A man, considering himself the master on the planet, unfortunately, has already exterminated a large number of animals from the face of the Earth. The threat of extinction hung over the biggest cats - tigers. These are large mammals of the cat family, and although they are predators themselves, there are not so many of them left on Earth. Today they are listed in the Red Book, hunting is prohibited. The habitat of their habitat is Asia. For those who do not know where tigers live, let us indicate specific areas:
- Far East,
- China,
- India,
- Iran,
- Afghanistan,
- countries of Southeast Asia.
Depending on the habitat, they are divided into several species. Each of them is named after the place where tigers live at the moment. So, Amur live in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territory of Russia, the royal Nepalese live in India, Nepal. There is also an Indochinese subspecies, it can be found in South China, Laos, Vietnam, and the Sumatra view of these beautiful animals lives on the island of Sumatra.
Tigers in Russia
It is impossible to tell in one article about each of the species of these huge striped cats and where the tigers live, so we’ll dwell only on one of them - the Ussuri. It lives in the Far Eastern taiga and is its most important decoration. This large mammal can reach a length of up to 290 cm, while having a tail half the length of its body.
In many Far Eastern peoples, it is a kind of object for worship. Despite his strength, he was very vulnerable and has a dramatic fate. Already in 1930, he was on the verge of extinction due to hunting. And only by the 1960s. the number was slightly increased. However, to this day there are those who wish to hunt for him, although it is not so easy to find places in the taiga where tigers live. They are listed in the Red Book and are protected by law in all countries of the world.
Many people mistakenly believe that mainly tigers live in Africa. However, this is misleading. These strong cats are exclusively Asian species, live only in zoos in Africa, they are not in natural habitat. But have they ever been there? Many scientists are trying to solve this question, but no reliable data has yet been found.
In the legends of some African nations, it is said that saber-toothed tigers lived on the continent, but is it really so difficult to answer. It is believed that such a species existed in Eurasia and America, but a long time ago, about 30 thousand years ago. But from Africa information about its existence is still being received, but could not yet find any evidence for this. All information is based only on the stories of hunters who allegedly met him. However, scientists believe that this species of animals was closer to the lions. They lived prides and hunted together, while the tiger always lives alone. In the process of evolution, these beautiful and large cats may have been divided into several different species.
In the cat family, white individuals sometimes come across. There are such among the tigers. They are found in North and Central India, as well as in some other countries. Usually, albino calves are born from common red individuals. In nature, their survival rate is almost zero, all due to color. They can not normally hunt and, as a rule, are doomed to death. To survive, they are kept in zoos.
Brief description of the tiger
Big cats have a very impressive size. So, in length, they grow to 1.5 - 2.5 meters, and this is without taking into account the length of the tail. The height at their withers in this case is about 1 meter, and the body weight is on average 200 kg. True, females are less impressive in size, and it is easy to notice. Their weight ranges from 100 to 180 kg.
Tigers are largest felines. The two subspecies of these cats, the Amur and Bengal tigers, are especially large. Their record weight is 384 and 388 kg, respectively.
Big cats differ in their color. It is predominantly orange in color, the tone of which depends on the subspecies of the animal. But the inner part of the paws and the stomach almost always remain white. Although the most famous in tiger color stripes are. They are located across the body, and can vary from black to brown. Usually one individual has more than a hundred of them, and not all the stripes are even and straight - many split into two and create beautiful patterns. That is what makes cats so beautiful.
Tiger habitat
At the moment, only about 5-6 thousand tigers live in the world, since the rest have been exterminated. And almost all of them are located in Asia, and they are distributed throughout the eastern part of the continent. So, it is known that they survived in the territory of 16 countries, among which Russia.
All existing individuals belong to 6 subspecies: Amur, Bengal, Malay, Chinese, Indochinese, Sumatran. And almost half of the tigers belong to the Bengal subspecies, and the rest are on the verge of destruction. That is why hunting for these beautiful animals is prohibited throughout the world.
Tiger lifestyle
Typically, these felines are active at night, as well as in the morning and evening. But during the day they sleep off, although not always. Big cats hunt mainly for ungulates: deer, roe deer, wild boar and others. Although they feed on many other animals: fish, reptiles, birds, or even domestic animals. For this they are not very fond of.
