THE TIGER: HABITAT, DIET, REPRODUCTION AND THREATS

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest and most powerful of all cats . They are extremely agile despite their large size. They are also powerful hunters - with sharp teeth, strong jaws and an agile body.

Tigers are capable of jumping 8 to 10 meters in a single bound. They are also among the most easily recognizable cats due to their distinct orange coat, black stripes, and white markings. The tail of this large cat is one meter long.

It is one meter tall, has teeth five centimeters long and has claws as long as house keys.

The tiger's only rival is the lion? (Panthera leo) in terms of strength and ferocity. Or... it also has another, lesser-known rival, man. The tiger is threatened throughout its range, which extends from the Russian Far East to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, including parts of North Korea, China, India and Southeast Asia. 

Due to their size, strength, and predatory abilities, tigers are considered one of the "big cats" . Lions, cheetahs, jaguars, and cougars are also part of this group. Thus, tigers are among only four species of big cats that can roar.

There is currently only one recognized species of tiger, the Panthera tigris. Scientists have subsequently classified the tiger into nine subspecies: the extinct Bali, Caspian, and Javan subspecies, and the living subspecies? of Malaysia, Sumatra, South China, Indochina, Bengal, and Amur (or Siberia):

• The Siberian tiger, or Amur tiger (P. tigris altaica) is the largest, measuring up to 4 metres long and weighing up to 300 kg. 
• The Indian or Bengal tiger (P. tigris tigris) is the most numerous and makes up about half of the total tiger population. Males are larger than females and can reach a shoulder height of about 1 meter and a length of about 2.2 meters, excluding a tail of about 1 meter that helps them keep their balance. Tigers from the south ⬇ are smaller than those from the north ⬆.

1) The Tiger in 10 seconds TOP Chrono

• COMMON NAME: Tiger
• SCIENTIFIC NAME: Panthera tigris
• BASIC GROUP OF ANIMALS: Mammals
• DIET: Carnivore?
• SIZE: 1 m height at shoulders, 2-4 m length (head and body) 0.5-1 m tail length
• WEIGHT: 100-300 kg depending on subspecies and sex
• LIFESPAN: 8 to 15 years
• HABITAT:   South and Southeast Asia, China and Russian Far East.
• POPULATION: 3,000–4,500
• CONSERVATION STATUS: Endangered

2) The Evolution of the Tiger

Modern cats first appeared about 10.8 million years ago? The ancestors of tigers, along with those of jaguars, leopards, lions, snow leopards, and cloud leopards, split from other ancestral cat lineages early in the evolution of the cat family and today form what is known as the Panther lineage. Tigers shared a common ancestor with snow leopards that lived about 840,000 years ago.

3) 4 Fun Facts about the Tiger:

• Sumatran tigers are the smallest of the tiger subspecies.
• Like a human fingerprint, no two tigers have the same stripe pattern on their fur. Scientists can use these distinctions to identify tigers in the wild.
• Tigers are excellent swimmers ?‍♀️ . They often go into the water to escape flies or cool off, and can easily cross rivers and lakes up to 8 km wide.
• A tiger's hind legs are longer than its front legs, allowing it to jump up to 10 meters high . 

4) The Description of this Big Cat

Tigers have a reddish-orange coat with prominent black stripes , a white belly, and white patches on their ears. No two tigers have exactly the same markings, which is why researchers ?‍? can use stripe patterns to identify different individuals when studying tigers in the wild. But in general, tigers vary in color, size, and markings depending on their subspecies. Bengal tigers, which live in the forests of India, have the typical tiger appearance, with a dark orange coat, black stripes, and a white belly. Siberian tigers, the largest of all tiger subspecies, are lighter in color and have thicker fur that allows them to brave the harsh, cold temperatures of the Russian taiga.

Tigers are powerful hunters with sharp teeth, strong jaws, and agile bodies. They are the largest land mammals whose diet consists entirely of meat. The tiger's closest relative is the lion. In fact, without fur, it is difficult to distinguish a tiger from a lion.

