The Tiger: characteristics, feeding, types and more

Are you a tiger lover? Do not miss all the information about these great animals, learn what they feed on, how they have evolved, the way they reproduce, the different species of the tiger, their habits and much more that you do not want to miss.

Panthera tigris

This is one of the most amazing and imposing animals in the world, its colors, its size, its way of walking instill great respect and admiration in everyone who has the joy of observing it.

This is part of the family of subpantherines that are included in those of the genus Panthera. It should be noted that in this classification there are other equally amazing animals such as the jaguar, the lion and the leopard, all hunting and predatory animals.

Many people admire the tiger because it is very intelligent and because of its presence, its colors. These animals are easily adapted, and this great characteristic is what has allowed them to remain on earth for more than two thousand years.

Mostly they live alone unlike other animals that walk in packs, they have an impressive vision that is sharpened at night. These are very common animals in Asia, in Siberia, in dense forests, but they can also be seen in open areas.

tiger characteristics

Within this segment will detail how is the tiger in various aspects of his life:

• These animals have a large size hovering between one hundred and ninety and three hundred and thirty centimeters including their tail.
• They belong to the mammalia class and are of the carnivorous order, scientifically their name is "panthera tigris".
• Their thought is mostly between 90 kilograms and 310 kilograms, they live approximately 20 to 26 years, and are purely carnivorous, feeding on birds, reptiles and mammals. They reproduce viviparously, these animals date back at least two million years.
• The easiest way to distinguish a tiger is through its stripes that are black, but also orange and white predominate, the combination of these three colors make this animal distinguishable from the rest.
• It is the largest feline in the world, although females are mostly smaller than males, of all types of tigers, the Bengal is the largest while the smallest is called Sumatra.
• Another amazing feature of these animals is that they have an impressive ability to swim.

genetic variations

This refers to the different colors with which you can get a tiger, as well as white there are also gold, which are not a different species but have a variation in their genetics, but these two are not the only ones. the blue tiger which have been seen in Korea, the characteristic color of this animal may be due to a mutation.

However, some biologists claim that this is the product of a conjugation of two pairs of recessive alleles.

Origin and evolution

As already mentioned these animals come from Asia, in the old days you could get tigers from Indonesia (the north) to Siberia, including the Philippines and Borneo.

Recently a fossil was obtained, from which it was possible to appreciate that the origin of these animals is from China two million years ago.

In addition to this, another fact that has been discovered is that these original tigers were smaller than those we can see today, also various specialists in the area relate this animal to the saber tooth, this being a species that dates back to prehistory, which were also large canines.

It is important to note that currently the investigation has not been closed, but is still ongoing, so that these data may vary as new discoveries are made that allow the generation of other more accurate knowledge, which could perhaps change what we currently know about the tiger.

Where do tigers live?

As has been mentioned on several occasions, these animals come from the Asian continent, but in addition to this they have a wide capacity to adapt to different environments.

Due to this last mentioned characteristic, it can be found in places such as grasslands, where there is a lot of vegetation or little, in quite wooded tropical areas and in swamps.

In order to survive, these animals must have enough water near their habitat, but not only this, but it is also necessary to have a place where they can take refuge and a large number of prey to hunt and feed continuously.

In the early days these could be found in Asia up to Turkey, currently these animals are very common in China and India, places where there are large numbers of tigers, however compared to previous years there are fewer, they have become extinct because they are hunted for their skins and tusks.

These animals are quite territorial, which leads them to generate various rivalries with the intention of maintaining power over their territory.

The most common is to see them alone, they are only in company during mating times.

What does Tigers eat?

They are considered carnivorous animals, their diet lies in a variety of pieces, of course it will depend on the environment in which they stay and what is available in that area.

There are tigers that even consume bears and buffalo but the most common is that they feed on monkeys, peacocks, hunt fish and hares.

In order to capture their prey they go quite stealthily slowly and from one moment to the next they jump on it when they are at a short distance.

Their stripes and their color play an important role here, since through them they can camouflage themselves when hunting.

It is quite difficult to observe a tiger that is hunting a rhinoceros or an elephant, this is because it would put its own life at great risk.

A very sweet fact about these great animals is that they bring food to their cubs and their female so that they eat before he does.

Due to their great ability to handle themselves in the water, they mostly take their prey to the water to subdue them.

When the tigers are very hungry and can't find food, they approach the closest villages, mostly going to them at night, hunting humans, dogs and cats.

How are tigers born?

These, unlike many of the animals, can mate at any time of the year, however they prefer almost ending the year from the month of November to the fourth month of the following year.

A big difference between males and females is that the latter can gestate after three years of life, while the former last a little longer, up to five years from that moment they are sexually mature.

While they are courting each other, they make various sounds and roars that are heard only during that time.

A curious fact about these animals is that the males propose courting the female and they see if they accept or not, which occurs in very few species, in the case of the Saraguato Monkey this does not happen since the male is the one who decides which female he wants to court.

When the female accepts and is achieved with the male they begin to smell each other, caress each other and in this way they begin the preparation to be fertilized.

When the act ends, the male walks away following his path and the female goes to her burrow to gestate.

What threats does the tiger have?

