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kingdom: animalia
phylum:chordata
class:mammalia
order: carnivora
family:felidae
genus: panthera
Species: tigris
sub-species: tigris
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Reproduction
As tigers are solitary, the male and female only come together to mate. This can occur all year round, but usually between the months of November and April, and often tigers will mate in water. The tigress will then give birth to 2 to 3 cubs, weighing at about 1.1 to 1.8 kg (Bengals), 785g to 1.7 kg (Siberian) and 750g (Sumatrans), after about four months' gestation. Although, gestation of the Siberian (100-112 days) seems to be longer than that of the Bengal (95-109 days). Tiger cubs are born with their eyes and ears closed, and cannot hear or see anything until after their first week. Their coats are usually light and darkens to the shade of adults after three to five and a half months. The tigress will suckle her young for around six months, even though the cubs begin eating meat at 6-8 weeks. Cubs can fend for themselves when they are about 1 year, but usually stay with their mother for about 2 years, although Siberians may not leave their mother until around four years, as they mature more slowly. Female cubs will usually settle close by, whereas males become independent and live further away. If left alone, tigers can live from 15 years to about 25 years in the wild. One Siberian in captivity lived for 26 years
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Population Status
The status of the tiger is very grim. This great cat was once abundant all over Asia and Russia and the Indonesian Islands, but now just a fraction of each sub-species inhabits parts of Asia, Siberia and the island of Sumatra. This cat is in great danger of becoming extinct, as it is fast losing its habitat and is in constant demand in the Asian Medicine trade, where its bones are believed to have healing powers. This is probably the biggest threat to tigers today, as poachers not only are rewarded for the kill, but a tiger pelt can be worth 6 months' wages. But a poor family's gain is the tiger's loss, and the tiger is losing to man. Conservationist Billy Argenseng, of Tiger Haven in the Dudwa National Park, was once a hunter, but gained a greater understanding of this beautiful cat and became a conservationist to try and help preserve the great cats of India. His farm Tiger Haven lies near the Nepalese border, and there he has raised two cubs of fame, Harriet the leopard and Tara the tiger. Billy once said that tigers and man cannot live together, one will lose - and it is apparent that that it is the tiger that is losing.
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Since 1940, three sub-species of the tiger have become extinct and have disappeared forever - they are the Bali tiger, the Javan tiger and the Caspian tiger, with the South China tiger dangerously close to extinction. The main causes are rising human populations and poverty, as well as habitat loss. But the biggest threats to tigers is the demand for tiger parts for use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The tiger needs forests to survive. It needs trees and shrubbery to remain camouflaged, and hunt its prey, as it is solitary, and as long as man continues to destroy the tiger's natural habitat, then the only place that tigers will be found will be in zoos across the world. It would be a shame to see the tiger become extinct in its natural environment, but the great cat cannot compete with man. That is why the tiger needs help - man can either destroy the existence of the tiger, or preserve it.
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WORLD TIGER POPULATIONS
Bengal Tiger 3,060 - 4,735
Indo-Chinese Tiger 1,180 - 1,790
Siberian Tiger 437 - 506
Sumatran Tiger 400 - 500
South China Tiger 20 - 30
Bali Tiger Extinct 1940
Caspian Tiger Extinct 1970
Javan Tiger Extinct 1980
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TOTAL: 5,000 - 7,500
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Many organisations today have devoted themselves to preserving the tigeTo buy tiger products, is helping the black market, so the more people buy the more tigers will be killed. We have already seen the extinction of three sub-species in the last 60 years - we can stop that from happening to the other five.
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