Tigers! Wonderful, majestic, powerful, magnificent, beautiful creatures!
Of the 8 sub-species
of Panthera tigris, 3 have become extinct within the past 60 years. These pages are dedicated to this
intriguing beast. My favorite animal of all time.
On the following pages you will find photographs
of the remaining five sub-species of tigers, tiger information, and links to important tiger sites.
Thank you for taking the time to visit my jungle. Please be sure to sign my guestbook.
Wild
Tiger Populations by Sub-Species World conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) Threatened Species Data/Status
Report for 1992 gives the following estimated numbers for each of the tiger subspecies:
balica
Bali Tiger extinct in 1940s
virgata Caspian Tiger extinct in
1970s
sondaica Javan Tiger extinct in 1980s
altaica Amur (Siberian)
Tiger 230-400
amoyensis South China (Amoy) Tiger 30-50
corbetti Indochinese
Tiger 1000-1500
sumatrae Sumatran Tiger 500-1000
tigris
Indian (Bengal) Tiger 3000
total: 4760-5950
The tiger is the largest member of the cat family, Felidae. Tigers range in length from
about six feet to more than nine feet, excluding a three foot tail. They can weigh as much as 500 to
600 pounds. The female is usually smaller than the male.
The tiger's body and tail are encircled
by verticle stripes. The background color ranges from reddish-orange to creamy white. Very rarely,
completely white (albinism), or completely black (melanism) species are found. The tiger is native to
Asia.
Overall, the tiger is a very strong cat with a muscular body designed to catch large
prey. The tiger's hind legs are longer than its front legs to give it good jumping ability.
The
tigers shoulders and front legs are very muscular to assist the tiger in hold its prey. The tiger has
large paws and very sharp claws so it can hold its prey with a tight grip. Tigers have short jaws that
give it a powerful bite, usually killing prey in one bite. The immense weight of the tiger is often
used to knock down its prey. The tigers stripes provide it with excellent camouflage. A tiger's stripes
are as individual as a human's fingerprints. In addition, it is not only the tiger's fur that is striped,
their skin is striped and their coat follows its patterning. The tiger's soft, well-padded feet allow
the tiger to move quietly while stalking dinner.
Tigers are solitary animals that tend to come
together only during mating time. A female becomes sexually mature around 3 to 4 years of age while
the male tiger takes 5 to 6 years to reach sexual maturity. A litter of cubs typically averages 2 or
3. The gestation period can be from 98 to 110 days. When the cubs are born, they are blind. Their
eyes
will open when they are about 10 days old. The cubs will be fully grown at around 18 months and will
remain with their mother until they are 2 to 3 years of age. Tigers can live from 20 to 25 years.
Only very seldom will tigers come together. They may do so if they are forced to share a kill because
prey is scarce, or to drink at a water hole if there is a limited amount of water in the area. Tigers
have a varied diet which includes deer, fish, bison, wild pig, and elk. After a tiger makes a kill,
it usually will drag the prey to a nearby water hole so that it can drink while it eats. Tigers also
love to be near water because they are one of the few cats that like to swim and cool themselves in the
water.
Tigers live in swampy habitat and grassy areas as well as dense forests where they are
well camouflaged. The forests provide a good setting for solitary hunting. A few tigers, such as the
Sumatran, are still living on island habitats, but their numbers are quickly declining due to habitat
destruction. Tigers occupy distinct territories which they mark with urine and dung. They also scratch
trees and scrape the ground as additional territorial markings. Female tiger ranges seldom overlap,
but male tiger ranges are much larger and often overlap with two or more female tiger ranges. Tigers
maintain their territory daily. They must often respray their boundaries so that other tigers will not
claim their area. It is also important that a tiger become familiar with its territory so it knows the
best places to hunt for prey, the safest spots for breeding, and "danger zones" where the tiger may encounter
other unfriendly tigers and man.
Why are tigers becoming extinct? Many have been hunted to the
verge of extinction by Asian poachers for their use in traditional Chinese medicines and exotic recipes.
Black markets of Asia can fetch as much as $500 per gram for tiger bones, $1,700 per gram for tiger
penis and $15,000 per tiger skin. Man's wanton destruction of prime tiger habitat is also greatly reducing
their numbers.
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