Today the tiger is in a very unfortunate situation, various studies have been carried out that establish that four thousand or five thousand tigers worldwide are in their natural state, while in captivity there are one thousand one hundred and fifty tigers, so that in total there are five thousand one hundred and fifty tigers worldwide, which is a fairly small number.

It is no secret to anyone that there are climate changes worldwide that are not at all favorable for any species, and one of the most affected is the tiger due to the fact that there is great deforestation mainly, thus destroying its habitat, in addition to many of the Animals that the tiger feeds on migrate to other places, thus limiting their feeding.

If their diet is limited, they live for less time than normal, thus influencing the statistics that are declining in terms of the number of these amazing animals.

A variety of laws have been enacted that are aimed at protecting tigers, seeking their conservation at all costs, but this has not been enough and the numbers continue to increase.

Another element that is not in favor of its conservation is that in the black market there is a huge demand for its skin and bones, in the case of the former it is due to the creation of clothing while the latter is due to the making of of medications.

How many species of tiger are there?

To date, six subspecies of this beautiful animal have been achieved, each with impressive characteristics, discover here that types of tigers there are, among which the following can be mentioned:

South China Tiger

Specialists in the area establish that this type of tiger will not take more than ten years to disappear, the color of its fur is quite vivid and they also have a large size, reaching more than two meters, both characteristics are white to be hunted and sold. on the black market.

Siberian Tiger

This is the largest one, it is very common to find it towards the south of Siberia, it weighs approximately three hundred kilograms and can even measure up to three and a half meters, it is a tiger that has great agility and strength, the saddest thing is that they are in danger of extinction and there are few possibilities to avoid it.

Sumatra tiger

This, unlike the previous one, is the smallest of all with only two meters and a quarter of meters, the statistics establish that there are only five hundred of them, a fairly low number, when hunting they choose small pieces.

Bengal tiger

These, like those mentioned at the beginning, also have a high level of extinction, these can be obtained in India and Bangladesh, there are at least 1400 individuals so far, they have a great capacity for adaptation, so it is possible to see them in the desert and in the prairies.

Malaysian tiger

Of all this is the youngest, it was recognized only sixteen years ago, but the saddest thing is that this subspecies is very close to its end, since there are only six hundred species that are not protected so far, these are in the Malay Peninsula.

indochinese tiger

Since the XNUMXth century these have been gradually disappearing, their diets based on pigs and deer, to date only a few hundred remain.

What species is the white tiger?

Many people believe that this White Tiger It is part of a subspecies but this is not really the case, rather it has a change in its genetics that allows it to present its peculiar color and makes it look so wonderful and majestic.

Although it does not have the typical orange color of these animals if it has black stripes, many people call them albino tigers but it is not the correct way to call them, due to their genetics they cannot generate melanin, this being the substance that gives them the orange color to his fur.

But this is not the only mistake about this species, it is claimed that this type of tiger only has pink eyes, but there are actually studies that show that there are some with blue eyes.

They are very sensitive to light, even in many of them there are symptoms of cataracts.

The vast majority of the time, white tigers are of the classification called Bengal, so it is usual for them to be almost three meters tall and weigh almost three hundred kilos.

They are not seen very often but the place where they have been seen the most is towards central Asia.

Habits

These animals are usually alone, they always want to be in massive places looking for something to eat but never in company, there are studies that determine that they have a territory of at least ten thousand kilometers away, they mark their territory through tears in the trees, being This is the second most common habit.

extinct species of tigers

One of the species of tigers that we no longer have the joy of witnessing is the so-called Caspian tiger, it was considered to be one of the largest, in terms of its hair, it was golden in color, while its stripes turned brown. Brown.

Another tiger that became extinct is the so-called Bali, being the smallest known, it was very similar to the leopard.

In third place we have the Java, which was very similar to the Sumatra, they were only distinguished by their fur, which was darker in color and had more abundance in their stripes.

tiger taxonomy

These animals are part of the super kingdom called Eukaryota, which includes organisms made by cells with a true nucleus.

That is, they have one or more eukaryotic cells. Their development is embryonic and they do not have a chloroplast. These have tissues in all that this means, in addition to this they have a digestive tube, in these animals the anus is formed first and then the mouth orifice.

curious facts about tigers

In general, these animals have great curious facts but there are some that are of great impression:

• At birth, these have white spots that are called "predator point", they are quite similar to the eyes of a predator.
• Something that surely many are unaware of is where its name comes from, and it is that it comes from ancient Persian and means "arrow", thus giving great representation to its amazing movement skills.
• Sometimes tigers seek to mate with a lioness, in these cases a hybridization occurs which is called a Tigon, while when this happens the opposite, that is, a tigress seeks to mate with a lion, this is called Liger.
• The most common thing is that the creatures that are born from that combination are sterile but possess great strength.
• In addition to the orange and white tigers there are some blue ones and their stripes are gray, it should be noted that these cannot be found in their habitat since they are extinct, there are currently only six species which are in China in some zoos.
• Unlike other felines like the Black Panther They like water, they bathe very often and they are excellent swimmers.
• These animals have taken the lives of many people even more than any other feline.
• A recent survey determined that these animals are the most loved after canines.
• A jump of these animals can reach up to ten meters away.

video of the tiger

Be sure to watch this great video, which will help you see all those details that were discussed throughout the entire article: