ABOUT Tigers...

These are pages have been compiled from various sources including my own observations and studies. I would like to thank Tiger Territory © Copyright 2001 and the 'Save the Tiger Fund' website at www.5tigers.org.

Habitat:

All wild tigers live in Asia and most numerous of these, the Royal Bengal tiger, are to be found in India. The Bengal tigers range through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Tigers live in thick forests or areas with tall grasses to hide in and plenty of prey to eat. They don't like arid, open grasslands. Most kinds of tigers live where it is warm but the Amur (Siberian) tigers live where it gets very cold.

Territory Size:

The size of a tiger's territory depends on how much prey there is to eat. For example, in some parts of India where there is plenty of prey, a male tiger only needs eight to sixty square miles. In Sumatra, where there is less prey, a male tiger may need as much as 150 square miles. And in Siberia, where there is little prey to be found, male tiger territories are as large as 400 square miles. Although tigers usually live alone, tiger territories can overlap. A male tiger's territory usually overlaps those of several female tigers.

A Bengal Tiiger’s Weight:

Siberian tigers are the heaviest of the subspecies at up to 500lb (225 kg), with males heavier than females. The lightest subspecies is the Sumatran where males weigh about 250lb (110 kg) and females around 200lb (90 kg).

Measurements:

Depending on the subspecies, the head-body length of a tiger is about 4½ to 9 feet (1.4-2.8 m). The length of the tail is 3 to 4 feet (90-120 cm). The height at shoulder: 95-110 cm (depending on the subspecies). The footpads vary in size with age, resulting in inaccurate estimates when used in censusing wild populations.

Life Span:

A tiger's senses

Hearing:

The tiger's hearing is its most highly developed sense and it is far more dependent upon hearing than sight or smell. Cats are able to hear over a very wide range of frequencies from 200 Hz to 100 kHz; this is five times better than human hearing. In the tiger, such acute hearing allows these big cats to distinguish the rustle of leaves in the breeze from the sound of an animal brushing through the undergrowth. It is thought that other animals can be identified from the sounds they make during movement, allowing the tiger to concentrate on preferred prey.

Tests have shown that tigers can seek out a grazing animal with less than a five-degree error. When tiger hunting was a common activity some tigers became so wary of the noise of rifles being loaded that they instantly retreated. It seems that a twig breaking beneath a human foot, or the sound of a man breathing from within a hide, is also readily identified.

Binocular Vision:

A tiger's eyes are the brightest of any animal. Evolution has seen the cat develop the most accurate binocular vision of all carnivores; this is so good it is almost on a par with that of man. Despite this, tigers face difficulties in seeing stationary objects, particularly at night if the cat is in moonlight and the prey animal lying in shadow. A calf that is only five metres away may well be invisible unless it moves, though only an ear twitch is required for detection. Fortunately for the tiger, but unfortunately for prey species, in the presence of a prowling cat prey animals tend to become nervous and start to move, drawing attention to themselves.

Colour Vision:

Rods and cones are light-receptive cells in the eye - the more cones, the better the colour vision and the more rods, the better the low-light vision. However rods are of no use for seeing in colour. The eyes of cats contain primarily rods. Tigers have circular pupils and yellow irises (white tigers have blue irises). Due to the lack of cones in the eye these see depth rather than colour. There is some debate about how much colour tigers can actually see. Until recent times it was considered that felids were colour-blind, but it has now been established that green, blue and yellow may be recognised, along with various shades of grey.

Physical Appearance

Stripes:

No one knows exactly why tigers are striped, but scientists think that the stripes act as camouflage breaking the outline of the their massive frame, and help tigers hide from their prey. The Sumatran tiger has the most stripes of all the tiger subspecies, and the Siberian tiger has the fewest stripes. Tiger stripes are like human fingerprints; no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes.

