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Tiger

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                      How to read a taxoboxTiger
   Bengal Tiger (P. tigris tigris)
   Bengal Tiger (P. tigris tigris)

                             Conservation status

   Endangered
                       Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Mammalia
   Order:   Carnivora
   Family:  Felidae
   Genus:   Panthera
   Species: P. tigris

                                Binomial name

   Panthera tigris
   (Linnaeus, 1758)
   Historical distribution of tigers (pale yellow) and 2006 (green).
   Historical distribution of tigers (pale yellow) and 2006 (green).

                                  Synonyms

     Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758

   Tigris striatus Severtzov, 1858
      Tigris regalis Gray, 1867

   Tigers (Panthera tigris) are mammals of the Felidae family and one of
   four " big cats" in the Panthera genus. They are apex predators and the
   largest feline species in the world, comparable in size to the biggest
   fossil felids. The Bengal Tiger is the most common subspecies of tiger,
   constituting approximately 80% of the entire tiger population, and is
   found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and India. An endangered
   species, the majority of the world's tigers now live in captivity.

Physical traits

   Tigers are the heaviest cats found in the wild. Although different
   subspecies of tiger have different characteristics, in general male
   tigers weigh between 200 and 320  kilograms (440 and 700  lb) and
   females between 120 and 181 kg (265 and 400 lb). On average, males are
   between 2.6 and 3.3  metres (8 ft 6 in to 10 ft 8 in) in length, and
   females are between 2.3 and 2.75 metres (7 ft 6 in and 9 ft) in length.
   Of the living subspecies, Sumatran tigers are the smallest, and Amur
   (or Siberian) tigers are the largest.

   Most tigers have orange coats, a fair (whitish) medial and ventral area
   and stripes that vary from brown or hay to pure black. The form and
   density of stripes differs between subspecies, but most tigers have in
   excess of 100 stripes. The now-extinct Javan tiger may have had far
   more than this. The pattern of stripes is unique to each animal, and
   thus could potentially be used to identify individuals, much in the
   same way as fingerprints are used to identify people. This is not,
   however, a preferred method of identification, due to the difficulty of
   recording the stripe pattern of a wild tiger. It seems likely that the
   function of stripes is camouflage, serving to hide these animals from
   their prey. The stripe pattern is found on a tiger's skin and if
   shaved, its distinctive camouflage pattern would be preserved.

   Like most cats, tigers are believed to have some degree of colour
   vision.

   There is a well-known mutation that produces the white tiger, an animal
   which is rare in the wild, but widely bred in zoos due to its
   popularity. The white tiger is not a separate sub-species, but only a
   colour variation. There are also unconfirmed reports of a "blue" or
   slate-coloured tiger, and largely or totally black tigers, and these
   are assumed, if real, to be intermittent mutations rather than distinct
   species. Similar to the lion, the tiger has the ability to roar.

Hunting methods

   Tigers' extremely strong jaws and sharp teeth make them superb
   predators.
   Tigers' extremely strong jaws and sharp teeth make them superb
   predators.

   Most tigers live in forests or grasslands, for which their camouflage
   is ideally suited, and where it is easy to hunt prey that are faster or
   more agile. Among the big cats, only the tiger and jaguar are strong
   swimmers; tigers are often found bathing in ponds, lakes, and rivers
   and are known to kill while swimming. Tigers hunt alone and eat
   primarily medium to large sized herbivores such as sambar deer, but
   they also have the capability to eat much smaller prey such as birds,
   and other such things, wild pigs, young gaur, water buffalo and
   domestic cattle. They also kill such formidable predators as sloth
   bear, dogs, leopards, crocodiles and pythons as prey, and occasionally
   prey on creatures as small as langurs, peacocks and hares. Old and
   injured tigers have been known to attack humans or domestic cattle and
   are then termed as man-eaters or cattle-lifters which often leads to
   them being captured, shot or poisoned.

   Adult elephants are too dangerous to tigers to serve as common prey,
   but conflicts between elephants and tigers do sometimes take place.

   Tigers often ambush their prey as other cats do, overpowering their
   prey from any angle, using their body size and strength to knock prey
   off balance. Even with great masses, Tigers can reach speeds of about
   60  km/h (37  mph). Once prone, the tiger bites the back of the neck,
   often breaking the prey's spinal cord, piercing the windpipe, or
   severing the jugular vein or carotid artery. Tigers prefer to bite the
   throats of large prey. After biting, the tiger then uses its muscled
   forelimbs to hold onto the prey, bringing it to the ground. The tiger
   remains latched onto the neck until its prey dies.

