Endangered and extinct tiger species. Reference. Nutrition of the Amur tiger. Subspecies of tigers, names, descriptions and photos

The number of rare predators in the wild has increased from 3,200 to 3,890 individuals. Such data was published on April 11 by WWF and the intergovernmental organization Global Tiger Forum.

According to the latest data, the largest number of tigers live in India - 2226 individuals, Russia (see details below), Indonesia - 371, Malaysia - 250, Nepal - 198, Thailand - 189. Other countries of the “tiger” range include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Laos and Myanmar.

The increase in the number of tigers is explained by a number of reasons. Firstly, the actual increase in the number of predators associated with increased protection of the species and its habitats. An increase in the number of tigers has been noted in Russia, India, Nepal and Bhutan. Secondly, in five countries in 2013-2015. censuses of predators were carried out, which made it possible to clarify the data on their number.

“For the first time in recent decades, the number of tigers is not declining, but growing. This gives us hope and shows that when authorities, local people and conservationists work together, we can save rare species and their habitats,”— emphasized Marco Lambertini, Director General of the WWF International Secretariat.

Nevertheless, environmentalists continue to talk about the need to strengthen tiger protection: over the past 100 years, the number of predators in the wild has decreased by 97% (from 100 to 3.5 thousand animals). There is an active illegal trade in derivatives (body parts) of tigers. According to calculations by the TRAFFIC organization, law enforcement agencies different countries in 2000-2014. recorded more than 1,500 illegal trade transactions involving tiger derivatives.

According to WWF, the situation is now particularly alarming in Southeast Asia. If governments in this region do not take action, tigers in this area may disappear from the wild.

In Russia the total number Amur tigers, according to 2015 census data, ranges from 523 to 540 individuals. Of these, there are about 430 adult predators. In 1996, the population consisted of approximately 415-476 individuals.

“We are proud that our country is making a significant contribution to increasing tiger numbers. Such success became possible, among other things, thanks to more than 20 years of focused work by the Ministry of Natural Resources, WWF and other organizations in the Russian Far East.”, noted the director of WWF Russia Igor Chestin.

Data on the number of the predator was presented on the eve of the opening of the III Intergovernmental Conference on tiger conservation. The meeting will take place from April 12 to 14 in Delhi, India.

The previous estimate of the number of the rare animal in the world was prepared for the 2010 Tiger Summit, which was held in St. Petersburg. At the same time, the main goal was formulated - to double the number of tigers to 6,000 by 2022.

Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)- the largest tiger in the world. And the only one of the tigers who has mastered life in the snow. No other country in the world has such an asset. Without exaggeration, this is one of the most advanced predators among all others. Unlike the lion, which forms prides (families) and lives through collective hunts, the tiger is a pronounced loner, and therefore requires the highest skill in hunting.

The tiger crowns the top of the food pyramid of a unique ecological system called the Ussuri taiga. Therefore, the state of the tiger population is an indicator of the state of the entire Far Eastern nature.

The Amur tiger conservation project was one of the first serious steps WWF in Russia. The 2004/2005 census data showed that through the joint efforts of state and public environmental organizations, the tiger population was stabilized at a level of more than 450 individuals.

And here is the interview with a WWF employee(questions are divided into groups to better perceive the information):

Tiger Population Status

How does Amur tiger monitoring work? How do you distinguish one tiger from another so as not to record the same tiger twice?

Tigers are not seen during counting. Experts are counting their tracks. In order to distinguish one trace from another, a measurement system has been developed and tested in practice. So the accountant is not allowed into the taiga without a tape measure. By correctly measuring the footprint, you can understand whether it is a male or female or a young animal. Then the counting officer determines the freshness of the track and its direction... In a word, in order not to count the same tiger twice, you need to learn a lot. In tiger affairs, tracking is recognized as a science.

Are there more tigers in India than in Russia? Why do you say that the situation with tigers in Russia is better?

According to the most recent data (International Tiger Forum in Kathmandu, 2009), there are 1,400 tigers left in India today. But at the same time, the number of tigers in India six years ago was more than twice as high! That is, the population is simply melting before our eyes. And Russia is the only tiger range country where numbers have increased significantly since the middle of the last century, and have been relatively stable over the past 10 years. At the same time, Russia today “owns” the largest tiger population in a single range (about 11% of the world population).

How many tigers are there in the world? Where is the situation worst and where is it best?

The global tiger conservation situation can be described as catastrophic. Over the past 100 years, the number of this species has decreased by 25 times - from 100 thousand to 4 thousand. At the same time, the number continues to decline. Thus, in India, where the largest number of tigers live, their number in 1995-2005 was. decreased from 3.5 thousand to 1.4 thousand. In a number of regions, tigers disappeared completely - Transcaucasia (1930s), Central Asia (1960s), Fr. Bali and o. Java (Indonesia, 1960-1980s). Currently, tigers are preserved in 14 countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, China, North Korea (not confirmed), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand.

