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Did
you know that the Tiger, one of the most beautiful animals in the
cat kingdom is an endangered species? This means that it may become
extinct if we don't help it to survive. Here is an information fact
file about the tiger.
Description: One
of the most familiar of cats, the tiger is also one of the most
endangered. It is generally agreed that there are eight sub-species
of tiger- three of which are already extinct (The Balinese tiger
P.t. balica, Javan tiger P.t. sondaica, and the Caspian tiger P.t.
virgata).
The tiger's reddish -orange or ochre coat is marked with the famous
dark vertical stripes. No two tigers have identical markings. Stripes
on the tail form rings, and the underside is white or tinged with
buff.
Distribution:Originally
widespread, tigers were found in a very wide variety of habitats
including savannah, mangroves and temperate, coniferous and tropical
rain forests. Within the past century tigers ranged from eastern
Turkey and the Caspian Sea, across Asia through India and Indo-China
(excluding desert regions and the higher reaches of the Himalayas
and Sri Lanka) to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali.
The tiger now only lives in fragmented pockets of its former range.
Biology and Behaviour:
The tiger is solitary except for courting pairs and females
with young. Tigers feed on medium to moderate-sized prey, but will
eat basically anything that they can catch. The larger hoofed mammals
make up the majority of its diet, typical prey include, sambar,
chital, swamp deer, red deer, Rusa deer and wild pigs. They also
take very large prey such as rhino and elephant calves, water buffalo,
moose, wapiti and guar. In many areas agricultural stock are also
readily taken, particularly when wild prey is depleted.
Reasons for decline:
The tiger has specific ecological requirements and is thus not a
particularly adaptable species. Tigers need large prey and sufficient
cover for hunting and these requirements are becoming less and less
common. Agriculture is taking its toll on land space as is deforestation,
overgrazing, mining and other forms of habitat destruction and fragmentation.
Most tiger reserves are relatively small, less than 1,OOOsqkm and
isolated and thus tiger populations within them are small and little
interbreeding between populations occurs. Poaching is also a very
real threat to tiger populations, for example 30-50% of the population
of Siberian tigers (which live mainly in the eastern territories
of Khabarovsk and Primoriye in the Russian Federation) were killed
by poachers in 1993-1994. Tigers are killed for their bones which
are ground up to make tonics and traditional medicines. In 1994
1 animal could generate US dollars 10,000 worth of business.
In 1900 there were
about 100,000 tigers in Asia, they have declined faster than any
other cat and by the early 1970s there were no more than 500 left.
Current threats:
According to Tiger Link,1 tiger per day is killed for the trade
in skin and bones, but the figure may be as high as 500 per year
Conservation projects:
Since the initiation of Project Tiger in 1973, the population
of tigers in India increased from approximately 1,900 to around
4,300 in 1989. This success has been undermined in recent years
by an increase in poaching activity in the parks.
www.arkive.co.uk is
an organisation dedicated to helping the worlds endangered species.
It contains information, photographs and recording of all kinds
of animals that are in danger of extinction, as well as information
on what is being done to protect them. It will shortly have a children's
section with games and activities.
www.5tigers.org is
the home of the Tiger Information Centre and contains lots of information
on tigers and their conservation. It also includes photographs and
a live webcam transmission of tigers in Minnesota zoo in the USA.
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