   The Sundarbans mangrove swamps of Bengal have had a higher incidence of
   man-eaters, where some healthy tigers have been known to hunt humans as
   prey.

   In the wild, tigers can leap as high as 5 m (16 ft) and as far as
   9-10 m (30-33 ft), making them one of the highest-jumping mammals (just
   slightly behind cougars in jumping ability).

   They have been reported to carry domestic livestock weighing 50 kg
   (110 lb) while easily jumping over fences 2 m (6 ft 6 in) high. Their
   heavily muscled forelimbs are used to hold tightly onto the prey and to
   avoid being dislodged, especially by large prey such as gaurs. Gaurs
   and water buffalo weighing over a ton have been killed by tigers
   weighing about a sixth as much. A single blow from a tiger's paw can
   kill a full-grown wolf or human, or can heavily injure a 150 kg
   (330 lb) Sambar deer.

Biology and ecology

   Adult tigers are territorial and fiercely defensive. A tigress may have
   a territory of 20  km² while the territories of males are much larger,
   covering 60-100 km². Male territories may overlap those of many
   females, but males are intolerant of other males within their
   territory. Because of their aggressive nature, territorial disputes are
   violent and often end in the death of one of the males. Males will
   fight other males for territory. To identify his territory the male
   marks trees by spraying urine and anal gland secretions on trees as
   well as by marking trails with scat. Males show a behaviour called
   flehmen, a grimacing face, when identifying a female's reproductive
   condition by sniffing their urine markings.
   Tiger dentition. The large canines are used to make the killing bite,
   but they tear meat when feeding using the carnassial teeth
   Tiger dentition. The large canines are used to make the killing bite,
   but they tear meat when feeding using the carnassial teeth

   A female is only receptive for a few days and mating is frequent during
   that time period. A pair will copulate frequently and noisily, like
   other cats. The gestation period is 103 days and 3–4 cubs of about 1 kg
   (2 lb) each are born. The females rear them alone. Wandering male
   tigers may kill cubs to make the female receptive. At 8 weeks, the cubs
   are ready to follow their mother out of the den. The cubs become
   independent around 18 months of age, but it is not until they are
   around 2–2½ years old that they leave their mother. The cubs reach
   sexual maturity by 3–4 years of age. The female tigers generally own
   territory near their mother, while males tend to wander in search of
   territory, which they acquire by fighting and eliminating a territorial
   male. Over the course of her life, a female tiger will give birth to an
   approximately equal number of male and female cubs. Tigers breed well
   in captivity, and the captive population in the United States may rival
   the wild population of the world.

   In the wild, tigers mostly feed on deer, wild boar, and wild cattle,
   including gaur and water buffaloes, young rhinos and young elephants,
   and sometimes, even leopards and bears. Tigers have been known to kill
   crocodiles on occasion, although predation is rare and the predators
   typically avoid one another. Siberian tigers and brown bears are a
   serious threat to each other and both tend to avoid each other.
   Statistically though, the Siberian tiger has been the more successful
   in battles between the two animals because bears taken by tigers are
   often smaller sized bears, however tigers can and do kill larger brown
   bears. Even female tigers, which are considerably smaller than male
   tigers, are capable of taking down and killing adult gaurs by
   themselves. Sambar, wild boar and gaur are the tiger's favoured prey in
   India. Young elephant and rhino calves are occasionally taken when they
   are left unprotected by their herds. A case where a tiger killed an
   adult female Indian rhino has been observed.

   Tigers prefer large prey such as sambar, gaur and wild water buffalo
   because they provide more meat and last for many days, avoiding the
   need for another hunt. In all of their range, tigers are the top
   predators and do not compete with other carnivores other than the dhole
   or Indian wild dog, which makes up for its relative lack of strength by
   numbers. They do not prey on large animals such as adult elephants and
   rhinos, although they will prey on their young whenever they have an
   opportunity. However, a desperate tiger will attack anything it regards
   as potential food, including humans.

   Tigers have been studied in the wild using a variety of techniques. The
   populations of tigers were estimated in the past using plaster casts of
   their pugmarks. In recent times, camera trapping has been used instead.
   Newer techniques based on DNA from their scat are also being evaluated.
   Radio collaring has also been a popular approach to tracking them for
   study in the wild.