WWF has always said that tiger numbers have stabilized. But I recently read in the media that it is being greatly reduced in last years! This is true?

Yes and no. An analysis of long-term monitoring results shows that in the last four years there has been a steady trend toward a decrease in the number of traces found at survey sites. WWF shares the alarm caused by these results. However, many journalists “stepped up their pitch.” And specific figures appeared that did not correspond to reality. Someone wrote about the reduction by half, and in one of the media there was a phrase “only 36 animals were detected”... Today WWF has completely taken upon itself the burden of financing the next monitoring. In mid-December 2009, monitoring participants had already reached white path, and our experts will monitor the progress of field work at the survey sites.

How many Siberian tigers are left? Is this a lot or a little? How many tigers can live in Russia?

The last frontal census of the Amur tiger took place with the participation of WWF in 2005. He showed that we have about 500 Amur tigers. This is neither more nor less. This is exactly as much as the still uncut areas of the Ussuri taiga can accommodate. WWF plans for the next ten to twelve years to resettle the tiger within its historical range, i.e. return to the places where he once lived, but was then exterminated. Thus, we expect that the number of tigers will increase to 750. However, this is only possible due to an intensive increase in the number of ungulates.

Main enemy tiger poacher

How do poachers kill tigers? With a gun or setting traps?

For some reason, we don’t really want to publish detailed instructions on effective methods of hunting Amur tigers on the WWF website. Let's just say that various traps claim significantly more tiger lives than attempts to find a tiger in the taiga and sneak up on it with a gun. IN Lately Cases of shooting at tigers gaping on the side of the road from a car window have become more frequent.

Why do poachers need a tiger?

The hope is to sell tiger parts to Chinese smugglers. The hope is to sell the tiger skin to rich bigwigs. But the most dangerous thing is simply thoughtlessly shooting at a randomly encountered tiger, not “for what reason,” but “just because.”

Who is currently fighting poachers in the Far East?

This is one of the most painful and pressing issues! Here are simple and understandable numbers for you.

IN 2002 year, more than 1400 people.

IN 2009 year, the total number of inspectors was halved - to 760 people, and their funding was reduced by more than half.

Currently, responsibility for tiger conservation has been transferred to the constituent entities of the Federation. On the territory of reserves and national parks The tiger is protected by their security services, in non-protected areas - by the Directorate for the Protection, Control and Regulation of the Use of Fauna of the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories. WWF provides assistance to all these government agencies.

Is it true that China has the death penalty for killing a tiger? So no one kills him there?

It is not that simple. Deep in China, the severity of the punishment is at work. But in the strip bordering Russia, the poor and hungry local Chinese population is installing tens of thousands of poaching snares. And the noose is blind. She indiscriminately strangles both deer and tiger.

Who is helping the wounded tiger now and how? Who is treating him? What about orphan tiger cubs? Is it possible to release them later?

The Tiger Special Inspectorate is responsible for this. Every winter, five or six orphaned tiger cubs end up in trouble. They are caught and transferred to the Utes Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. This is not a government agency. It does not receive any funding for such work. Therefore, the costs of treatment and rehabilitation of tiger cubs are covered by charitable organizations. If rehabilitation is carried out according to all the rules, the tiger can be returned to the wild. During the existence of the Tiger Special Inspectorate, two adult cured tigers and four orphaned tiger cubs, raised without a mother, were released into the taiga. W WF has been insisting on the creation of a STATE rehabilitation center for many years. And recently such a decision was finally made.

Tiger Lunch

Can a tiger fish?

Not only fish, but also crayfish.

Domestic cats eat grass, some like vegetables and fruits. You cannot feed a cat meat alone. Tell me, does a tiger eat anything else besides meat?

The tiger knows medicinal herbs well and uses them when necessary.

Why does WWF say that we need to save the cedar tree in order to save the tiger? Does a tiger really eat pine nuts?

Cedar is the breadfruit tree of the Ussuri taiga. The number of wild boars directly depends on the harvest of pine nuts. And the wild boar is the basis of the tiger's food supply.

How much does a tiger eat in a year?

According to experts, one tiger needs to eat at least fifty adult ungulates per year.

What animals does a tiger eat?

Actually, a tiger eats everything that is smaller than it. From the Manchurian hare, which is the size of a glove, to the Himalayan bear, which can weigh as much as a tiger. However, the basis of its diet consists of ungulates: wild boar, wapiti, sika deer and roe deer.

Good question. Hunters usually ask us this question. But many years of research have shown that the tiger is the “softest” predator, which is simply not able to seriously reduce the number of ungulates. Where hunters have seriously begun using various biotechnical measures to increase the number of game by new level, the tiger population is also starting to increase. However, soon the number of tigers living in this “supermarket” becomes stable, and the ungulates continue to increase. But where the tiger disappeared, a wolf instantly comes. The wolf, unlike the tiger, knows how and can seriously undermine the number of ungulates.

