Tiger

 

General Characteristics 

Tigers are animals that are  endangered species.

There are 5 species of Tigers: Siberian, Bengal, Indochinese, South Chinese, and Sumatran.

 There are 3 species of tigers that are extinct : Bali, Javan, Caspian.

  They live in Asia in a variety of habitats from the tropical evergreen and deciduous forests of southern Asia to the coniferous, scrub oak, and birch woodlands of Siberia.

 People think that there are between 5,000 and 7,500 wild tigers living in the world today. The Siberian Tiger is the largest of all the tiger species.

Description

The tiger’s body is built in such a way to help in its hunting method .

·        Longer hind limbs to help in jumping.

·        Stronger forelimbs and shoulders help in dragging down large prey

·        Sharp retractable claws that help in holding onto the prey

·        Large and powerful jaw that includes relatively flattened canines, makes the tiger bite strongly.

Each stripe pattern on a tiger is unique to that particular individual tiger species and works the same way as human fingerprint.

( pics : White Bengal Tiger and IndoChinese Tiger)

         

The table below compares the different species of tigers

ASIAN

Characteristic SIBERIAN BENGAL INDOCHINESE SOUTH CHINESE SUMATRAN Stripes orange with white markings on their underside and faces Orange narrower and shorter stripes short, broad spaced far apart darkest coat Size 5 – 10 cm ( 2.0 – 3.9 in )  Males :270 cm – 310 cm  Females : (240 – 265 cm) 2.55 -2.85 meters ( 8.37 – 9.35 feet) 2.6 m ( 8 feet ) 204 cm (  6 feet 8 inches ) MAIN DIFFERENCE THE LARGEST OF SPECIES

THICKER AND LIGHTER COLORED.

ORANGE FUR WITH BLACK STRIPES AND THEN WHITE FUR Status around 450  less than 2,000 750 – 1,300 extinct in the wild 400 – 500