. With its help, the tiger can inflict a crushing bite on the enemy. The predator's mouth opens wide, the jaws have a strong bone structure, powerful muscles provide great strength squeezing when bitten. When attacking, the tiger sinks its teeth into the prey in such a way that the prey cannot escape during any of its maneuvers. The length of the fangs is 8 cm without root.
Where does the tiger live?
Tigers were originally common in Asia. To date, they have survived in only 16 countries: Laos, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Russia, India, Iran, Indonesia, China, North Korea (not confirmed), Malaysia, Pakistan, Nepal, Thailand. At the same time, they choose completely different places for their habitat - this is the taiga in the north, and semi-deserts, and forests, and dry savannas, and the humid tropics.
What does a tiger eat?
Tigers can eat all kinds of animals, which they can knock down in one jump. These are deer, wild boars, roe deer, rhinoceroses. Living in captivity, they do not disdain smaller animals, such as hares, cows, donkeys, and horses. The desire to consume plant gifts of nature appears in tigers only in summer period. Nuts, grass, fruits are used.
Tiger Lifestyle
Tigers are territorial animals. All adult individuals live alone and have their own area, where they hunt and which they protect from other representatives of their kind. The territory of a male can reach from 60 to 100 km2, while that of females is usually smaller - 20 km2. The territories of males do not overlap, otherwise a fight will begin. But the territories of males and females can overlap.
Tiger breeding
Tigers are polygamous animals. Mating season they have in December-January. The male finds the female by the smell of her urine. Based on the behavior of the female and the smell of her urine, it becomes clear how ready she is for the reproduction of offspring. A female has only a few days a year when she is ready for fertilization. In cases where mating was not fruitful, the female’s estrus repeats the next month.
The tigress is capable of bearing offspring at the age of 3-4 years. She gives birth once every 2-3 years. Pregnancy lasts +/- 100 days. At the same time, the male does not take part in raising children at all. The female successfully does all this. Cubs are born in March-April in the amount of 2-4 cubs. Less often there is 1 tiger cub or more than 4 in a litter. They are born completely helpless. They feed on mother's milk for 1.5 months.
The female does not allow the male to approach the children, since strange males are capable of killing babies. At 2 months, tiger cubs already leave their den and follow their mother. At 1.5 years old they become independent, sometimes remaining with their mother for 2-3 years. Then they begin to look for their territory. Tigers live up to 20-26 years.
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The largest and most fearsome of the big cats is the tiger. The tiger is one of the largest land predators, second only to the polar and brown bears. Nine subspecies of tiger have been identified, of which beginning of XXI Only six centuries have survived. Total quantity tigers on at the moment about 4000-6500 individuals, of which the most numerous is Bengal tiger. In the 20th century, the tiger was included in the Red Book. Hunting for it is prohibited throughout the world.
The tiger is the largest and heaviest of wild cats, but its various subspecies vary greatly in size and body weight. Adult males Amur tigers can reach up to 2.3-2.5 m, and in some cases up to 2.6-2.8 meters in length without a tail and weigh up to 275 kg, sometimes up to 300-320 kg. Tigers of those subspecies that live in tropical areas Asian range, somewhat smaller.
The tiger is an exclusively Asian species. The historical range of the tiger (now strongly dissected into separate populations, sometimes very distant from one another) is located in the Russian Far East, Iran, Afghanistan, China, India and the countries of Southeast Asia, including the Sunda Archipelago (Indonesian Islands).
The habitat was formed in northern China about 2 million years ago. About 10,000 years ago, tigers moved south through the Himalayas and eventually spread throughout almost all of India, the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. A few centuries ago, its habitat area extended from Kazakhstan to the Sunda Islands, from Northern Iran to the mouth of the Amur. Now, in most of this territory, tigers have been exterminated; the largest populations remain in India and Indochina. Within Russia, a small population of tigers is found only in Far East, in Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories. Between 1995 and 2005 alone, the tiger's range in Asia shrank by approximately 40%, leaving the tiger in only 7% of its original range.
The habitats of tigers can be very diverse: wet tropical forests, mangrove swamps and bamboo thickets in the tropics, dry savannas, semi-deserts, bare rocky hills and taiga in the north.
In the zoo, against the background of the back wall of the cage, the tiger amazes with the brightness of its color - orange with black stripes. But in natural environment habitat stripes serve as excellent camouflage. In thickets of elephant grass and bushes, the tiger becomes almost invisible as soon as it freezes motionless. But even when he gracefully glides through the whimsical shadows of the dense jungle, he is very difficult to notice. All subspecies of tigers - Bengal, Amur and seven others - have colors that match the characteristics of their habitat.