They kill their victims by biting their necks, although they also have a powerful punch. Usually they either attack from an ambush, or sneak up as close as possible to the victim, then playing catch-up with them.
Tigers are solitary, and are territorial animals. So, they may be the sole owners of the territories from 20 to 100 km 2 (smaller possessions for females, and large ones for males). And they protect their property very jealously, constantly bypassing it and marking. Especially in this regard, the males stand out, not allowing even to walk on their possessions. While females can even share possessions with other members of the tiger society.
Significant differences from ordinary cats are the love of water (often bathe) and dislike of climbing trees (too big). But in terms of reproduction, they are quite similar. Couples these animals do not form. After birth, cubs, as a rule, only the female takes care of them, not admitting the male to the cubs.
Danger to humans
Generally speaking, tigers usually have enough food and they don’t hunt people. However, it happens otherwise. For example, often sick or old individuals take the path of cannibalism, who lack the strength to catch up or defeat more complex prey. Although healthy cats can attack humans.
As a rule, tiger ambushes are the main danger to humans, as these cats prefer to attack unexpectedly from the back when they are not seen. Because of this, a method was devised to significantly reduce the likelihood of an attack. People began to wear masks on the back of his head. Thus, a dangerous predator rarely decides to attack, because it cannot distinguish a mask from a face and thinks that it will be noticed.
But in general, the vast majority of big cats do not attack people. Most attacks belong to individual members of this species. However, tigers are not justified. This was probably the reason for the widespread extermination of predators.
Interesting about tigers
The tiger is the largest cat, and it also has the greatest strength among all cats. However, in the fight, these animals are inferior to the lions. Probably because of their main difference: lions live in prides, and tigers are single, in fact. Due to this, a lion, firstly, gets more experience of battles, protecting his territory, secondly, he is more calm and reasonable in battle, and thirdly, he can fight even with serious wounds, because he knows that his relatives will take care of him. The tiger is deprived of such support, because of which it fights aggressively, thoughtlessly, and leaves the battle after the first wounds.
200 years ago, the first hybrids of honey, a lion and a tiger, were bred. A cross between a lioness and a tiger got the name tigrolev (or taigon). They possess signs of both cats, sometimes combining mane, stripes and spots. A cross between a tigress and a lion has a name liger. Their main feature is the large size - they can grow up to 3 meters in length.
It is interesting that after that the ligrits can get offspring again from both lions and tigers. In the first case, the hybrids have a funny name - liligry. And the children of ligrits and tigers are called taligrams.
Wolves
Wolves are the genus of carnivorous mammals belonging to the Psov family.
Lynx
Lynxes are rare predatory animals, distinguished by beauty and grace, like many cats.
Tiger Species
Tigers differ in coat color and size, depending on the territory in which they live. Thus, several subspecies of this cat family were identified.
Bengal tiger prefers life in dry savannas, mangrove and rain forests. Such conditions can be found on the territory of modern India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. There are quite a few of these animals - about two thousand individuals.
The largest population of Indochinese tigers is found in Malaysia. It was possible to save this subspecies due to the fact that tough laws were introduced in the country that successfully combat poaching.
On the verge of extinction is Chinese. Where does the subspecies tiger live? In the wild, to meet him is no longer possible. Chinese tigers are preserved only in the country's zoos, but the Chinese government is trying to return this type of cats to their natural habitat.
The largest and smallest "cat" of the planet
Tigers can live not only on the continent. There are representatives of this species, who have chosen the nature of the island of Sumatra and the Malacca Peninsula as their habitat. From their relatives, they differ primarily in body size. The maximum weight that an adult can reach is 120-130 kilograms. Sumatrian tigers are considered the smallest among their other relatives.
And the Amur tiger is considered to be the largest cat on the planet. Where does this subspecies of the cat family live, which is also called Ussuri or Far Eastern? now tell
Where do Ussurian tigers live? What is their lifestyle?
In accordance with its name, tigers of this subspecies are common in the basins of the Amur and Ussuri rivers, as well as in the south-eastern part of Russia and in the Primorsky Territory. Only 5% of individuals of this subspecies can be found in China.
