Tigers Essay Research Paper Tigers are descended

Tigers Essay, Research Paper

Tigers are descended from civet-like animals called niacis that lived during the age

of the dinosaurs about 60 million years ago (Dang, 1994). These small mammals, with

long bodies and short flexible limbs, evolved over millions of years into several hundred

different species, including cats, bears, dogs and weasels. About 37 cat species exist today

(Dang, 1994). Tigers evolved in eastern Asia , but it is not exact. Sabre-tooth tigers are

not the ancestors of today’s tigers. In fact, sabre-tooth tigers belonged to a separate

branch of cat evolution which became extinct many millions of years ago.

The Siberian or Amur tiger lives primarily in eastern Russia, and a few are found in

northeastern China and northern North Korea. It is estimated that 437-506 Siberian tigers

still exist in the wild (Tilson ,1995). About 490 captive Siberian tigers a re managed in

zoo conservation programs (Tilson, 1995).

The South China tiger is the most critically endnagered of all tiger subspecies.

They are found in central and eastern China. It is estimated that only 20-30 South China

tigers are left in the wild (Dang ,1994). Currently 48 South China tigers live in 19 zoos,

all in China (Dang ,1994).

The distribution of the Indochinese tiger is centered in Thailand, and is found in

Myanmar, southern China, CAnbodia, Laos, Vietnam, and penisular Malaysia. About

1,180- 1,790 Indochines tigers are left in the wild and about 60 live in zoos (Tilson, 1995).

Bengal tigers live in India, and some range through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan,

and Myanmar. The estimated wild population is approzimately 3,060- 4,735 tigers, with

about 333 in captivity, primarily in zoos in India (Dang, 1994).

White tigers are just white-colored Bengal tigers. They ae not a separate

subspecies of tiger, and they are no albinos. They have blue eyes, a pink nose, and creamy

white fur with chocolate colored striipes, White tigers are only born when two tigers that

both carry the unusual gene for white coloring mate, Wild white tigers are very rare, and

todayt they can only be seen in zoos.

The Sumatrain tiger is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. About

400-500 wild Sumatran tigers are believed to exist, primarily inthe island’s five national

parks (Dang, 1994). Another 235 Simatran tigers live in zoos around the world (Dang,

1994).

Three tiger subspecies have been considered to become extinct in the past 70 years

(Tilson ,1994). The Caspian tiger, known as the Panthera tigris virgata, once ranged in

Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Mongolia, and Central Asiatic area of Russia and probably

went extinct in the 1950’s (Tilson, 1995). The Javan tiger, Panthera tigris sondaica,

formerly ranged on the Indonesian island of Java and was last seen in 1972 (Tilson, 1995).

The Bali tiger, Panthera tigris balica, once lived on Bali, where the last tiger was believed

to have been killed in 1937 (Tilson, 1995).

Tigers have social behavior. Adult tigers are solitary animal that establish their

territories in areas with enough prey, cover and water to support them. The hardship of

loating prey in tiger habitat makes it more efficient for tigers to hunt alone. As a result,

they do not tend to form social groups like lions. A female tiger and her cubs are the

exception to this, and will form a family group for 2 to 3 years, until the cubs are able to

fend for themselves (Dang ,1994). The territory of a tiger usually ranges in size from

about 10 to 30 square miles, although the territory of a Siberian tiger may be as large as

120 square miles (Tilson, 1995). Both male and female tigers spray bushes and trees

along their route with amixture of urine and scent gland secretions. This is a way of

declaring their territory. They also leave marks on trees, and urinate or leave droppongs

in prominent places.

Female tigers reach maturity when they area bout 3 years old and males reach it

when they are a year or so later (Dang, 1994). In temperate climates, a tigress comes into

heat only seasonally , but in tropical climates, she may come int heat throughtout the year.

She signals her readiness with scent marking and locating roars. The brief act of

copulaiton occurs continually for a five day period. Tigers are induced ovulators, and

must be stimualted through frequent copulation in order to become pregnant. To

stimulate ovulation the male tiger’s penis has spines. This explains in part why the female

roars and lashes out at the male immediately following copulation.

After mating, the period for tigers is about 103 days (Tilson, 1995). The average

litter size of tigers is 2 or 3 cubs (Tilson, 1995). One usually dies at birth. Tiger cubs are

born blind and weigh only about 2 to 3 pounds (Tilson, 1995). They live on their mother’s

milk for 6-8 weeks before the female begins taking them to kill in order to feed (Tilson,

1995). They start making t

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