TIGER EXPLAINED HERE: FIRST LARGEST BIG CAT IN THE WORLD

Tiger: Tigers are the largest and most powerful of all the cats they are 10 times stronger than a man! They live all over Asia, from the rainforest to the woodlands of Siberia. Tigers hunt mainly in the dark.

They can jump 16 feet high and reach speeds of 40 miles per hour. In addition to being the largest big cats, tigers are also the strongest felines. With the bite force of 1,050 PSI and deadly strikes of their powerful paws, very few animals can match the strength of a tiger.

Since the early 20th century, tiger populations have lost at least 93% of their historic range and have been extirpated from Western and Central Asia, the islands of Java and Bali, and in large areas of Southeast and South Asia and China.

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION OF TIGER.

The Scientific name of Tiger is Panthera tigris.

Evolution

the Panthera species lion, leopard and jaguar. Results of genetic analysis indicate that about 2.88 million years ago, the tiger and the snow leopard lineages diverged from the other Panthera species, and that both may be more closely related to each other than to the lion, leopard and jaguar.

The geographic origin of the Panthera is most likely northern Central Asia. The tiger snow leopard lineage dispersed in Southeast Asia during the Miocene.

Panthera tigris trinilensis lived about 1.2 million years ago and is known from fossils excavated near Trinil in Java. The Wanhsien, Ngandong, Trinil, and Japanese tigers became extinct in prehistoric times.

Tigers reached India and northern Asia in the late Pleistocene, reaching eastern Beringia, Japan, and Sakhalin. Some fossil skulls are morphologically distinct from lion skulls, which could indicate tiger presence in Alaska during the last glacial period, about 100,000 years ago

Size and Weight of Tiger.

Generally, males vary in total length from 250 to 390 cm (98 to 154 in) and weigh between 90 and 300 kg (200 and 660 lb) with skull length ranging from 316 to 383 mm (12.4 to 15.1 in).

Females vary in total length from 200 to 275 cm (79 to 108 in), weigh 65 to 167 kg (143 to 368 lb) with skull length ranging from 268 to 318 mm (10.6 to 12.5 in). In either sex, the tail represents about 0.6 to 1.1 m (2 ft 0 in to 3 ft 7 in) of the total length.

The Bengal and Siberian tigers are amongst the tallest cats in shoulder height. They are also ranked among the biggest cats that have ever existed reaching weights of more than 300 kg (660 lb). The tigers of the Sunda islands are smaller and less heavy than tigers in mainland Asia, rarely exceeding 142 kg (313 lb) in weight.

Colour variations.

There are three other colour variants:

• White 
• Golden and
• snow white

The white tiger has white fur and sepia-brown stripes. Golden tiger has a pale golden pelage with a blond tone and reddish-brown stripes. Snow white tiger is a morph with extremely faint stripes and a pale reddish-brown ringed tail. Both snow white and golden tigers are homozygous for CORIN gene mutations.

Habitat

The tiger historically ranged from eastern Turkey and Transcaucasia to the coast of the Sea of Japan, and from South Asia across Southeast Asia to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. Since the end of the last glacial period, it was probably restricted by periods of deep snow lasting longer than six months.

Currently, it occurs in less than 6% of its historical range, as it has been extirpated from Southwest and Central Asia, large parts of Southeast and East Asia. It now mainly occurs in the Indian subcontinent, the Indochinese Peninsula, Sumatra and the Russian Far East. In China and Myanmar, breeding populations appear to rely on immigration from neighboring countries while its status in the Korean Peninsula is unknown.

Behavior and Ecology.

Young female tigers establish their first territories close to their mother’s. The overlap between the female and her mother’s territory reduces with time. Males, however, migrate further than their female counterparts and set out at a younger age to mark out their own area.

A young male acquires territory either by seeking out an area devoid of other male tigers, or by living as a transient in another male’s territory until he is older and strong enough to challenge the resident male.

When not subject to human disturbance, the tiger is mainly diurnal. It does not often climb trees but cases have been recorded. It is a strong swimmer and often bathes in ponds, lakes and rivers, thus keeping cool in the heat of the day. Individuals can cross rivers up to 7 km (4.3 mi) wide and can swim up to 29 km (18 mi) in a day.

Adult tigers lead largely solitary lives. They establish and maintain territories but have much wider home ranges within which they roam. Resident adults of either sex generally confine their movements to their home ranges, within which they satisfy their needs and those of their growing cubs.

The tiger is a long-ranging species, and individuals disperse over distances of up to 650 km (400 mi). to reach tiger populations in other areas. Radio-collared tigers in Chitwan National Park started dispersing from their natal areas earliest at the age of 19 months. Four females dispersed between 0 and 43.2 km (0.0 and 26.8 mi), and 10 males between 9.5 and 65.7 km (5.9 and 40.8 mi).

Hunting and Diet.

In the wild, tigers mostly feed on large and medium-sized mammals, particularly ungulates weighing 60–250 kg (130–550 lb). The most significantly preferred species are sambar deer, wapiti, Bara Singha and wild boar.

Tigers are capable of taking down larger prey like adult gaur and wild water buffalo but will also opportunistically eat much smaller prey, such as monkeys, peafowl and other ground-based birds, hares, porcupines, and fish. They also prey on other predators, including dogs, leopards, pythons, bears, and crocodiles.

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