The animal world is made up of a diverse range of species that have coexisted for as long as humans can remember. Every species has unique, essential qualities, behaviours, and talents that they efficiently pass on to their offspring in order to ensure their species’ survival.
When it comes to survival strategies, the interactions between animals in their groups are an intriguing topic to investigate. One species has an impressive social structure that often goes unrecognized. We’re talking about the vast cats of the wild—tigers. Tiger hunting styles are efficiently instilled in cubs through meticulous maternal coaching, demonstrating the strength of this social relationship. However, there is much more to the Tiger’s social structure and hierarchy. In this article, you will learn more about tigers.
Evolution of tigers
Felidae is a carnivore family that includes both large and tiny cats.
The scientific name for the Tiger is “Panthera tigris.” Panthera is a genus of creatures that can roar. Tigers, lions, jaguars, and leopards are a few examples. These animals have a floating hyoid bone in their throats, which allows them to produce roaring sounds. However, new research indicates that the larynx, also known as the voice box, is responsible for the ability to roar. Recent genetic research has put a snow leopard in the Panthera genus despite the fact that it cannot roar.
Tigris means “swift river” in Greek, and it flows from Turkey to Iraq’s Persian Gulf. In Kurdish, Tir signifies arrow, and Jir or Jehar indicates poison; hence, the term combines to form Tirjir, which was eventually pronounced and spelt Tigris. The word Tiger was connected with both a swift-moving river and a speedy, poisonous arrow.
Miacids are the oldest known progenitor of all extant carnivores on Earth. Dogs, bears, skunks, mongooses, cats, and hyenas are descendants of this extinct group of carnivorous animals, which dates back to 50 million years ago.
Tigers may have inhabited the globe millions of years ago, with the oldest Tiger remains discovered in South Asia dating back two million years. Early tiger fossils have been found in China, Java, and Sumatra.
How does Tiger look
The beautiful Tiger has a striking reddish-orange coat with distinct black stripes, white fur on the ventral side, and a single white patch behind each ear. When a tigress senses danger, she uses these white patches to communicate with her cubs by flattening her ears, telling them to hide. A tiger’s black stripe pattern varies, much like human fingerprints, allowing scientists to distinguish various animals in the wild.
Genetic reasons cause some variance in pelage colouration in tigers, particularly in India. In 2007, ‘black’ or ‘pseudo-melanistic’ tigers were officially found in Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve, making it the only wild population with this feature now.
The beautiful Tiger has a striking reddish-orange coat with distinct black stripes, white fur on the ventral side, and a single white patch behind each ear. When a tigress senses danger, she uses these white patches to communicate with her cubs by flattening her ears, telling them to hide. A tiger’s black stripe pattern varies, much like human fingerprints, allowing scientists to distinguish various animals in the wild.
Genetic reasons cause some variance in pelage colouration in tigers, particularly in India. In 2007, ‘black’ or ‘pseudo-melanistic’ tigers were officially found in Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve, making it the only wild population with this feature now.
Tiger Traits
Despite their recent, drastic range breakdown, tigers are habitat generalists and thus live in a variety of environments, including estuaries, mangrove forests and the equator rainforests in the Sundarbans and Sumatra, dry deciduous forests in parts of India, tropical rainforests in the Malay Peninsula, and temperate, evergreen forests of Palaearctic realms in Russia and China. The presence of sufficient prey stocks is the most critical habitat need for tigers, and it defines the extent of an individual tiger’s territory. Tigers are naturally solitary and highly territorial, marking their territory with scent markers (urine and faeces), tree scratchings, and vocalizations.
Despite their recent, drastic range breakdown, tigers are habitat generalists and thus live in a variety of environments, including estuaries, mangrove forests and the equator rainforests in the Sundarbans and Sumatra, dry deciduous forests in parts of India, tropical rainforests in the Malay Peninsula, and temperate, evergreen forests of Palaearctic realms in Russia and China. The presence of sufficient prey stocks is the most critical habitat need for tigers, and it defines the extent of an individual tiger’s territory. Tigers are naturally solitary and highly territorial, marking their territory with scent markers (urine and faeces), tree scratchings, and vocalizations.
Types of tigers
Bengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), often known as the Indian Tiger or Royal Bengal tiger, is native to the Indian subcontinent. Although it once covered a considerably broader region, the Bengal is now located in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan.
The Bengal tiger is currently on the endangered list. It is the most well-known tiger breed and the largest in the wild. A male Bengal weighs 397 to 569 pounds, while a female weighs between 220 and 350 lb.
White Tiger
If you are fortunate enough to observe a white tiger, it could be an albino or the product of genetic mutation. If it appears white with black stripes and blue eyes, this is due to a genetic abnormality known as leucism, which is unique to the Bengal tiger. A white cub can only be born if both parents carry the gene. It is, however, scarce, accounting for only one in every 10,000 births.
An albino tiger would be completely white (no black stripes or very faint ones) with pink eyes.
Few white tigers thrive in the wild as their white fur provides no camouflage for the Tiger.
Siberian Tiger
The Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), formerly referred to as the Manchurian tiger, Korean Tiger, Amur tiger, or Ussurian Tiger, is an endangered species found in Northern Asia (China, Russia, and Korea). However, its range was originally considerably greater. Although the Bengal tiger is more prominent in the wild, the Siberian Tiger frequently outgrows the Bengal in captive environments, making it the world’s most giant purebred cat.
Crossbreeds, such as the liger, a cross between a female tiger and a male lion, grow far more significant than their parents. A fully developed male liger can weigh up to 1600 pounds! That is three times as large as a Bengal or Siberian tiger. When Bengals and Siberians crossbreed, the offspring grow more significantly than their parents.
While the heaviest Siberian Tiger has been recorded at 660 pounds, they are normally smaller than Bengal tigers. Male Siberian tigers usually weigh between 389 and 475 pounds, while females normally weigh 260 to 303 pounds.
The Siberian Tiger has an expansive chest and a huge head. Its thick fur, which defends it from the cold winters of Northern Asia, is a less brilliant shade of orange than that of other tiger subspecies.
Sumatran Tiger
The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is among the smallest tiger subspecies inhabiting the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Because it exclusively lives on an island, it is separated from other tigers. This has culminated in genetic differences from its “mainland” cousins. Sumatrans are a severely endangered species. Two more tiger subspecies, the Bali tiger and the Javan tiger, also lived in the same area but are now extinct.
The Sumatran tiger weighs almost half that of the Bengal or Siberian. A male Sumatran tiger weighs 220 to 310 pounds, while a female weighs around 165 to 243 pounds. The Sumatran’s stripes are black and clearly defined. They cover the Tiger’s entire body, including the forelegs. Not every Tiger has stripes on its front legs.
Indochinese Tiger
The Indochinese Tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti), often known as Corbett’s Tiger, is named after the well-known British hunter Jim Corbett, who was frequently tasked with hunting man-eating tigers and leopards in the early twentieth century.
Southeast Asia is home to the near-critically endangered Indochinese Tiger. The illegal trafficking of highly sought-after tiger parts is the primary cause of the Indochinese tiger population’s rapid decline. Only approximately 300-400 Indochinese tigers are surviving in the world today. Tiger parts are used in rituals, as meat (internal organs), and to manufacture jewellery, medicines, clothing, and wine.
The Indochinese Tiger has narrow single stripes. Male Indochinese often weigh between 331 and 430 pounds, while females average between 220 and 290 pounds.
Malayan Tiger
The Malayan tiger is referred to as the Southern Indochinese tiger. It is native to Southeast Asia (Burma, Thailand, and Malaysia).
The Malayan Tiger looks very similar to the Indochinese Tiger but is significantly smaller. It was only considered a distinct breed from the Indochinese Tiger at the beginning of the 2000s, which explains why it’s given two scientific names. The scientific name Jackson honours Peter Jackson, a British journalist, author, and photographer who was engaged in tiger conservation. The scientific term malayensis, which refers to Malaysia’s geographic location, was less popular.
Male Malayan tigers weigh between 220 and 308 pounds, while females weigh between 165 and 245 pounds. Malayan tiger populations are startlingly low. There are less than 200 breeding adults worldwide, and their numbers are still dropping! The Malayan tiger is highly endangered because of habitat destruction and poaching. Malayan tiger components, like those of the Indochinese Tiger, are employed in a number of applications, including cultural rites and traditional treatments.
South China Tiger
The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is sometimes called the Chinese Tiger, Xiamen tiger, or Amoy tiger. It is endemic to eastern and central China (Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fukien, and Hunan provinces), but one has yet to be seen in the wild in decades.
Although not as little as the Sumatran, Indochinese, or Malayan tigers, the South China tiger is among the lesser tiger subspecies. The male South China tiger weighs between 287 and 386 pounds. The female weighs 220 to 254 pounds.
The South China tiger is highly endangered and faces extinction. Only 30 to 40 are known to be present in the globe, and they are all held captive.
In the 1970s, there were around 4000 South China tigers in the wild. None exist anymore. What happened?
When the Chinese government cleared territory for development, it slaughtered all of the relocated tigers. Habitat loss and eradication efforts resulted in the extinction of South China tigers in the wild.
The Chinese government regrets its actions and is now working to safeguard the South China tiger. Zoos in China and South Africa are currently working hard to enhance their populations through breeding initiatives.
Blue Tiger
Tigers with slate grey or black stripes on a pale greyish-blue body have been spotted in China’s Fujian province highlands. Just like how the Bengal has a genetic mutation that produces white tigers, the South China tiger genes may make a tiger with blue fur, although the existence of these tigers has yet to be scientifically verified. Some people believe they are merely legends! If the blue Tiger is present, it is commonly known as the Maltese Tiger.
Extinct Species of Tigers
Caspian Tiger
The Caspian tiger was a massive and powerful tiger that lived near the Caspian Sea. The colours were muted. The Caspian tiger was also referred to as the “grey tiger” at times. Yet, surviving pelts have reddish-orange fur with a lot of browns. Maybe the grey was a mutation that resulted in the white or blue Tiger.
Bali Tiger
The Bali tiger, an Indonesian native, was previously the world’s smallest Tiger. The man weighed between 200 and 220 pounds, while the female weighed between 143 and 176. It has been seen in the 1930s. The Bali tiger’s only remains are bones and skulls, which have been conserved in museums.
Javan Tiger
The Javan tiger was the last of three tigers that existed in Indonesia, alongside the Bali and Sumatran tigers. It was slightly bigger than the Bali. Although it has been declared extinct since the 1970s, occasional sightings of Javan tigers in the area suggest that it may still exist.
Ecological Importance of Tiger
Tigers, as apex predators, play a critical role in developing and preserving the viability of the ecosystems in which they live. Tigers avoid overgrazing by eating herbivorous ungulates, which helps protect ecological integrity by limiting grazing species density. Tigers are classified as an ‘umbrella’ species because of their solitary lifestyle and extensive home ranges, and the conservation of their native habitats protects a wide range of naturally co-occurring species. The Tiger has often been referred to as a ‘keystone’ species because the density and overall wellness of distinct tiger populations strongly indicate the vitality and quality of the ecosystem in which they live.
Tiger landscape conservation also preserves at least nine main watersheds that govern and provide fresh water to over 800 million people in Asia. The extinction of tiger populations across Asia would cause severe disturbances to the integrity, vibrancy, and natural order of innumerable ecosystems, as well as the communities that rely on these natural resources for existence.
Poaching and the Illegal Wildlife Trade
By far, the primary cause of tiger endangerment is the insidious illegal wildlife trade. Its harm to tigers is two-pronged. Poachers will kill tigers existing peacefully in their wild habitats to sell on the black market for their body parts (as novelty items or use in traditional medicine), or poachers will steal tigers (including baby tiger cubs) from the wild for use in the wildlife entertainment industry—think tiger selfies and circuses. When tiger cubs become too large, they are often sold back into the wildlife trade to be killed for their body parts. There are even tiger farms where tigers are bred and kept in terrible conditions, only to be killed or sold into the cruel wildlife trade.
In all scenarios, tigers suffer immensely, and they are robbed of their chance at a natural and wildlife.
Saving Tiger from Extinction
Donate to Tiger Conservation. Organizations like the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation gather cash to promote and finance frontline conservation activities throughout Asia. Donating to their appeals allows you to help anti-poaching, habitat protection, and community engagement efforts, as well as the abolition of the illegal wildlife trade.
Avoid Tiger Products. Poaching and the illegal wildlife trade are significant contributors to the fall in wild tiger numbers. If you know anyone who buys pharmaceutical items, jewellery, or other things containing tiger parts, make sure they are aware of the enormous threat that the trade presents to the species’ future.
Do not support zoos or tiger ranches. When travelling through Southeast Asia, avoid sites that purport to be zoos or are blatantly tiger breeding farms. These creatures are maintained in horrible conditions and are most likely bred for the illicit wildlife trade.
Tiger Facts
Tigers are among the globe’s most significant wild cats.
Tigers are carnivores that eat exclusively meat.
Tigers are solo hunters who typically forage for food at night.
Tigers are excellent swimmers!
A tiger’s roar is audible up to three miles.
FAQs:
Tigers have lost around 95% of their original range. Human activities have destroyed, degraded, and fragmented their habitat. The destruction of forests for agriculture and lumber, as well as the construction of roads and other development activities, represent major risks to tiger habitat.
According to the WWF, only about 4,500 tigers are living in the wild, with some estimates putting the figure lower. Poaching is the most immediate threat to wild tigers, yet some countries have inadequate resources to maintain tiger habitats.
Tigers can run up to 40 mph. Tigers are superb swimmers, with records for swimming up to seven miles in a single day.
According to the Minister of State for Forest, environment, and Climate Change, India has an average of 3,682 wild tigers, accounting for 75% of the world’s total.
