Tiger is considered one of the precious animals in the culture and religion of some East Asian countries. In Vietnamese culture, the tiger is seen as a symbol of strength, courage and loyalty.
Tiger is considered one of the precious animals in the culture and religion of some East Asian countries. In Vietnamese culture, the tiger is seen as a symbol of strength, courage and loyalty.
1. Introduction to tigers
The tiger, scientifically known as Panthera tigris, is the largest animal of the cat family (Felidae). In the wild, in terms of size, tigers are the 3rd largest terrestrial carnivores in the world, after only white bears and brown bears in the local language. .
Tigers live alone and only mate occasionally during mating season.
The tiger's habitat is dense forests or large grasslands, where they can easily camouflage to hunt or avoid predators. Tigers have very good climbing ability, only inferior to domestic cats, but they are very developed in swimming ability.
In the wild, tigers live alone and mate only during mating season. They are the last link in the food chain. All animals can be prey of tigers, mainly medium-sized animals such as deer, deer, buffalo, cows... to small animals such as rabbits, chickens, ducks... Animals of all kinds Large animals like elephants can also fall prey to tigers under special circumstances.
Currently, tigers live and are distributed in Asian countries such as Russia, China, India, Vietnam, Iran, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand... In Vietnam, the number of tigers is decreasing gradually. , only living in remote forest areas at the border of Vietnam - Laos, Nghe An, Lam Dong.
Over the past century, the number of tigers in the world has decreased rapidly, due to illegal hunting. Tigers are hunted mainly for their skin, fur, teeth, bones and some other parts. It is estimated that the number of wild tigers in Vietnam is only about 200.
2. Biological characteristics of tigers
Size
There are many tiger breeds in the world, depending on the geographical location and climatic environment, the size is different. The average male tiger is 2.6 to 3.3 m long and weighs from 150 to 360 kg. Female tigers average 2.3 to 2.75m long, average weight from 100 to 160kg.
The largest tiger in the world is the Siberian tiger with a length of up to 3.5m and a weight of 360kg. The smallest tiger species in the world is the Sumatran tiger with a length of about 2.6m and an average weight of 75 to 140kg.
Tigers in general have long, slender bodies for easy movement and hunting.
Color
Most tigers have yellow, black and white stripes on the chest, tail, legs and neck. Yellow coat color can vary from dark yellow, orange to the most red. There are also many different variations in coat color recorded such as:
White tiger: black and white stripes. These are some of the rare individuals that synthesize the recessive trait, but not have albinism.
Yellow tiger: yellow fur color is lighter than normal tiger's coat color, black stripes also change to brown stripes.
Black tiger: because the body is infected with the pigments of the environment, the fur also gradually turns black to adapt.
Biological habits
Tigers are solitary creatures. Each tiger has its own territory, which can extend up to 160km. They only meet and live together when the mating season, from February to November every year.
Each pairing of male and female tigers can last from 5-7 days, can have sex 2-3 times a day and each time does not exceed 1 minute. When the female tiger has successfully conceived, they growl and chase the male tiger away.
The average gestation period of a tigress is 105 days, with an average of 2 cubs. There are also cases of pregnancy from 1-5 tiger cubs. The survival rate of later cubs is quite low. Therefore, the mother tiger will take care of and nurture them until they reach adulthood, usually 3 years.
There are also cases of male tigers, female tigers and cubs living together in groups, but this is a very rare case.
Taxonomy of tigers
In the wild, there are 9 different tiger breeds, of which 3 are extinct:
Bali tiger – Panthera tigris balica
Javan tiger – Panthera tigris sondaica
Persian Tiger – Panthera tigris virgata
The remaining tiger breeds, ranked in increasing number, are:
South China tiger - Panthera tigris amoyensis: currently about 59 individuals are kept in captivity.
Sumatran tiger - Panthera tigris sumatrae: there are currently about 500 individuals, living on Sumatra island, Indonesia.
Siberian tiger - Panthera tigris altaica: living mainly in eastern Russia, with a population of about 540 individuals.
The Malayan tiger - Panthera tigris jacksoni, lives in the southern part of the Malay peninsula with a population of 600-800 individuals.
Indochinese tiger - Panthera tigris corbetti, found in Indochina, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, southern China. The number is about 1200-1800.
Bengal tiger - Panthera tigris tigris, found in South Asia including India, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal. The wild population is estimated at 2000.
Maybe you don't know: The biggest tiger in the world?
As is known, the largest tiger individuals only reach a maximum weight of 360kg. However, with the advancement of modern science and technology, scientists have created the largest species of tiger in the world: the Liger.
Liger is a cross between a lion (Lion) and a tiger (Tiger). Because they are hybrids, they combine all the dominant traits of the two species, the weight of Liger can be up to 400kg.
Because the habitats of the parent species are quite different, Ligers now all exist in captivity. The record for the world's largest tiger belongs to an 18-year-old liger, living in Bloemfontein Zoo, South Africa with a weight of up to 798kg.
3. Conservation of tigers
Although considered a ferocious carnivore, the number of tiger species is rapidly decreasing. According to statistics, as of 2016, the world's wild tiger population is only about 3,890 individuals.
The main threat to the tiger population is habitat destruction due to human activities. At the same time, animal trafficking is becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Tigers are hunted for their fur, meat and bones for high cooking.
Therefore, this animal has been listed on the IUCN's list of threatened species. Conservation measures are also put in place to help populations grow. Especially in India - the country with the largest number of tigers in the world has taken strong action, thanks to which the number of tigers here in 2016 increased by 30% compared to 2011.
The protection of tigers and wild animals needs more attention so that they can thrive and not face extinction. According to statistics, the cost of funding wildlife conservation projects from 2010 to 2016 is about 1.3 billion USD.
Hopefully these interesting facts about this tiger have provided you with more useful knowledge. Tigers are rare and endangered animals in the wild, so take action to protect them.
