The tiger is a large and dangerous predator.

 The tiger is the largest member of the cat family. The word tiger comes from the Greek language and translates as “fast, sharp.” The tiger belongs to the genus Panthera and the subfamily of big cats. In this article, you will learn about how tigers look , how and who they hunt, and much more.

What does a tiger look like?

When asked what a tigers looks like , first of all, it is worth dwelling on its size, because it is the largest representative of the cat family. In addition, the tiger ranks third in terms of the size of land-based predators, only the polar bear and brown bear are larger than it . Also note that depending on the subspecies, its size can vary significantly. For example, the Bengal and Amur tiger subspecies are the largest. The size of males of these subspecies can reach a length of 3 m without a tail, with a body weight of more than 320 kg. The record weight of a male Bengal tiger was 388 kg, and the Amur tiger 384 kg. But the average weight of a tiger in nature is 200–250 kg.

Male tigers are larger than females. On average, males weigh 1.7 times more than females. The tail of the tiger has a length of 0.6 to 1.1 m. The height at the withers can reach 1.2 m. The tigers has a massive and muscular body, large paws and a large head. The length of the skull can reach 32 cm. The tiger has powerful teeth, it has curved fangs of the largest size of all felines. The length of the fangs of a tiger can reach up to 9 cm.

The classic color of the tigers is recognizable by everyone. The main coat color is rusty brown and pale orange, sometimes it can contain rusty red hues. There are white spots on the body, especially on the belly, chest, inside of the legs, head and neck. The body and tail are covered with transverse dark stripes of black, dark brown or chocolate color. The density and length of the coat depends on the subspecies, the northern subspecies, for example, the Amur tigers, has a long and thick coat, but the Bengal tigers, on the contrary, has a short and sparse coat.

An interesting fact about tigers : the stripes on the body, their shape and location, are unique for each animal, like a human fingerprint. Another interesting fact is that their skin also has a striped pattern, which can be seen when the fur is shaved off. As the coat grows, their unique pattern will restore its former appearance. The tiger has about 100 dark stripes on its coat. It is these stripes that help the tiger blend in with the environment and serve as a good camouflage.

There are several atypical variations in the color of tigers:

The golden tigers is the rarest variety of tigers color. The golden tigers has brown stripes instead of dark stripes. There is a theory that this mutation in the tiger occurs in habitats with clay soils, thereby helping it to camouflage. But this theory has not been proven.

The white tigers is another mutation. Most often occurring in Bengal tigers. These individuals are white with black stripes. In the wild, white tigers are very rare, but in captivity they are quite common. There are also completely white individuals. It is worth noting that the white tiger is not an albino animal .

Tigers There are also melanistic , which have black stripes so large that they merge with each other.

The eyes of the tiger are not very large, but nevertheless it is endowed with very good eyesight. Moreover, the tigers sees well in the dark. Some sources report that the tiger is able to partially distinguish colors. The tigers also has good hearing.

How do tigers live and what do they do?

Tigers live alone, they are territorial animals. Each tiger has its own territory, which it marks and defends. They mark their territory by leaving their scent: by blasting the ground, leaving scratches on trees with their claws, leaving marks of urine. If females can still enter foreign territories without conflict, then males do not tolerate competition at all. With aggressive postures and growls, they try to drive the opponent away, and if these methods are not effective, then a fight happens, sometimes with rather serious injuries.

Territories of males are quite large and usually range from 60 to 100 square km. Females have much smaller holdings, usually no more than 20 square kilometers. Territories of females can be located on the territory of males. On the territory of one male, several tigresses can live at once, but each with its own possession, which may slightly coincide with each other.

Tigresses are less aggressive about defending their territories from other females. They can even share food among themselves. Males can also share their food with the opposite sex. But a male tiger will never allow another male tigers to eat and will not even allow him to pass through his territory without a fight.

Types of tigers and their hybrids

Tigers have several subspecies and several hybrids. Let’s take a look at the known subspecies of tigers :

1. The Amur tiger is one of the largest subspecies of the tiger. It is also called the Ussuri tiger, the North Chinese tiger, the Manchurian tiger, and the Siberian tiger. The Amur tiger has the longest and thickest coat, its color is not so bright red, and there are much fewer black stripes than other species.