In the wild, a tiger's stripes are important to its survival, as they serve as camouflage, appearing as moving shadows in long grass and trees. The white Bengal tigers seen in some zoos are the result of a recessive gene, and are not albinos. In fact, it is unlikely that true albino tigers (with pink eyes) exist. There are some historical reports of tigers with black fur and tawny stripes, caused by excessive pigmentation, but these accounts are extremely rare.

5) The Tiger's Habitat Has Changed a Lot Over Time

A- The history of the Tiger's habitat

The tiger has adapted to a wide variety of environments , from the Siberian taiga, where nights can be as cold as -40°C, to the mangroves of the Sundarbans, where temperatures reach over 40°C. Tigers haunt the ruins of buildings such as courts and temples and are at home in habitats ranging from dry grasslands to rainforest.

Grasslands , mixed grassland forests , and deciduous forests rather than dense canopy forests support maximum population densities because these habitats support the greatest number of prey species. Having evolved in the temperate and subtropical forests of eastern Asia, the tiger is less tolerant of heat than other big cats, which may explain why it is a skilled swimmer who seems to enjoy its dips in water unlike most members of its feline family. When stressed, it will climb trees.

Tigers historically ranged from eastern Turkey to the Tibetan Plateau, Manchuria, and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, thus much of East and South Asia, as well as parts of Central and West Asia and the Middle East, around the Caspian Sea. The tiger's range has declined significantly with the expansion of human populations.

B- The Place of Life of the Tiger Today

Today, tigers occupy only 7% of their former range . More than half of the remaining wild tigers live in the forests of India. Currently, the remaining tigers are found in a variety of habitats in South and Southeast Asia, China, and eastern Russia. They thrive in a wide variety of habitats such as lowland evergreen forests, taiga, temperate, tropical or evergreen forests, mangroves, and grasslands. They generally require habitat with cover such as forests or grasslands, water resources, and sufficient territory to support their prey.

6) The Diet and Feeding Habits of this Solitary Predator

A- The Tiger, a Hunter and a Fearsome Predator

Tigers are solitary ambush predators that rely on stealth and strength to bring down their prey. They are also excellent swimmers. According to WWF , a tiger's canines have pressure-sensitive nerves, allowing it to know exactly where to lethally bite its prey. While tigers are fierce hunters, they are no strangers to failure, with only 10 percent of their kills being successful, according to National Geographic.

These powerful felines hunt primarily at night, using sight and sound to identify their prey. Their striped coats help them blend into their surroundings, where they lie in wait for prey. When the time is right, tigers will pounce on their prey , drag it to the ground, and finish the kill by snapping or biting its neck. Tiger claws are up to 10 centimeters long, which are useful for holding on to their prey. They hunt about once a week and consume up to 34 kg (75 lb) of food in a night. After killing and consuming what they can, they deliberately try to hide the carcass from vultures and other scavengers in order to get another meal. Tigers have no problem commandeering the carcasses of other tigers or leopards, and they sometimes eat carrion. 

The ability to kill and obtain prey is only partially instinctive, with maternal training being essential to the skill. This is why captive-bred tigers would not fare well if released into the wild. As a top predator throughout its range, the tiger plays a major role in controlling not only its prey population, but also that of other predators such as the leopard, dhole (Asiatic wild dog), and clouded leopard. 

B- The Tiger's Diet

Tigers are carnivores . These apex predators primarily hunt large ungulates, such as wild boar and deer , but are also known to eat monkeys , fish , rhinoceroses , elephants, buffalo , leopards , and even crocodiles . When tigers are in close proximity to humans, they may also feed on domestic animals, such as cattle or goats. Tigers also feed on carrion.

At the zoo, the tigers eat ground beef , and their diet is supplemented with enrichment items each week. They are given cow shank bones or femurs twice a week and rabbits once a week to exercise their jaws and keep their teeth healthy.

