Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger is the largest wild cat currently living on Earth. A male tiger can weigh up to 300 kilograms and grow to about 2 metres long, with a tail another metre long. It stands about 110 cm tall at the shoulder. A tiger’s coat is patterned with black stripes. These provide camouflage, making the animals difficult to spot among the light and shadows of dense undergrowth. Siberian tigers live in the far east of Asia, between the Amur and Ussuri rivers, which flow through Russia and China. The tigers living there are therefore also known as Amur tigers. Siberian tigers are somewhat larger than Bengal tigers, also known as royal tigers. They are found in India and neighbouring countries. There are eight or nine tiger subspecies in all. Tigers have excellent hearing and can move their ears independently. They are strong swimmers but poor climbers. Tigers have 30 teeth and the typical teeth of a predator. They mainly hunt roe deer, red deer and wild boar. They also catch elk, lynxes, smaller animals and birds. Since they are good swimmers, they catch fish too. Sometimes they kill dogs and other domestic animals. They can also be dangerous to people. A tiger needs about 9 to 10 kg of meat a day. Because it is so strong, it can carry its prey a long way before eating it somewhere quiet. Tigers spend a lot of time hunting, as many attacks are unsuccessful. They stalk their prey, leap onto it from behind and kill it with a bite to the back of the neck or throat. Tigers usually live alone. Males and females come together only briefly during the mating season. A tigress usually gives birth to one to three cubs. Like domestic cats, they are blind during their first two weeks of life. Their mother feeds them milk and, after a few weeks, gives them their first pieces of meat. The cubs stay with their mother for up to two years. Then they can hunt alone and go their own way. A tiger can have cubs when it is four years old. Siberian tigers were almost extinct a few decades ago, and the numbers of other tiger species have also declined. They were hunted because they killed livestock, and their pelts were prized by hunters. Their habitat was also increasingly reduced by farming. Some tigers also died in forest fires. Today they are strictly protected. They are specially bred in many zoos, which also helps secure the future of these animals.
Find out:
- How heavy and how long can Siberian tigers get?
- Which species of tiger is found in India?
- In which countries do Siberian tigers live in the wild?
- What are tigers very good at?
- What do tigers eat?
- How much meat do they need per day?
- Do tigers live together with other tigers?
- How many cubs does a tigress have in a litter?
- How long do young tigers stay with their mothers?
- Why has the population declined so sharply?
