TIGERS (Panthera tigris)
What is a tiger?
A tiger is a very large solitary cat with a yellow-brown coat striped with black, native to the forests of Asia. The scientific name for a tiger is Panthera Tigris. Tigers are the largest member of the felid (cat) family. Tigers belong to the animal kingdom phylum krodata (has a spinal cord), subphylum vertebrates(vertebrates), class of mammals (warm-blooded, furry with mammary glands). They are meat eaters (carnivores). They belong to the family Felidae (cat), their genus is Panthera and their species Tigris (tiger)
The ten largest cats in the felid (cat) family.
1. Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris)
How big are they? : They are 423kg, 931 pounds or 58.2 bowling balls
Where we live: Northeastern China, Korea, Russia, parts of India and around the Himalayas
2. Lion (Panthera leo)
How big are we: 272 kg, 598 pounds or 37.4 bowling balls
Where we live: Sub-Saharan Africa expect in desert and rainforests
3. Jaguar (Panthera onca)
How big are we: 136kg, 299 pounds or 18.7 bowling balls
Where we live: Southern Arizona and New Mexico to Northern Argentina and Northeastern Brazil.
4. Cougar (Aka Puma and Mountain Lion) (Puma concolor)
How big are we: 120kg, 264 pounds or 16.5 bowling balls
Where we live: From Southern Argentina and Chile to Southeastern Alaskahttp://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Puma_concolor.html
5. Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia)
How big are we: 75kg, 165 pounds or 10.3 bowling balls
Where we live: Central Asia to Northwestern China and Tibet
6. Leopard (Panthera pardus)
How big are we: 65kg, 143 pounds or 8.9 bowling balls
Where we live: Africa and Asia
7. Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
How big are we: 54 kg, 119 pounds or 7.4 bowling balls
Where we live: Sub-Saharan Africa and Northern Iran
8. Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx)
How big are we: 36kg, 79 pounds or 4.9 bowling balls
Where we live: From Western Europe to Russia to Tibet and Central Asia
9. Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)
How big are we: 23kg, 51 pounds or 3.2 bowling balls
Where we live: South of the Himalayas around Nepal, Bhutan and some areas of Northeastern India
10. Caracal (Caracal caracal)
How big are we: 19kg, 42 pounds or 2.6 bowling balls
Where we live: Africa, Central Asia and Southwestern Asia
Fun description to identify a tiger.
Tigers usually sport long, thick reddish coats with white bellies and white and black tails. Their heads, bodies, tails and limbs have narrow black, brown or gray stripes.
The different species of tigers.
There are nine different species of tigers these are:
- Bengal Tigers
- Siberian Tigers
- Indo-Chinese Tigers
- South Chinese Tigers
- Sumatran Tigers
- Malayan Tigers
- Caspian Tigers
- Javan Tiger
- Bali Tiger
The reason of extinction for some of the subspecies of tigers.
There were once nine subspecies due to over-hunting, poaching and a loss of habitat have resulted in the extinction of three of these species.
The Bali Tiger reached extinction due to hunting. There was not an enormous population, as people populated the island, they hunted the tiger in order to sell their pelts and organs, as well as to protect themselves from these hunters.When the Russians started to colonize Turkey during the late-1800’s, they began to hunt the Caspian Tiger with a vengeance. In addition, they hunted the natural prey of these predators, causing many to die from starvation. It is believed that the last Caspian Tiger was killed in the 1990’s. However, due to a lack of interest, this was never explored or confirmed.
The Panthera tigris died out in the 1970’s. These tigers were found exclusively on the island of Java. These tigers began to be protected in 1947, but it was too late to save the Java Tiger from succumbing to extinction. They were poisoned by locals wanting to protect themselves and hunted for reward or financial gain. They also died as a result of their prey being killed to the point of extinction.
The Panthera tigris died out in the 1970’s. These tigers were found exclusively on the island of Java. These tigers began to be protected in 1947, but it was too late to save the Java Tiger from succumbing to extinction. They were poisoned by locals wanting to protect themselves and hunted for reward or financial gain. They also died as a result of their prey being killed to the point of extinction.
The following is a video of the extinct subspecies.
What do tigers eat?
Tigers mainly eat Ambar deer, wild pigs, water buffalo and antelope. Tigers are also known to hunt sloth bears, dogs, leopards, crocodiles, and pythons as well as monkeys and hares. Old and injured tigers have been known to attack humans and domestic cattle.
How do tigers behave?
Tigers occupy a variety of habitats from tropical forest, evergreen forests, woodlands and mangrove swamps to grasslands, savana, and rocky country. They are mostly nocturnal (more active at night) and are ambush predators that rely on the camouflage their stripes provide. Tigers use their body weight to knock prey to the ground and kill with a bite to the neck. They are also very good swimmers and have been known to kill prey while swimming.
How do tigers communicate?
Do we have tigers in Trinidad?
Tigers are not native to our island but at the Emperor Vally Zoo in Trinidad and Tobago, there are three Bengal tiger's Rani, Raja, and Shere Khan.
This is a picture of Raja
This is a picture of Rani