7) Tiger Reproduction and Cub Development

A- Mating of the Tiger and the Tigress

Female tigers reach sexual maturity between 3 and 4 years of age. Males reach sexual maturity around 4 or 5 years of age. A tigress's readiness to mate is announced by vocalization and scent production. Mating can occur at any time of the year, but is most common in the cooler months of November through April. Tigers are induced ovulators, meaning that females do not release eggs before mating. Gestation lasts about 100 days (about 14 weeks), and females give birth to one to seven cubs in a litter, with an average of two to four cubs.

B- The Tiger Cubs

Tiger cubs are born blind , and even when their eyes open, the opacity prevents them from seeing clearly for six to eight weeks. There is therefore a long period of weaning, guardianship and training during which mortality of the young is high, especially if food is scarce. During this time, the offspring must endure long periods of absence from the mother when she is away hunting. And they  quadruple their size in their first month!

They  are raised alone by their mother  ; the father plays no role in upbringing. Weaker cubs receive less food due to the aggressiveness of their stronger siblings?, as food is less often made available. Tiger cubs are usually independent at 18 months. However, they stay with their mother for more than two years, when they are almost adults and are able to kill prey for themselves. Then the tiger cubs disperse to find their own territory. Females often stay close to their mother's territory, while males disperse further from home.

Males grow faster than females and tend to leave their mothers earlier. After her cubs have left, females are ready to give birth again?, tigresses do not reproduce until their cubs are independent . However, if a female's offspring does not survive, for reasons such as infanticide or starvation, she is able to conceive another litter immediately.

8) The Longevity of Tigers

The lifespan of tigers in the wild is typically between 10 and 15 years . When cared for by humans, or on rare occasions in the wild, a tiger can live up to 20 years. However, about half of wild tiger cubs do not survive beyond the first two years of life. Only 40% of those that reach independence actually live to establish a territory and produce cubs. The risk of mortality remains high for adult tigers due to their territorial nature, which often results in direct competition with conspecifics or members of the same species.

9) The Solitary Behavior of the Tiger

Tigers are solitary and territorial creatures, except when mating. They live far apart and occupy a home range that is typically between 200 and 1,000 square kilometers . The size and nature of this territory varies depending on the number and distribution of prey, the presence of other tigers in the area, the nature of the terrain, the availability of water, and individual characteristics. Females occupy a smaller home range than males. Tigers often create several dens within their territory. Since they are not water-averse cats and tigers are skilled swimmers capable of crossing medium-sized rivers, water is rarely an obstacle for them.

A tiger knows if it is in another tiger's territory by the trees around it. Spacing between individuals and maintaining territories is achieved by vocalization, scratching the ground, tree claw marking, fecal deposits, scent deposited by rubbing facial glands, and spraying urine mixed with scent secreted by anal glands. The solitary nature of the species also helps to minimize territorial conflicts. Nevertheless, confrontations do occur, sometimes resulting in injury and even death.

10) Communication between these Felines

Despite their solitary nature, communication is a very important part of tigers' behavioral ecology. They communicate through vocalizations, such as roars, growls, and whispers, and through signals, such as scent markings and scratching trees. Tigers are fiercely territorial animals, so these signals are especially important for communicating where one tiger's home range ends and another's begins.

11) Tiger Subspecies

There are five subspecies of tigers alive today and each of these subspecies is classified as endangered. The five subspecies of tigers include the Siberian tigers , Bengal tigers , Indochinese tigers , South China tigers , and Sumatran tigers . There are also three other subspecies of tigers that have become extinct in the last sixty years. The extinct subspecies include the Caspian tigers, Javan tigers, and Bali tigers.

12) Tigers, Humans and Threats

A- The Tiger, Represented by Man for Millennia

Tigers are the largest felines in the world and as such, many cultures regard the tiger as a symbol of strength, courage and dignity . Next to the elephant and the lion, no other wild animal is as often depicted in Asian art and tradition. Humans have been fascinated by tigers for thousands of years. Images of tigers first appeared as a cultural symbol nearly 5,000 years ago in the region now known as Pakistan. Tigers were also part of the games at the Roman Colosseum. 

