Tigers Essays - Tigers, Tiger, Bengal Tiger, Siberian Tiger

Tigers Tigers are descended from civet-like animals called niacis that lived during the age of the dinosaurs about 60 million years ago (Dang, 1994). These small mammals, with long bodies and short flexible limbs, evolved over millions of years into several hundred different species, including cats, bears, dogs and weasels. About 37 cat species exist today (Dang, 1994). Tigers evolved in eastern Asia , but it is not exact. Sabre-tooth tigers are not the ancestors of today's tigers. In fact, sabre-tooth tigers belonged to a separate branch of cat evolution which became extinct many millions of years ago. The Siberian or Amur tiger lives primarily in eastern Russia, and a few are found in northeastern China and northern North Korea. It is estimated that 437-506 Siberian tigers still exist in the wild (Tilson ,1995). About 490 captive Siberian tigers a re managed in zoo conservation programs (Tilson, 1995). The South China tiger is the most critically endnagered of all tiger subspecies. They are found in central and eastern China. It is estimated that only 20-30 South China tigers are left in the wild (Dang ,1994). Currently 48 South China tigers live in 19 zoos, all in China (Dang ,1994). The distribution of the Indochinese tiger is centered in Thailand, and is found in Myanmar, southern China, CAnbodia, Laos, Vietnam, and penisular Malaysia. About 1,180- 1,790 Indochines tigers are left in the wild and about 60 live in zoos (Tilson, 1995). Bengal tigers live in India, and some range through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Myanmar. The estimated wild population is approzimately 3,060- 4,735 tigers, with about 333 in captivity, primarily in zoos in India (Dang, 1994). White tigers are just white-colored Bengal tigers. They ae not a separate subspecies of tiger, and they are no albinos. They have blue eyes, a pink nose, and creamy white fur with chocolate colored striipes, White tigers are only born when two tigers that both carry the unusual gene for white coloring mate, Wild white tigers are very rare, and todayt they can only be seen in zoos. The Sumatrain tiger is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. About 400-500 wild Sumatran tigers are believed to exist, primarily inthe island's five national parks (Dang, 1994). Another 235 Simatran tigers live in zoos around the world (Dang, 1994). Three tiger subspecies have been considered to become extinct in the past 70 years (Tilson ,1994). The Caspian tiger, known as the Panthera tigris virgata, once ranged in Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Mongolia, and Central Asiatic area of Russia and probably went extinct in the 1950's (Tilson, 1995). The Javan tiger, Panthera tigris sondaica, formerly ranged on the Indonesian island of Java and was last seen in 1972 (Tilson, 1995). The Bali tiger, Panthera tigris balica, once lived on Bali, where the last tiger was believed to have been killed in 1937 (Tilson, 1995). Tigers have social behavior. Adult tigers are solitary animal that establish their territories in areas with enough prey, cover and water to support them. The hardship of loating prey in tiger habitat makes it more efficient for tigers to hunt alone. As a result, they do not tend to form social groups like lions. A female tiger and her cubs are the exception to this, and will form a family group for 2 to 3 years, until the cubs are able to fend for themselves (Dang ,1994). The territory of a tiger usually ranges in size from about 10 to 30 square miles, although the territory of a Siberian tiger may be as large as 120 square miles (Tilson, 1995). Both male and female tigers spray bushes and trees along their route with amixture of urine and scent gland secretions. This is a way of declaring their territory. They also leave marks on trees, and urinate or leave droppongs in prominent places. Female tigers reach maturity when they area bout 3 years old and males reach it when they are a year or so later (Dang, 1994). In temperate climates, a tigress comes into heat only seasonally , but in tropical climates, she may come int heat throughtout the year. She signals her readiness with scent marking and locating roars. The brief act of copulaiton occurs continually for a five day period. Tigers