The tiger leads a solitary lifestyle, although sometimes the male hunts with a female companion. However, this is a temporary phenomenon, limited to a few weeks of the mating period in winter or spring. In the same way, the territory that the tiger marks with urine, announcing with a roar that these places belong to him, turns out to be only a temporary home. After a few weeks, almost all tigers again begin to lead a wandering life, and then mark a new territory. The size of a tiger's personal territory depends greatly on habitat, the abundance of prey, and, in the case of males, the presence of females in the area. The territory of tigresses reaches 20 square kilometers, while the territory of males is usually much larger - 60-100 square kilometers.
Given the aggressive territorial behavior of male tigers, fights over the distribution of habitat between them often lead to serious injury and sometimes even death of one of them. However, in most conflict situations tigers are limited to use threatening poses and sounds. Male tigers can easily get along with tigresses on their territory and even share prey. Tigresses can also share their prey and, unlike males, are much more loyal to sharing prey with individuals of their own sex.
In the wild, tigers primarily feed on ungulates: for the Bengal tiger, the main prey items are species such as Indian sambar deer, axis deer, wild boar and nilgai; for the Amur tiger - red deer, sika deer, wild boars, roe deer and musk deer; for the Sumatran tiger - sambar deer, wild boar and black-backed tapir. Tigers can also hunt large herbivores such as Indian buffalo, gaur, and elk. In addition, from time to time tigers also feed on animals atypical for their diet, such as monkeys, pheasants, hares and even fish. For adequate nutrition, a tiger requires about 50-70 ungulates per year.
It is known that tigers can kill other predators, in particular wolves, leopards, boa constrictors and sometimes even crocodiles. Amur tigers and brown bears represent quite serious danger for each other; There are numerous reports of tigers killing cubs and even attacking adult bears. Brown and Himalayan bears make up 5-8% diet Amur tiger (mostly adult males kill them). The Malayan bear, being very aggressive, sometimes drives tigers away from their prey, although more often the opposite happens.
Adults Indian elephants are unattainable prey for a tiger, so big cats try to avoid encounters with them, but sometimes they can kill young elephant calves. Also known by at least one case where a tiger killed adult female Indian rhinoceros. Tigers can sometimes prey on domestic animals such as dogs, cows, horses and donkeys. Plant food- nuts, grass, fruits - consumed only in summer.
There are also cannibals among tigers. Although tigers and humans usually coexist with little or no interest in each other. However, once a man-eating tiger appears, the life of entire regions is paralyzed by fear until the man-eater is killed.
When tracking prey, the tiger uses its camouflage coloration to approach the intended victim several meters under the cover of dense vegetation, and then rush at it with a swift dash. Like other big cats, the tiger kills its prey by gnawing its throat and often breaking its neck in the process. He usually hunts at dusk or at night, but sometimes hunger makes him forget his commitment to darkness and rush at a herd of antelope or other prey in broad daylight. A tiger usually hunts silently and only makes a voice when looking for a mate. Then the night jungle is shaken for hours by a terrifying roar, until finally a tigress appears, having heard the passionate call.
Females become sexually mature at three years, males at four. The tigress is capable of fertilization only a few days a year, during which mating occurs several times a day and is accompanied by loud sounds. It is likely that some females that were not fertilized during the breeding season will return to estrus after some time.
The den is made in the most inaccessible places: in crevices among stones, in caves, among windbreaks, and reed supports. A female tiger can occupy the same den for several years in a row.
Pregnancy lasts 3.5 months. Tiger cubs are born blind and completely helpless, two, three or four per litter. At the age of two weeks they begin to see, hear, double their weight in a month, become nimble and inquisitive. They get out of the den and even try to climb trees. They begin to eat meat as early as two months of age, but mother's milk suck for up to six months. At this age, tiger cubs reach weight big dog and switch entirely to meat - from now until the end of their days.
The mother first brings them fresh food from her hunts, then leads them from one prey to another. Two-year-old tiger cubs weigh up to one hundred kilograms and begin to hunt on their own under the guidance of their mother. The tigress patiently and thoroughly strives to pass on to her heirs all her experience, all her worldly wisdom. She will let her children live independently in complex world fully formed and well prepared. The tigress has a lot of worries, and she copes with them alone. The tiger does not take any part in raising his children, although he often lives next to them. A tiger family breaks up when the young ones turn three years old. In the fourth year of life they become independent.