In Hindu mythology, the tiger is the vahana ("vehicle") of the goddess Durga. Tigers are depicted on seals of the ancient Indus civilization. The greatest of the Gupta emperors of ancient India, Samudra, minted special gold coins - depicting him killing tigers. Sultan Tippu even expressed his frustration at his inability to defeat the British by commissioning a special life-size, sound-filled toy of a tiger slaughtering a British soldier.

Today, some animist communities continue to revere the tiger. For example, the tiger is one of the twelve animals of the  Chinese zodiac ♌, and those born in the "Year of the Tiger" (every 12th year of the Chinese calendar) are considered courageous, competitive, and self-confident. 

B- The Tigers are Threatened

However, since hunting them is also a sign of bravery in some cultures, tigers are endangered . Tigers are hunted for their meat, skins, and body parts that are used in traditional medicines. To make matters worse, these big cats have lost most of their habitat to logging, road construction, and development.

While tigers can and will attack a human if threatened or unable to find food elsewhere, tiger attacks are relatively rare . Most man-eating tigers are older or disabled, and therefore unable to pursue or subdue larger prey.

13) The Conservation Status of Tigers

A- The Tiger is in Danger

 The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (  in English) classifies the Amur/Siberian, Indochinese, and Bengal tigers as Endangered, and the Sumatran, Malayan, and South China tigers as Critically Endangered . Most of the remaining tigers live in sanctuaries to protect them from poachers.

There are more tigers in captivity than in the wild! According to WWF, there are about 5,000 tigers in captivity in the United States alone, but there are less than 3,200 tigers in the wild (including about 200 to 400 Sumatran tigers and 360 Amur tigers). More than half of these tigers live in the forests of India. The main threats to tigers are poaching, habitat loss, and declining prey populations.

Although protected areas have been established for tigers, illegal killings still occur, primarily for their skins and their use in traditional Chinese medicinal practices. Poachers still kill tigers for the illegal demand for tiger bones (used in tonics and medicines), tiger skins (considered a status symbol), and other body parts, driving the killing and trafficking, which has had a significant impact on tiger populations and led to localized extinctions. The continued demand for tiger parts is pushing the species ever closer to extinction.

B- The Plan to Save the Tigers

Although most of their historic range has been destroyed (only 7% of the tiger's original range remains due to human agriculture, logging, settlements and roads), research suggests that tigers living in the Indian subcontinent are still genetically strong. This indicates that with proper conservation and protection in place, tigers have the potential to bounce back as a species. In India, it is illegal to shoot tigers or trade in their skins or other body parts. Additionally, in the Siberian region of Russia, there is hope that these big cats are also making a comeback.

For example, the Smithsonian National Zoo participates in the Sumatran and Amur Tiger Survival Plan , which aims to responsibly breed and manage tiger populations at AZA-accredited institutions throughout North  America. The goal of the AZA-created Species Survival Plan ( SSP ) is to maintain a population of the three managed tiger subspecies—Amur, Sumatran, and Malayan  —that is genetically healthy enough to maintain high genetic diversity for the next 100 years.

14) The Life of Tigers

To sum up, tigers are iconic creatures , and the largest cats in the world. They are solitary creatures; they like to spend most of their time alone, roaming their vast territories in search of food. According to the San Diego Zoo, the Siberian tiger? has the largest range; its territory spans over 10,000 km2. Tigers mark their territory by spraying a mixture of urine and scent gland secretions on trees and rocks. They also scratch marks into trees with their claws.

Tiger cubs are born helpless. A cub weighs 2 pounds at birth, and a female can have up to seven cubs at a time. About half of tiger cubs do not live past the age of two , according to WWF. The mother must leave her cubs behind while she hunts, leaving them at the mercy of other predators. Most mother tigers are unable to kill enough prey to feed a large litter, so some cubs may starve to death.

At just 8 weeks old, tiger cubs are ready to learn how to hunt and go on hunting expeditions with their mother. At 2 years old, the cubs go off on their own , and their mother is ready to welcome another set of cubs. In the wild, tigers typically live 10 to 15 years.