| Panthera Tigris |
(Tigers & White Tigers)
The following are the tigers that have not become
extinct, however, are on the "endangered list".
Siberian, Bengal, Sumatran, Indochinese, and South
China tigers. There are 8 different kinds of tigers.
Out of these, 3 are extinct, the Bali, Javan and the
Caspian. These have vanished over the past 70 years.
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| FACT: |
A tigers paw prints are called "pug marks".
Tigers are normally associated with the forests and
grasslands in Asia, however, they also range from the
tropical areas of the Far East, (India, Nepal, China),
to the edge of the Artic Ocean (Siberia).
The South China tiger is close to becoming extinct. It
is believed there are only 30 left in the wild. Siberian,
Sumatran and Indochinese range in the hundreds, making
the total population between 5,000 and 7,000 left in the
wild, however, a hundred years ago, there count was
100,000 in existance.
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| FACT: |
Tigers have remarkable night vision. They can see 6 times
better than a human.
Tigers do not purr, they make a noise we refer to as a
"Chuff". This is their hello. They make this sound
through their noses and nod their heads, as to say
everything is o.k. When they are angry they will growl,
or when they want to say hello in the forest, they will
roar out their call to the wild to see who is there.
Their tails range from 3 to 4 feet in length. They use
their tails in two ways, one is to keep their balance,
and the other is to communicate with other animals. If
a tigers tail is relaxed, then they are relaxed. When
they meet another friendly tiger their tails are in an
upright position and waves slowly back and forth. If a
tiger is excited their tails swish back and forth, and
when they are angry their tails are lowered and twitch.
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| FACT: |
A tigers stripes are like human fingerprints. No two tigers
are marked the same.
These cats usually live alone in their individual
territory, ranging approximately 10 to 30 miles. They
mark their territory by using a combination of urine
and scent gland secretions. When another tiger smells
this they know this area is taken. A male tiger will
usually share a small portion of his territory with a
female. The only time that adult tigers are together
is during their mating season.
Gestation period is 14 to 15 weeks (105 to 110 days).
Tiger cubs are born blind and weigh about 2 to 3 pounds.
They nurse from their mother for 2 months, and then
begin to add meat to their diets. At around 18 months
of age they begin to hunt for themselves and seek their
own territory at about 2 to 3 years of age.
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| FACT: |
The saber-toothed tiger was a prehistoric creature. They were
up to 8 feet in length. These cats existed 40 million years
ago, and have been extinct for 10,000 years.
Having a well developed sense of smell and hearing,they
are almost impossible to be caught off guard. Hunting
is no problem for these cats. They stalk and pounce on
their kill, dragging it to a secluded area. They are
known as "ambush hunters". Using the rough texture on
their tongues to tear the meat off the bones, they can
strip a carcass clean. Tigers prefer to hunt at night,
and will stay with their kill until they are full. If
it is a large kill they will bury it in leaves and eat
off of it for days.
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| FACT: |
Their claws are retractable, just like those of a house cats,
only used as lethal weapons.
Natives have learned to place a mask on the back of
their heads when in the jungle to confuse the tiger.
They usually will not attack from the front.
The white circles on the backs of their ears, are thought
to resemble eyes, and in doing so, it deters other
animals from attacking from behind. They can't tell if
the tiger is coming or going.
Water is second nature to these cats. They will lay
in water up to their heads in the heat of the day.
Tigers are avid swimmers. This is amazing because of
their size.
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| FACT: |
Siberian tigers stripes are wider and lighter in color from
the other species of tigers.
The siberian tiger is the largest of them all. They
weigh between 400 to 700 pounds. They can be up to
9 to 12 feet in length, having a long, thick winter
coat.
To flush a tiger out of a dense thicket, all that is
used is a long white sheet, which the trackers hold
as they walk the length of the area, while making
loud noises. Tigers fear this ghost like image.
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| FACT: |
The tigers eyes are the brightest of any animal on earth.
Siberian tigers live in the Amur-Ussuri region of
Siberia, in northern Korea and China. It is believed
that there are only 200 of these magnificant creatures
left in in the wild.
The bengal tiger is the most numerous, being second in
size to the siberian tiger, there are approximately
3,000 to 4,700 thousand left in the wild.
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| FACT: |
A group of tigers is called a "streak".
All of these tigers suffer from the same dilema. Their
habitat is being rapidly destroyed by man, and they are
being killed by poachers for their fur and all other
body parts. Many chinese people believe the testicles
of these animals made into a soup will help their own
sexual drive. Crushed tiger bones are suppose to help
heal arthritis and other ailments. The list goes on with
how they have used this magnificant animal for their own
selfish beliefs. The chinese government has recognized
this problem, and have several private breeding facilities
to preserve their existance. Although we have found
that some of these are just breeding farms, and when the
cats are large enough, they are killed and their body parts
from head to toe are then sold to the black market all
over the world.
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| FACT: |
Tigers live on the average of 10 to 15 years in the wild. In
captivity they normally live 16 to 20 years.
Those who are fighting to keep these gorgeous animals
alive are struggling each day against man himself.
There are only about 200 white tigers left in the world, with the majority in captivity in zoos. These awesome tigers can live in captivity up to 20 years. Most white tigers are bengals, however, some are bengal/ siberian crosses (hybrids). The female produces 3 to 4 cubs in one litter. Golden offspring that carry the white gene are called "Heterozygous". Golden Heterozygous tigers have the recessive gene for white coats. When bred to a white tiger, the offspring will be white. Siegfried and Roy have their own line of white tigers, which they call, "Royal White Tigers of Nevada". They are the proud owner of 40 white tigers. Heteroxygosity: Meaning the two alleles at a locus are different. | |
| FACT: | The first known white tiger was captured in the jungles of Rewa in 1951, by the Maharja of Rewa. This tiger was named Mohan. | |
| FACT: | The white tiger has pale icy blue eyes, white fur with chocolate stripes, pink nose and pink paw pads. | |
| FACT: | The white tiger is not an albino. |
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