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Tiger
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Tiger Description |
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The largest
member of the cat family, the Tiger is instantly recognizable
by its orange coat, vividly patterned with black stripes
and white markings.
Although eight subspecies of tiger have been recognized,
three have become extinct since the 1950s. The remaining
five subspecies are all endangered, some critically
so. The Tiger's size, coat, color, and markings vary
according to the subspecies. Once found as far west
as eastern Turkey, the Tiger now exists in small, scattered
populations from India to Vietnam, and in Siberia, China,
and Sumatra.
It lives in a variety of habitats, ranging from tropical
forest to the freezing steppe, but its basic requirements
are the same:dense cover, access to water, and sufficient
prey. Tigers may require as much as 88lb of meat at
a time and return to a large kill for 3-6 days.Animals
taken are mainly deer and pigs, cattle in certain regions,
as well as monkeys, birds, reptiles and fish.
Although solitary, tigers also travel in groups, with
a male occasionally resting and feeding with a female
and her cubs. The Bengal Tiger is the most common subspecies
and exhibits the classic tiger coat: deep orange with
white undersides, cheeks, and eye areas, and distinctive
black markings that help camouflage it in the tall jungle
grass.
The other existing subspecies are the Indo-Chinese Tiger
the Chinese Tiger the Sumatran Tiger and the Siberian
Tiger.
Protected in most areas, the Tiger continues to be hunted
illegally for its skin and its body parts. Several conservation
projects now exist to monitor and safeguard Tiger populations.
SIBERIAN TIGER
Found in Siberia and Manchuria, the Siberian Tiger
( Panthera tigris altaica ) is the biggest living
cat. Its coat is the lightest among all tigers,and
its fur is long and dense to protect it against the
cold.
Critically endangered its numbers may be as low as
150-200.
SUMATRAN TIGER
The Sumatran Tiger ( Panthera tigris sumatrae ) is
classified as critically endangered. Its numbers have
decreased from 1,000 in the 1970s to about 400 in
the wild, and around 194 in captivity. |
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