Tigers

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Tigers

Image of: Panthera tigris (tiger)

Tigers may seem like cute and harmless animals but they are not. They can be very powerful and dangerous. Especially since they are wild.

Tigers belong to the animal kingdom, and are predatory carnivore eaters. Tigers are part of the Fieldale Family. The Fieldale Family is one of the four "big cats" that belong to the Panthera Genus. (The Panthera Genus is the largest of all cats, living or extinct.) They are the largest of the cat family, with the Siberian Tiger being the largest of the species.

Distribution

Sadly, the tigers have been hunted by humans, and have lost most of their habitats. Three of the eight subspecies have become extinct, and the other populations are now at high risk. Tigers are all over the world. Well almost..... They range from India to Siberia and South East Asia.

A tiger's habitat is mostly in forest, but they can be found in swamp margins and grassland areas. They require sufficient cover, a good population of large prey and a good water supply.

TIGERS LIVE IN THE DARK GREEN AREAS

Physical Description, Life Span and Statistics

Tigers are easily recognizable, with their thick black, vertical stripes covering a huge orange body. The belly and the throat are a creamy white. Male tigers are the only ones that have a ruff around the back of their head. No two tigers have the exact same stripe patterns. (Just like humans and their fingerprints.) The tiger stripe patterns commonly differ between the two sides of their body.

The last recorded white tiger, was in 1951. The male cub later became the progenitor of most white tigers in captivity. The stripes of white tigers are brown. If you don't know already, tigers are also warm blooded. As most mammals.

Tigers only live 8-10 years in the wild! And 26 years in captivity! A tiger's normal body length is: 140-280cm, the tail is: 60-110cm, shoulder height: 80-110cm. The weight for a male is: 180-280kg and a female is: 115-185kg.

Their main dietary foods are large animals, such as deer, buffalo, and wild pigs. But they will also hunt fish, monkeys, birds, reptiles, and sometimes even baby elephants. Only occasionally they will hunt leopards, bears, and other tigers.

Behavior

Tigers will stalk and ambush their prey. They use dense covering to hide from their prey, so they are able to sneak up on them. When the tiger is close enough, it will rush towards the prey and kill them by grabbing the throat or the nape of the neck.

More than other big cats, tigers have a reputation of being man-eaters. But really it is rare for a tiger to attack a human being. Usually the ones who attack humans are those that are old or injured tiger that are culprits, since they are less able to catch their prey.

Reproduction

Female tigers will give birth after 104 days, to 2-4 cubs. Female tigers give live birth. Baby cubs stay with their mother up to 2 years, before they leave and stake out their own territories. Males will look for territory away from their birth site. But females will sometimes share their mother’s territories.

A tiger's behavior is solitary, although sometimes they will come together for a kill. Unlike other cats, tigers like the water and are strong swimmers.

Just like lions, tigers may kill a female's cubs if the cubs are from another male's offspring. This will ensure that the female will come into oestrus and bear the new male's offspring.

They are active at dawn and dusk.

These are just some pictures of different tigers:

Siberian Tigers:

(in this picture, the tigers are afraid of the baby chicks that are in their cage. Who's chicken now?!?!?!)