Extinction risk

   Humans are the tiger's most significant predator, as tigers are often
   poached illegally for their fur. Also, their bones and nearly all body
   parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine for a range of purported
   uses including pain killers and aphrodisiacs. Poaching for fur and
   destruction of habitat have greatly reduced tiger populations in the
   wild. A century ago, it is estimated there were over 100,000 tigers in
   the world; now numbers are down to below 2,500 mature breeding
   individuals, with no subpopulation containing more than 250 mature
   breeding individuals.

   At the Kalachakra Tibetan Buddhist festival in south India in January
   2006 the Dalai Lama preached a ruling against using, selling, or buying
   wild animals, their products, or derivatives. The result when Tibetan
   pilgrims returned to Tibet afterwards was much destruction by Tibetans
   of their wild animal skins including tiger and leopard skins used as
   ornamental garments. Time will show whether this causes a thankfully
   needed long-term slump in the demand for poached tiger and leopard
   skins.

Subspecies

   There are nine subspecies of tiger, three of which are extinct and one
   of which is almost certain to become extinct in the near future. Their
   historical range (severely diminished today) ran through Russia,
   Siberia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, China and south-east Asia, including
   the Indonesian islands. The South China Tiger is believed to be the
   first tiger. These are the surviving subspecies, in descending order of
   wild population:
   Bengal tiger
   Bengal tiger
     * The Bengal tiger or the Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
       is found in parts of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma.
       It lives in varied habitats - grasslands, subtropical and tropical
       rainforests, scrub forests, wet and dry deciduous forests and
       mangroves. The Indian government's estimated population figure for
       these tigers is between 3,100 and 4,500, some 3,000 of which are
       found in India alone. However, many Indian tiger conservationists
       doubt this number, seeing it as overly optimistic. The number of
       Bengal tigers in India may be fewer than 2,000, as most of the
       collected statistics are based on pugmark identification, which
       often gives a biased result. Even though this is the most 'common'
       tiger, these tigers are under severe pressure from both habitat
       destruction and poaching. In 1972, India launched a massive
       wildlife conservation project, known as Project Tiger, to protect
       the depleting numbers of tigers in India. The project helped
       increase the population of these tigers from 1,200 in the 1970s to
       3,000 in the 1990s and is considered as one of the most successful
       wildlife conservation programs. At least one Tiger Reserve (
       Sariska) has lost its entire tiger population to poaching. Male
       Bengal tigers range anywhere from 200 to 295 kg (440-650 lb) and
       females range between 120-180 kg (264-400 lb). Males in the wild
       usually weigh 205 to 227 kg (450-500 lb), while the average female
       will weigh about 140 kg (310 lb). However, the northern Indian and
       the Nepalese Bengal tigers are considerably bulkier than those
       found in other places, with recorded instances of shot males that
       weighed more than 300 kg (660 lb). One large male killed in Nepal
       in 1942 weighed 320 kg (706 lb), while another, killed in 1910 in
       India, weighed 317 kg (700 lb). The largest Bengal tiger ever shot
       was a male 3.3 m (11 ft) in total length and weighed close to
       390 kg (857 lb); this giant was killed in 1967.

   Indochinese Tiger
   Indochinese Tiger
     * The Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti), also called
       Corbett's tiger, is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma,
       Thailand, and Vietnam. Estimates of its population vary between
       1,200 to 1,800, but it seems likely that the number is in the lower
       part of the range. The largest current population is in Malaysia,
       where illegal poaching is strictly controlled, but all existing
       populations are at extreme risk from habitat fragmentation and
       inbreeding. In Vietnam, almost three-quarters of the tigers killed
       provide stock for Chinese pharmacies. Also, the tigers are seen by
       poor natives as a resource through which they can ease poverty.
       Indochinese tigers are smaller and darker than Bengal tigers. Males
       weigh from 150-190 kg (330-420 lb) on average while females are
       smaller at 110-140 kg (242-308 lb).

     * The Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), exclusively found in
       the southern (Malaysian) part of the Malay Peninsula, was not
       considered a subspecies in its own right until 2004. The new
       classification came about after a study by Luo et al. from the
       Laboratory of Genomic Diversity Study, part of the National Cancer
       Institute of the United States. Recent counts showed there are
       600-800 tigers in the wild, making it the third largest tiger
       population behind the Bengal tiger and the Indochinese tiger. The
       Malayan tiger is a national icon in Malaysia, appearing on its coat
       of arms and in logos of Malaysian institutions, such as Maybank.