Unlike their close relatives (lions), tigers lead a solitary lifestyle. Adults never gather in flocks. They have their own territory - a special place where the tiger lives and hunts. In addition, in this matter, the animals we consider differ in enviable constancy. Over the years, they have not left their site, year after year they go around the same paths, stating in this way to all their relatives that this place is already taken. To mark the boundaries of their territory, tigers use odorous tags, like most cats. In addition, they can make notes on trees, stripping their bark with claws. Such traces can be found even at a height of two and a half meters.
What do tigers eat?
The main rations of tigers are ungulates such as spotted deer, wild boar and red deer. In this case, a tiger should eat at least ten kilograms of meat per day. Thus, every year in the territory where the tiger lives, about 50-70 animals die. This type of predator is capable of hunting at any time convenient for it.
Unlike other members of the feline family, tigers are not afraid of water, therefore they very often supplement their diet with fish that they catch during spawning.
They hunt, as well as live, tigers alone. And only one attempt out of ten ends in luck. Perhaps the whole thing is that these predators prefer not to pursue the victim, who was able to escape, but to hunt down a new one.
If the amount of food is drastically reduced, the tiger can leave its territory and begin to hunt livestock or dogs. At the same time, a young healthy animal never attacks a person first. Only old or wounded individuals who are unable to hunt large prey can do this.
Reproduction and education of offspring
As already mentioned, tigers are loners, so their mating season is not associated with any particular season. Mating occurs when the male finds a female. He stays near her for no more than 5-7 days, after which he leaves.
To carry offspring, a pregnant tigress needs from 95 to 112 days. The cubs are born absolutely blind and helpless. Therefore, forced to stay with her mother. They begin to see only after one and a half weeks after birth. After about 15 days, their teeth begin to erupt. Up to two months, the mother feeds the kittens with milk. And only after this time, the calves first try the meat.
From about six months young offspring begins to accompany the mother during the hunt, but does not participate in it. The young begin to hunt independently after reaching one year. Independently kill a big game tiger can only two years after birth.
Tiger cubs live with their mother until puberty. After they can feed themselves, the cubs separate. However, the territory where tigers from the new offspring live belongs to their mother. These are the orders.
Where does the white tiger live?
Contrary to popular belief, the white tiger is not isolated in a separate subspecies. This feature of its color is the result of gene mutation. Some individuals do not have pigment that should dye the wool yellow. At the same time, the black bars remain in place.
The birth of a white tiger is very rare. An albino may appear in an ordinary tiger family, regardless of its subspecies. For 10 thousand individuals with a yellow color, there is only one white.
Most often, white beauties are born in captivity, as they are descendants of the same animal. Therefore, the main places where tigers live are zoos or private nurseries.
Cat Protected by the State
Over the past hundred years, the Amur tiger population has declined 25 times. In the wild, no more than 450 individuals of this subspecies remained. The main reason for their disappearance was poaching. These beauties are destroyed for the sake of the skin, in addition, in East Asia, bones and other parts of the killed animal, the name of which is the Amur tiger, are also used as valuable medicinal raw materials. Where does this subspecies live after the destruction of its habitat?
In general, individuals of one population cannot contact each other because they live in isolation from each other. The reason for such isolation becomes human activity. Thus, the number of predators significantly influenced by the decreasing factor of their genetic diversity. The imbalance between the predator and its main victims is also negative, because the number of the latter also decreases every year.
Now the Ussuri tiger is listed in the Red Book. In Russia, a poacher must pay a fine for his murder. For reference: in China for such a crime the death penalty.
Tiger: description and photos
Tigers are distinguished by a flexible, muscular body and a round head with a prominent forehead, expressive eyes and ears that are small but sensitive to sounds. Tigers perfectly see in the dark, and according to scientists, can distinguish colors. Bengal and Amur tigers are the largest in their form. The size of these tigers can reach 2.5-2.9 meters in length (excluding the tail), and the weight of tigers of this species reaches 275-320 kg. The height of the tiger at the withers is 1.15 m. The average weight of an adult male is 180-250 kg.
According to official data, the record weight of the largest tiger (Bengal) was 388.7 kg.