Most cats avoid water, but tigers seem to love swimming. When tigers crossed the Himalayas and settled into the tropics many thousands of years ago, they discovered that water was an excellent coolant. Now, in the stuffy and hot jungles of India, tigers sit or lie for hours, immersed up to their necks in the water of a lake or river, and enjoy the coolness.
The tiger is a clean animal. After lunch, he tidies up his fur, carefully licking it with his tongue; The tigress licks the cubs. The claws cleanse the remnants of the meal by scratching the soft bark with them.
Subspecies of tigers
In total, 9 subspecies of tiger have been identified, 3 of which have already been destroyed by humans.
(or Ussuri tiger, lat. Panthera tigris altaica)
The largest subspecies of predatory cats. Length of an adult male Ussuri tiger can reach 280 cm, and weight - 320 kg. Moreover, the length of the tail alone is approximately one meter. It is not surprising that these tigers have a great need for food and are capable of eating up to 25 kg of meat at a time.
Thus, in order for the Amur tiger to always be full of strength, it must consume at least 9 kg per day. meat. However, it is known that in the absence of prey, a tiger can survive on a starvation diet for a week.
Or Royal Bengal Tiger(lat. Panthera tigris tigris or lat. Panthera tigris bengalensis)
This predatory cat, as the name suggests, lives in India. However, sometimes it can be found in neighboring countries.
This subspecies numbers approximately 1,200 individuals, the size of which is not much smaller than Siberian tiger- 3 meters long and 260 kg. weight.
(Corbet's tiger, lat. Panthera tigris corbetti)
Distributed in the most southern regions China, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. There are approximately 900 individuals of this subspecies. The population of these tigers has been poorly studied, since tigers usually live in the inaccessible forests of Indochina.
(lat. Panthera tigris jacksoni)
Six years ago, during research, it became known about another subspecies of tigers - the Malayan. The number of individuals of this subspecies is five hundred.
(lat. Panthera tigris amoyensis)
Judging by the fact that there are only 20 individuals left in the wild, namely in the central and southeastern parts of China, this subspecies of tigers is classified as a rare and almost extinct species.
(lat. Panthera tigris sumatrae)
The life of this subspecies takes place in Sumatra. About 400 individuals are found in the wild, the remaining 235 languish in zoos.
With development agriculture the number of individuals began to decrease noticeably due to which a program was launched to organize national parks. The Sumatran tiger is much smaller than other subspecies. So, an adult male weighs a maximum of 140 kg.
(Turanian tiger, lat. Panthera tigris virgata)
The Caspian tiger could previously be found in Central Asia and throughout the entire territory up to the Caucasus. The coat color of this subspecies was bright red, and the stripes were longer with a brownish tint.
With the onset of cold weather, the fur became fluffy and thick, and lush sideburns also grew. Exterminated in the 1970s.
(lat. Panthera tigris balica)
Lived on the island of Bali and is completely extinct. Smallest in weight and size than others predatory cats. The body of this subspecies was covered with short, bright orange fur with black stripes, the number of which was much less than that of other subspecies. Exterminated in the 1940s.
(lat. Panthera tigris sondaica)
We lived on the island of Java (Indonesia). Considered the smallest subspecies. Its weight was no more than 140 kg with a body length of 245 cm. The weight and size of females was twice fewer males. It was exterminated relatively recently - in the 1980s.
Color variations
Tigers are characterized by a mutation in coat color. It is for this reason that tigers are often born with white fur, which, however, does not mean that they are albinos. After all, their fur, although white, is covered with black stripes, and their eye color is blue or amber, which is typical for tigers with a normal color.
In addition, their belonging to non-albinos can be judged by the presence of melanin, the amount of which is not large, but is still present, which cannot be said about albinos. The birth of white tigers at one time or another can occur in each subspecies. But if one of the parents was of the Amur subspecies, then the baby has a better chance of being born white.
In addition to white tigers, tigers with an even more exotic golden color are also found in nature. The coat of this subspecies is light with brown stripes.
The white areas of the fur are larger in size than those of tigers of other subspecies. At the moment, there are about 30 individuals in captivity with this type of color. Like white tigers, all golden tigers kept in captivity are predominantly of Bengal origin, but are genetically “contaminated” with partially Amur genes white tiger named Tony, who is the common ancestor of almost all white tigers in North America. The assumption that this coloration appeared by crossing Amur and Bengal tigers is a common misconception.