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Amur Tiger

Panthera tigris

CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Carnivora
FAMILY: Felidae
GENUS: Panthera
SPECIES: tigris
LIFESPAN: 20 to 25 years

COLOR/PATTERN: Tawny brown in color with dark stripes and whitish stomachs.
HABITAT: Forests or shrub-covered mountains up to an altitude of 6500 feet.
RANGE: Once found across northern Asia, Siberian tigers are found only in eastern Siberia and Manchuria.
LENGTH: Adult males may reach 14 feet in length (including the tail).
WEIGHT: Adult males may weigh up to 650 pounds (the largest recorded is 845 pounds). Cubs weigh approximately 2 pounds when they are born.
REPRODUCTION: Breeding takes place in fall and winter, with a result of 3 to 4 cubs. Cubs are born with their eyes closed and fully marked coat. They remain totally dependant on their mother until they are about 18 months old. At 2 to 2 ½ years of age, they leave their mother to make their own way in the world.
GESTATION: 3 1/2 to 4 months
DIET: In the wild, Amur tigers eat whatever they can catch, but the bulk of their diet consists of hoofed mammals.
ACTIVE: Nocturnal
STATUS: All species of tiger today are endangered, primarily because of loss of habitat and illegal hunting.

NOTES:

• Amur tigers are the largest living big cats.
• There were once 8 species of tigers, but three are now extinct. All of the remaining 5 subspecies are endangered.
• Amur tigers are also the largest and most massively built kind of tiger (Bengal, Chinese, Indochinese, and Sumatran tigers are all smaller.)
• These tigers stalk and ambush predators, with heavily muscled forelimbs and shoulders, and massive paws with long, sharp, retractile claws.
• The black and orange striping of their fur disrupts the outline of their body. Tigers blend perfectly into a background of tangled vegetation.
• The habitat of a Amur tiger is bleak, cold, and often snowy. These big cats have very thick fur to protect against the cold. They also have the lightest colored fur of any tiger species. This is an adaptation for blending into snowy landscapes.
• Tigers are solitary animals. Where they live, food is fairly scarce, so individual tigers tend to have large territories (up to 50 square miles). Spraying urine mixed with anal gland secretions on bushes, trees, and rocks marks territories. Depositing feces in conspicuous areas serves as a marker too, as does scratching trees to create visual “signposts.�?
• Tigers communicate vocally, and make a variety of sounds, from a “bark�? to a great roar.

Last Update:Thursday, May 05, 2005 at 21:49:00