In this case, females are usually smaller than males in size.
The white tiger's elastic mustache grows in 4-5 rows, framing a tiger's face. With sharp canines up to 8 cm in length, a tiger easily cracks down on its prey.
Special horny protrusions on the side of the movable tongue help to carve the carcass of the dead animal, and also serve as an auxiliary hygiene product. Adult mammals have 30 teeth.
There are 5 fingers on the front legs of the tiger, there are only 4 of them on the hind legs, retractable claws are located on each finger.
The tiger's ears are small and round. The pupil of the animal is round, the iris is yellow.
Southern species of tigers have short and dense hair, northern brethren are more fluffy.
The color of animals is dominated by rust with a red or brown tint, the chest and abdomen are much lighter and sometimes completely white.
The tiger owes its exceptional beauty to dark brown or completely black stripes located all over the body. Полосы тигра имеют характерные заостренные окончания, иногда раздваиваются, затем вновь соединяются. Обычно у животного имеется более 100 полос.
Длинный хвост, покрытый кольцами полосок, на конце всегда имеет черный цвет. Полосы тигра расположены уникально, как отпечатки пальца человека, и служат зверю отличным камуфляжем.
След самца тигра более длинный и вытянутый, чем у самки. Длина следа у самца составляет 15-16 см, ширина 13-14 см. The length of the trail of a female tiger reaches 14-15 cm, and its width is 11-13 cm.
The roar of a tiger is heard at a distance of almost 3 kilometers.
Despite its solid weight, tigers can reach speeds of up to 60 km / h, regardless of the surrounding landscape.
The life of an animal in captivity is approximately 15 years.
Who is stronger - a lion or a tiger?
This question worries and interests many. Unfortunately, there are very few documented facts about the battles of the lion against the tiger, so there is no reason to speak of the superiority of one member of the animal world over another. It is possible only to compare the tiger and the lion in their external parameters and lifestyle.
- So, as for the weight category, then at least a little, about 50-70 kg, but the tiger is still heavier than a lion.
- The force of compression of the jaws when bitten, both animals are in the same position.
- The principle of killing the chosen victim is also identical - both the lion and the tiger dig their prey into the neck, piercing it with powerful fangs.
- But in terms of lifestyle, these two predators are radically different. The tiger is a born lone hunter, preferring to get food in its own "land", that is, in the marked area. The quarrels between congeners are almost excluded, since tigers rarely intersect with each other during a hunt. Lions live in pride clans, so the males often fight not only for the right to hunt, but also for the “lady of the heart” during mating games. Often such fights end in serious wounds and even the death of one of the lions.
- It’s impossible to say for sure who is more enduring - a lion or his striped feline from the cat family. Both animals run fast enough, overcoming decent distances, and yet such a criterion as endurance can be justified by the age of these predators, living conditions, or their state of health.
There are facts when trained lions clashed with the same circus tigers. Basically, the lion emerged victorious from the battlefield, but again, this conclusion is subjective, no one led the statistics, so you should not use this information as a 100% statement of superiority.
Both animals, lion and tiger, are very strong, powerful and perfectly adapted to the natural environment of their habitat.
Tiger hybrids
Hybrids, born as a result of the crossing of a large striped cat and other members of the panther genus, began to appear in captivity in the 19th century.
The hybrid of a lion and a female tiger, has a huge size and in adulthood reaches three meters in length.
A hybrid of a tiger and a lioness, always smaller than its parents, and endowed with features of both: paternal stripes and maternal spots. Males have a mane, but it is smaller than a ligra.
Tigrolvians and ligers are born exclusively in zoos. In the wild, tigers and lions do not interbreed.
Where do tigers live?
Ussurian tigers live in the Amur region in Russia, the Khabarovsk and Primorye territories, about 10% of the population is found in North Korea and in northeastern China. Bengal tigers live in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and South Asia. The region of residence of Indochinese tigers is Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Southeast Asia, and South China. The Malayan tiger lives in the southern part of the Malay peninsula. Sumatran tigers are found in the reserves of Sumatra Island in Indonesia. Chinese tigers live in the south-central part of China.
For their habitats, these striped predators choose a wide variety of areas: tropical rainforest forests, shady jungles, semi-desert regions and savannas, bamboo thickets and steep stony hills. Tiger is so able to adapt to the conditions that feels great in a hot climate and in the harsh northern taiga. Steep cliffs with numerous niches or hidden caves, solitary reed or reed thickets at reservoirs are the most beloved areas where the tiger settles its lair, hunts and grows restless and brisk offspring.
Tiger lifestyle and habits
Possessing rather massive dimensions and tremendous strength, tigers feel that they are the absolute masters of the territory in which they live. Leaving urges everywhere with urine, peeling bark from trees around the perimeter of possessions and clawing the soil, the male tiger clearly designates its “grounds”, preventing other males from going there.
At the same time, tigers from one “family” are quite friendly to each other and sometimes very funny when they communicate: they touch their faces, rub against striped sides, “snort” noisily and vigorously, exhaling air through the mouth or nose.
In nature, animal tigers are most often lonely, but in these zoos these cats look different. After the appearance of a couple of offspring, the tiger-father takes care of the babies no less quivering than the tiger-mother: spends leisure time with them during the games, licks and gently thrills the form of punishment for the scruff of the neck. Watching the tiger family is really interesting.
In their natural environment, tigers do not limit themselves to the time of day during a hunt - when the hunger is hungry and the prey is turned up, then a throw will be made fatal for the victim. By the way, the tiger is a wonderful swimmer and will never refuse to eat fish, turtle meat or small crocodiles. With a nimble blow of a powerful and heavy paw, the tiger stuns the waterfowl prey, and then eats it with pleasure. Enemies in a tiger are practically non-existent, if we do not take into account cruel poachers with firearms, shamelessly invading the harmony of wild nature. But here the adult tiger and the massive rhinoceros are afraid of the tiger and try to avoid it. At the same time, encounters with the tiger are avoided by leopards and even packs of wolves - this striped predator leads to such fear.
Tiger multiplication
The reproduction period of tigers falls on December and January. Females are ready to bear their offspring at 3-4 years old, males mature by 5 years. As a rule, one male of a tiger is courting a tigress, in conditions of increased numbers among males there are fights for the right to possess a female.
A tigress can conceive only a few times a year, brings progeny every 2-3 years. On average, the carrying of offspring of tigers lasts 103 days.
The genera of the tigress are held in a lair arranged in inaccessible places: crevices of rocks, caves, impassable thickets.
Usually, 2-4 cubs, tiger cubs are born, in rare cases there may be 6. After a week, newborn cubs open their eyes, the first month and a half are breastfed. At the age of 2 months, the mother with the offspring leave the lair.
One and a half year old tigers are completely independent, although many do not leave their mother until 3-5.
On average, tigers live 26-30 years, during which time a tigress is able to give birth to 20 tigers, many of whom often die in their youth.
Tigers perfectly adapt to the conditions of life in captivity and multiply well. The increase in the number of offspring bred in captivity contributed to the fall in prices for predatory cats and made it possible for people, particularly Americans, to acquire a striped predator as a pet.
Tiger: description, structure, characteristics. What does a tiger look like?
Tigers have a flexible and muscular body with a round head and a prominent forehead. The eyes of a tiger are expressive, moreover, they are able, like people, to distinguish colors (in general, the ability to distinguish colors is very rare in the animal world) and even to see in the dark. In addition to good vision, tigers also have excellent hearing and sense of smell (as, indeed, many cat-like predators) are able to catch even the slightest sounds and subtle smells. All this makes the tiger one of the most dangerous predators of our planet.
As we wrote at the beginning of the article, tigers are as large as 3 meters in length and weigh up to 300 kg, although their size may vary depending on the type of tiger. The largest are Bengal and Amur tigers, whose weight can even reach 380 kg. Female tigers are usually somewhat smaller than males.
On the face of a tiger there are elastic white whiskers. Also in an adult tiger in the presence of 30 teeth (with which they live through food) + four sharp canines, two at the top and bottom, with their help predators deal with their victims.
The front legs of the tiger have five fingers, the back ones are only four, on each of the tiger fingers there are exhaust claws, which also move during the tiger hunt.