   Sumatran tiger
   Sumatran tiger
     * The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is found only on the
       Indonesian island of Sumatra. The wild population is estimated at
       between 400 and 500, seen chiefly in the island's national parks.
       Recent genetic testing has revealed the presence of unique genetic
       markers, indicating that it may develop into a separate species, if
       it is not made extinct. This has led to suggestions that Sumatran
       tigers should have greater priority for conservation than any other
       subspecies. Habitat destruction is the main threat to the existing
       tiger population (logging continues even in the supposedly
       protected national parks), but 66 tigers were recorded as being
       shot and killed between 1998 and 2000, or nearly 20% of the total
       population. The Sumatran tiger is the smallest of all living tiger
       subspecies. Adult males weigh between 100-130 kg (220-286 lb),
       females 70-90 kg (154-198 lb). Their small size is an adaptation to
       the thick, dense forests of the Sumatra island where they reside,
       as well as the smaller-sized prey. On February 3, 2007 a pregnant
       Sumatran Tiger was caught by people from Rokan Hilir village at
       Riau province. Indonesian fauna conservation officials are planning
       to transfer her to the Bogor Safari Park in Java.

   Amur tiger
   Amur tiger
     * The Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), also known as the
       Siberian, Manchurian or North China tiger, is confined completely
       to the Amur region in far eastern Siberia, where it is now
       protected. The last two censuses (1996 and 2005) found 450-500 Amur
       tigers within their single and more or less continuous range making
       it one of the largest undivided tiger populations in the world.
       Considered the largest subspecies, with the exception of the
       northern Indian and the Nepalese Bengal tigers, the largest wild
       Amur tiger on record weighed 384 kg (845 lb), while two captive
       ones weighed 465 kg (1025 lb) and 423 kg (932 lb). Some Bengal
       tigers can grow to the same length as Amur tigers. Weights can vary
       substantially depending on whether the tiger has been fully fed or
       has an empty belly. The average weight of a male Amur tiger is
       around 227 kg (500 lb), but they can be anywhere from 205 to 364 kg
       (450-800 lb). The Amur tiger is also noted for its thick coat,
       distinguished by a paler golden hue and a smaller number of
       stripes. The Amur tiger is the largest and heaviest of all living
       felines. A six-month old Amur tiger can be as big as a fully grown
       leopard.

   South China tiger
   South China tiger
     * The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis), also known as
       the Amoy or Xiamen tiger, is the most critically endangered
       subspecies of tiger and will almost certainly become extinct. It is
       also considered to be the first of all tiger subspecies. This
       subspecies is one of the smallest tiger species. The length of the
       South China tiger ranges from 2.2-2.6 m (87-104 in) for both males
       and females. Males weigh between 127 and 177 kg (280-390 lb) while
       females weigh between 100 and 118 kg (220-260 lb). It seems likely
       that the last known wild South China tiger was shot and killed in
       1994, and no live tigers have been seen in their natural habitat
       for the last 20 years. In 1977, the Chinese government passed a law
       banning the killing of wild tigers, but this appears to have been
       too late to save the subspecies. There are currently 59 known
       captive South China tigers, all within China, but these are known
       to be descended from only six animals. Thus, the genetic diversity
       required to maintain the subspecies no longer exists, making its
       eventual extinction very likely. Currently, there are breeding
       efforts to reintroduce these tigers to the wild by 2008.

Extinct tiger subspecies

   Tigers are uncommon in the fossil record. The distinct fossils of
   tigers were discovered in Pleistocene deposits – mostly in Asia.
   Nevertheless, tiger fossils 100,000 years old have been found in
   Alaska. Possibly because of a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska
   during the ice ages, this Alaskan tiger might have been a North
   American population of Siberian tiger. In addition, some scientists
   have discovered similarities between tiger bones and those of the
   American lion, an extinct big cat that dominated much of North America
   as recently as 10,000 years ago. Some have used these observations to
   conclude that the American lion was a New World tiger species.

   Tiger fossils have also turned up in Japan. These fossils indicate that
   the Japanese tiger was no bigger than the island subspecies of tigers
   of recent ages. This may be due to the phenomenon in which body size is
   related to environmental space (see island dwarfism), or in the case of
   a large predator like a tiger, availability of prey.
   A hunted down Balinese Tiger.
   A hunted down Balinese Tiger.
     * The Balinese tiger (Panthera tigris balica) has always been limited
       to the island of Bali. These tigers were hunted to extinction – the
       last Balinese tiger is thought to have been killed at Sumbar Kima,
       West Bali on 27 September 1937; this was an adult female. No
       Balinese tiger was ever held in captivity. The tiger still plays an
       important role in Balinese Hindu religion.

     * The Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) was limited to the
       Indonesian island of Java. It now seems likely that this subspecies
       was made extinct in the 1980s, as a result of hunting and habitat
       destruction, but the extinction of this subspecies was extremely
       probable from the 1950s onwards (when it is thought that fewer than
       25 tigers remained in the wild). The last specimen was sighted in
       1979.

     * The Caspian tiger or Persian Tiger (Panthera tigris virgata)
       appears to have become extinct in the late 1960s, with the last
       reliable sighting in 1968, though it is thought that such a tiger
       was last shot dead in the south-eastern-most part of Turkey in
       1970. Historically it ranged through Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
       Pakistan, the former Soviet Union and Turkey. This tiger was said
       to be yellow with black stripes. The Caspian tiger was one of two
       subspecies of tiger (along with the Bengal) that was used by the
       Romans to battle Roman Gladiators and other animals, including the
       Barbary Lion.

     * The Trinil tiger (Panthera tigris trinilensis) is the oldest tiger
       fossil dating from about 1.2 million years ago. This tiger was
       found at the locality of Trinil, Java, Indonesia.

Tigers in literature and popular culture

   Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright
   In the forests of the night,
   What immortal hand or eye
   Could frame thy fearful symmetry?...

   William Blake, " The Tyger", Songs of Experience. The most anthologized
   poem in the English language.

   The word "tiger" is borrowed from the Greek word "tigris", which itself
   is derived "possibly from an Iranian source." In American English,
   "Tigress" was first recorded in 1611. " Tiger's-eye" is a name for a
   golden-brown striped, chatoyant, fibrous variety of quartz used as a
   semi-precious gemstone.

   The tiger has long been a subject of imaginative literature. Both
   Rudyard Kipling in The Jungle Book and William Blake in Songs of
   Experience depict the tiger as a menacing and fearful animal. In The
   Jungle Book, the tiger, Shere Khan, is the wicked mortal enemy of the
   protagonist, Mowgli. However, other depictions are more benign: Tigger,
   the tiger from A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh stories, is cuddly and
   likable. The famous comic strip Calvin and Hobbes features Calvin and
   his stuffed tiger, Hobbes.

   The tiger is one of the most popular sport teams mascots. Some examples
   the American Major League Baseball team Detroit Tigers and the English
   rugby union club Leicester Tigers and the NCAA Division I sports teams,
   LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, and Clemson Tigers.

   During Bleeding Kansas in 1850s, pro-slavery militiamen operating out
   of Missouri who raided anti-slavery settlements in Kansas styled
   themselves the "Tigers." This tradition survives in University of
   Missouri mascot "Tigers."

   Humble Oil, a division of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, USA,
   (Jersey Standard), used a caricatured tiger and the slogan "Put a Tiger
   in your Tank" to promote their gasoline/petrol products. Jersey
   Standard used a real tiger in its advertising when it took the Exxon
   name company-wide in 1972 and when advertising abroad as Esso. The
   brand kept the tiger mascot as a part of ExxonMobil when they merged in
   1999.

   The tiger is one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. Also in various
   Chinese art and martial art, the tiger is depicted as an equal rival
   towards the Chinese dragon. In Imperial China, a tiger often
   represented the highest army general (or present day defence
   secretary), while the emperor and empress were represented by a dragon
   and phoenix, respectively.

   The tiger is regarded as the king of the jungle in most parts of Asia,
   because its forehead has a marking which resembles the Chinese
   character 王, which means "king". Consequently, many cartoon depictions
   of tigers in China are drawn with 王 on their forehead.

   A stylized tiger cub, " Hodori", was a mascot of the 1988 Summer
   Olympic Games of Seoul.

The tiger as a national animal

   The Tiger is the national animal of:
     * Bangladesh (Royal Bengal Tiger)
     * China, along with Dragon and Panda; the Tiger is the unofficial
       symbol
     * India (Royal Bengal Tiger)
     * Malaysia
     * Nepal (Royal Bengal Tiger)
     * North Korea (Siberian Tiger)
     * South Korea (Siberian Tiger)
     * Former Nazi Germany along with the black eagle (currently it is the
       black eagle ( Bundesadler) (official) and leopard (unofficial)
     * Former USSR (Siberian Tiger) (currently it is the Bear and golden
       bicephalic eagle)

   Soviet propaganda against the 'Nazi Tiger'.

   Coat of Arms of Malaysia.

   Coat of Arms of Tamil Eelam

Gallery

   Picture of Felis tigris (Panthera tigris) subspecies unknown

   Indian painting, ca. 1650|Indian painting

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