Ear Spots:

All subspecies of tiger have white spots or 'flashes' on the backs of their ears; the reasons for these remain mostly unknown. It has been speculated that these markings are illusory 'eyes' to fool prey, or they may serve to discourage other predators who normally hunt and attack from behind. Another suggestion is that young cubs use these to find and follow their mothers in tall grass. When a tigress drops into the stalking position, with ears flattened against her head, these spots are obscured so making it more difficult for the cubs to follow and ruin the kill. This suggestion is weakened by the fact that these spots appear on both males and females -- and males have nothing at all to do with the raising of cubs. It is more likely that ear spots are a signal of aggression. A tiger under threat will rotate the ears in such a way that the spots can be seen from the front so providing a visual warning.

Teeth:

Adult tigers have 30 large teeth! The length of the canine teeth can be between 2.5 to 3 inches (74.5 to 90 mm.). The tiger's upper canines are the largest of all the big cats and at 2.5 to 3 inches in length are nearly the size of a man's middle finger. These teeth are used in killing and biting.

Claws:

A tiger's forefeet have five toes and the hind feet have four toes. All toes have claws. The claws are 80 to 100 mm in length. Like domestic cats, tiger claws are retractable. Tiger scratches on trees serve as territorial markers.

Claws are up to 5 inches in length. The forefeet have five claws, including a dewclaw, while hind paws have four claws with the dewclaw being absent. Because dewclaws are placed high on the limb they do not suffer wear from contact with the ground. This means they become particularly long and sharp, very useful for holding prey.

Using Claws:

1. As lethal weapons during the hunt. The hook shape enables the tiger to grasp the skin of prey and so prevent its escape.
2. For cleaning. In addition to licking, felids repeatedly scratch. This dislodges dead hair, deals with skin irritations and removes tangles.
3. Marking out territory through the scratching of trees. Once a tree is chosen it is used repeatedly leaving deep vertical marks on the trunk. Not all tigers scratch at trees, some do it frequently while others don't bother. Secretions from glands in the feet leave deposits which are easily smelled by other tigers. For experts the height of claw marks on trees is an indicator of the tiger's size.
4. During tree climbing. Tigers seldom climb trees, but are quite capable of doing so; they may do this if being chased by dogs or when after prey. Though claws make the climb possible, their angle also makes the descent an awkward job.
5. For defence; primarily in encounters with other tigers, but also with other animals and when a cat feels threatened by man.
6. For balance when stretching, walking, running and jumping, amongst other actions.
   Glands between the toes produce secretions which are left when tigers scratch. These send chemical signals to other cats in the area.

Retractable Claws:

Claws are usually described as retractable, however this is a misnomer. In their normal relaxed position claws are sheathed. This prevents wear from contact with the ground, and keeps them sharp. It is only during a stretch, such as that involved in catching prey, that the connecting tendons are pulled taut so automatically forcing the claws outwards. In other words, the action of extending the claws is not a conscious action.

tiger Behaviour

The Solitary Cat::

Unlike some big cats like lions, adult tigers like to live alone (except for mother tigers with cubs). This is partly because in the forest, a single tiger can sneak up and surprise its prey better than a group of tigers can.

Sexual Maturity:

Female tigers first come into season at around 2½ years of age, but do not become sexually mature until 3 to 4 years old. They are usually pregnant or rearing cubs, for the following 15 years. Copulation may take place before sexual maturity, though pregnancy is extremely unlikely. For males, sexual maturity occurs later, at approximately 4 to 5 years of age.

Oestrus:

A female will enter oestrus, or 'heat', either seasonally if it is a temperate climate or throughout the year in more tropical areas. Oestrus is the time when a female is receptive and able to become pregnant. She will signal her readiness for breeding in various ways, including roaring, moaning and scent marking with a distinctive-smelling urine, mixed with a secretion from the anal gland. The female will continue her efforts until a male is attracted, or oestrus is over. As wild tiger numbers become fewer, increasingly there are times when a mate is not found. The time between episodes of oestrus varies considerably.