2. The Bengal tigers is the most numerous subspecies of the tigers. The largest population lives in India, about 3000 individuals, when the total number of the species is no more than 4500 individuals.

3. The Indochinese tigers is much smaller than the Amur and Bengal tigers. Has a darker coat color.

4. The Malayan tigers lives on the Malay Peninsula.

5. Chinese tiger — inhabits the territory of China. Not a single individual remains in the wild. There are 59 tigers in captivity and attempts are being made to repopulate the wild with this tiger to restore the population. The Chinese tiger is a rather small subspecies of the tiger, the weight of males is 130–180 kg.

All the tiger subspecies described above are currently grouped into one subspecies Panthera tigris tigris. All these tigers live in Asia.

6. The Sumatran tiger is the smallest subspecies of the tiger. The average weight of a male is in the range of 100–130 kg, while that of a female is less than 90 kg. Endemic to the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

In addition to subspecies, the tiger also has hybrids. This is a cross between a tiger and other types of large cats, for example, with lions:

A liger is a cross between a male lion and a female tiger. Ligers are very large and continue to grow throughout their lives. Their sizes can reach up to 3 m in length, excluding the tail. This growth is associated with the presence of a common growth gene in a lion and a tigress, while a lioness and a tiger do not have such a gene.

Tigrolev or taigon is a cross between a tiger and a lioness. Taigons do not have the gigantism gene like ligers and usually their weight does not exceed 150 kg.

It is worth noting that male ligers and taigons do not have offspring, they are sterile. But the females of these hybrids can interbreed with both tigers and lions, while giving the second generation of hybrids.

Where do tigers live?

The tiger lives in Asia and the territories adjacent to it. At the moment, they lives in the territories of the following countries: India, Russia, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan. There are unconfirmed reports that the tiger also meets in the DPRK. Depending on the subspecies, tigers inhabit different territories.

The Amur tiger lives on the territory of Russia in the Amur Region, Khabarovsk Territory, Primorsky Territory, as well as in the Jewish Autonomous Region. It is also found in small numbers in northeastern China and North Korea. The Bengal tiger lives in the largest numbers in India.

Their habitat is the most diverse and is more dependent on the subspecies. Tigers can live in the mountains at an altitude of more than 3000 m above sea level. Tigers live in tropical forests and dry savannahs. They live in mangrove swamps and bamboo groves.

Who are hunted and what do tigers eat?

The tiger is a predatory animal and its main diet consists of ungulates. Only in the summer, in small quantities, he eats nuts, fruits and grass. Amur tigers prey on sika deer, roe deer, red deer and wild boars. Bengal tigers eat axis, Indian sambar, nilgai. Large tigers can prey on such animals as elk, gaur and Indian buffalo. Cases have been described when a tiger successfully hunted an adult Indian elephant and an Indian rhinoceros. Less commonly, they may eat a hare, a pheasant, or a monkey . Not infrequently, tigers prey on domestic animals, such as cows, horses, donkeys, and even dogs.

The tiger often uses an ambush method of hunting, waiting for prey at a watering place. But it can also go hunting and sneak up on prey on its own. The tiger sneaks up to its prey very carefully, descending to the ground with small steps, most often from the leeward side. Creeping up to the right distance makes a dash or jump. The tigers is a very formidable hunter. It is capable of jumping up to 5 m in height and up to 10 m in length. Despite its considerable size, the tiger is able to run at a speed of 60 km / h, and over any terrain. If it does not catch its prey immediately, the tiger will not chase it for more than 100–150m

The tiger tries to dig into the throat of its victims. Thanks to its long fangs, most often, it bites the arteries, but cases of fracture of the neck of the victims are not uncommon. For smaller animals, the tiger tries to kill its paws or spine with a bite or a blow from its paw. After a successful hunt, the tiger tries to hide its prey in a safe place. He carries prey less than 50 kg in his teeth, he is even able to jump over obstacles up to 2 m with it. He is able to throw larger prey on his back, and drags especially large prey along the ground.

For normal life, a tiger needs to eat from 50 to 70 ungulates per year. At one time, the tiger eats from 30 to 40 kg of meat. If the tiger was hungry, he could eat up to 50 kg. They very easily manage for a long time without food due to subcutaneous fat. For example, in the Amur tiger, the subcutaneous layer is 5 cm.

Tigers are at the top of the food chain. But sometimes other predators try to compete with them. For example, red wolves or ordinary wolves can drive a tiger away from prey, taking advantage of the numerical advantage. Also skirmishes of the Amur tigers with brown bears are not rare. In general, the diet of the Amur tiger can be up to 5–8% of brown bears and Himalayan bears . Skirmishes with adult brown bears in tigers end with alternate success, but tigers can hunt bear cubs without problems. Also, combed crocodiles are able to take prey from tigers or even hunt them, although this happens extremely rarely.

Tiger breeding

The breeding season for tigers begins approximately from December to January. Several males may begin courting a female at once, which leads to rivalry and loud fights. But where the population is not numerous does without it. The ability for fertilization in tigresses occurs only a few days a year. They can repeat the mating season if conception does not occur

Pregnancy in tigresses lasts about 105 days. For childbirth and caring for newborns, she chooses the den that is most inaccessible to other predators. Most often these are caves or crevices among stones, various windbreaks and blockages of trees, and others. Rarely, 1 tiger cub or up to 5–6 individuals can be born. Tiger cubs are born blind and weigh no more than 1.5 kg, they are completely dependent on their mother. She feeds them with milk for about 6 weeks. From 6 to 8 weeks they begin to see clearly. The tigress does not allow males to approach the cubs, because they pose a direct threat to their lives. Therefore, fathers do not participate in raising tiger cubs.

After 8 weeks, the cubs leave the den and follow their mother. They live with their mother for an average of 1.5 to 3 years, rarely even up to 5 years. All this time the tigress teaches hunting tactics to her children. After the end of education, children leave their mother. The tigresses remain close to the mother’s territory, while the males go for considerable distances in search of a free territory. Tigresses become capable of breeding at 3–4 years, and tigers at 4–5 years. Usually, tigresses give birth to no more than 20 cubs in their entire life. The life expectancy of a tiger is no more than 26 years.

Tiger in the red book?

Back in the 20th century, the tiger was listed in the International Red Book and the Red Book of Russia. Hunting is prohibited for all subspecies of the tiger, because it is precisely because of hunting and poaching that this species is endangered. About 100 years ago, the tiger population numbered over 100,000 individuals in the wild. Now the population has drastically declined.

• There are about 500 Amur tigers.
• There are approximately 3,000 to 4,500 Bengal tigers.
• Indochinese tiger — 1200–1800 individuals.
• Malayan tiger — about 800 individuals.
• There are no Chinese tigers left in the wild. But in captivity, 59 individuals are bred and kept. And the Chinese government plans to reintegrate them into the wild in order to restore the wild population.
• The Sumatran tiger has a population of about 500 individuals.

Unfortunately, human activities and uncontrolled hunting with poaching have led to the complete destruction of 3 subspecies of the tiger :

• The Bali tigers is endemic to the island of Bali. Hunters completely destroyed its population in the wild, and it was not kept in captivity. On September 27, 1937, the last individual was killed.
• The Transcaucasian tigers — a subspecies completely extinct in the late 1960s. It was relatively large, the maximum weighed male had a mass of 240 kg. In appearance, it is most similar to the Bengal tigers living in India. However, the Transcaucasian tigers had narrower stripes in its color and they were not black, but dark gray or brown. It was the Transcaucasian tigers, along with the Bengal tigers and Barbary lions, that the ancient Romans exhibited them for battles against gladiators.
• The Javan tigers is endemic to the island of Java. The subspecies was completely wiped out in the 1980s due to habitat destruction and hunting.

Now many countries are taking measures to protect and restore the tigers population. For example, in Russia, at the initiative of President Putin V.V. The Amur Tiger Foundation was created to conserve and increase the population of Amur tigers. And the world even established the International Day of the Tiger — July 29th.