Tiger hair is dependent on the species and habitat, so in southern tigers hair is short and dense, while in northern tigers it is more fluffy.
The skin of a tiger is yellow or brown, with firm black stripes located all over the body. The tiger stripes have characteristic pointed endings, sometimes moving apart and reuniting. On average, there are about 100 bands on a tiger's body. The tiger's long tail is also covered with rings.
Remember that the word "tiger" is translated from Persian as "sharp, fast", and so it is really fast, and despite its impressive weight this predator is able to reach speeds of up to 60 km per hour.
And tigers have an impressive roar, the roar of a tiger can be heard at a distance of 3 km.
Enemies of tigers
Since the tiger is literally at the top of the food chain, in nature it has no enemies. Including other predators: leopards and even packs of wolves are afraid of tigers and prefer to avoid them. (No wonder the English writer Kipling chose a tiger named Sharkhan as the main negative hero of his cult book Mowgli, and in the book even wolves who sheltered a human baby were afraid of Sharkhan).
Nevertheless, the main enemy of the tiger was of course man, moreover, the extermination of tigers by hunters led to the fact that many species of these striped "cats" were on the verge of extinction. Now tigers are listed in the red book of the planet, and hunting them is strictly prohibited.
Amur tiger
He is an Ussurian tiger, one of the largest and at the same time few representatives of the tiger family. It has a thick fur and a relatively small number of characteristic tiger stripes. According to estimates by zoologists, today the population of Amur tigers numbers only 500 individuals that live in the Amur region of Russia. A number of these tigers also inhabit North Korea and northeastern China. Listed in the red book.
Bengal tiger
This species is also among the largest in the tigrin family. And unlike the Amur congener, the Bengal tiger is just the most numerous. It is interesting that in nature there are Bengal albino tigers, representing a mutated species. Bengal tigers live in a number of Asian countries: India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh.
Indochinese tiger
This species of tiger is distinguished by a dull-red color and slightly smaller in size than its Bengali and Amur cousins, they are up to 2.85 cm in length and weighs 150-195 kg. These tigers live in southern China, as well as in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma.
Malay tiger
The Malayan tiger inhabiting the Malacca Peninsula is remarkable for being the smallest among the tigers. Its length is only 237 cm and weighs up to 120 kg. Also this tiger is listed in the red book and is on the verge of extinction, today there are only about 600-800 individuals of the Malayan tiger in nature.
Sumatran tiger
This tiger, inhabiting the island of Sumatra and several other islands of Indonesia, is also one of the endangered species of the majestic striped predator. About 500 Sumatran tigers living in national reserves f. Sumatra is what separates this species from extinction. The Sumatran tiger also does not shine in size (compared with its large relatives, of course), but it is somewhat larger than the Malay tiger, its length is 220-225 cm with a weight of up to 140 kg.
Who is stronger: a lion or a tiger?
Why then many people are interested in this question. It is not possible to accurately answer it, since there are very few fights between lions and tigers recorded and documented, which makes it impossible for us to reasonably talk about the superiority of an animal. But it is possible to compare the lion and the tiger on a number of external parameters:
- In terms of weight, the tiger wins, although it is only slightly, but still heavier than a lion. (This applies to large species of tigers; small species will lose here to the “king of beasts”).
- The strength of the compression of the jaws during the bite and the tiger and lion are about the same.
- The principle of hunting and killing victims in lions and tigers is also the same.
- But in the way of life tigers and lions are different, if lions still prefer to live in prides - small families, then tigers choose a single way of life, just like a single hunt (lions are often hunted collectively). Although tigers sometimes form small families, which could also be called prides, it is only in such prides that they gather much less often than lions.
- In terms of endurance it is also impossible to say who is stronger, and the tiger and the lion run very fast, they can cover considerable distances.
In any case, both the tiger and the lion are strong, powerful and of course very dangerous predators, including dangerous ones for humans.
Interesting facts about tigers
- Since ancient times, the tiger has been the hero of numerous tales, myths and legends. For example, one legend tells us about the tiger that does not exist now with a saber-toothed tiger, as the progenitor of all predators on Earth.
- Unlike other members of the cat family, tigers are not afraid of water, but rather love to swim in it, especially in hot weather.