Tiger and man

Do tigers differentiate between good and evil people, poachers and forest rangers? Or maybe we all look the same to them?

There are reliable cases where a wounded tiger for a long time and purposefully pursued the very person who shot at him. So we are not all the same to him...

In places where tigers live, they attack domestic animals, livestock, and even people. What is being done to protect people from the tiger?

Responsibility for resolving all conflict situations between humans and tigers is assigned to the state body - the Tiger Special Inspectorate. Initially, the animal is scared away. If this does not work, they are caught and transported to areas remote from people. Only in case of immediate mortal danger to human life is shooting allowed.

What to do if you meet a tiger in the forest? Should I run away or, on the contrary, freeze and stand still?

Do not run away under any circumstances. Otherwise, the tiger will react to you like your kitten to a paper wrapper on a string. It is recommended to slowly, without turning your back to the animal, clear the way for it and move away. The human voice is very helpful. But only if it is a calm and confident human voice. If you are not sure that a pig squeal will not pour out of you, it is better not to open your mouth.

Is it possible to tame a tiger if you start from childhood so that it becomes friends with a person? Or is he too wild animal, which cannot be completely trusted, but only trained and kept in a cage?

A cat is also a cat in the taiga. After all, admit it, even your domestic pussy is sure that she is the mistress of the house, and you are simply in her service. What can we say about a cat weighing nearly two hundred kilograms? We do not recommend experimenting.

Tiger House

WWF doesn't want to breed tigers in other regions of Russia - for example, in Kamchatka or in the Moscow region?

The Amur tiger is the only tiger subspecies that has learned to live in the snow. And yet he remains a southerner - height snow cover is the most important limiting factor for the tiger. The tiger is historically tied to a very specific climatic region- the south of the Far East. And any attempts to settle it, for example, in deep-snow Kamchatka, are doomed to failure. But that's not even the main thing. In the past, during the times of socialism, there were many attempts to acclimatize various animals (raccoon dog in Europe, American mink in the Far East, etc.) where they had never lived. Time has shown that all these experiments only harmed the local nature. Today such “improvisations” are prohibited.

Are there any excursions to nature reserves where you can see the Amur tiger in the wild?

Seeing a wild Amur tiger in the wild Ussuri taiga is crazy luck even for those who study them from morning to evening. And the animal is extremely secretive, and the taiga is completely impenetrable. So if you are miraculously lucky, you might see it. But not a single nature reserve guarantees you such a meeting. To film a few minutes of a tiger in the Lazovsky Nature Reserve, the Korean television company had to live in the taiga for two and a half years...

Do tigers live only in nature reserves? Can a tiger live near the city?

Unfortunately, protected areas occupy only 20% of the tiger's range. The remaining eighty percent are areas where hunting and logging are permitted. Tiger tracks are regularly found in the dacha suburbs of Vladivostok, Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk. In a word, today the tiger has populated ALL the territory where there is at least some forest left. But at the same time, according to radio tracking data of tagged tigers, competition for the right to get an “apartment” in the reserve is deadly tough.

How much space does one tiger need?

A female usually needs 20 square kilometers of deep taiga. The male requires much more - up to 100 square kilometers. Usually, the individual plot of one male accommodates the plots of two or three females with tiger cubs. If there is a lot of food, that is, ungulates, then up to four females can live in the same territory.

How long is a tiger's tail and other general questions about tigers

What is the difference between Amur, Ussuri and Siberian tigers?

They are no different. Official name our tiger is the Amur tiger. However, for foreigners, everything that lies on the eastern side of the Urals is Siberia. Therefore, in American scientific literature our Amur tiger is listed as Sibirian Tiger. The term “Ussuri tiger” was introduced at their own risk by Channel 2 correspondents when they were preparing a report on Vladimir Putin’s participation in a project to study Amur tigers in the Ussuri Nature Reserve. But the beast is actually the same. And he doesn’t even know about this linguistic leapfrog with its name.

What is the difference in character between a tiger and a leopard?

All cats are very similar in their behavior. Tiger and leopard are no exception. However, the leopard is more flexible; it manages to live very close to a person, never catching his eye. The tiger can't do that. To be happy, he needs the deep, deserted taiga.

What is the relationship between a female and a male tiger after the birth of a cub?

A tiger meets with a female for only two to three days. And, having done his male work, he leaves her until the moment when his children grow up and are ready to start an independent life, that is, for about two years. The father does not participate in any way in feeding and raising the offspring. So all worries about children fall on the fragile shoulders of the female.

What is the length of the tail of the largest and smallest tigers?

The largest - Amur tigers - have a tail length of up to 115 cm. The smallest - Sumatran - 60-90 cm.

How many teeth does a tiger have?

Like all cats in the world, the tiger has 30 teeth.

What is the life expectancy of a tiger?

IN ideal conditions At the zoo, Amur tigers easily live up to twenty years. In real wild taiga life, not every tiger manages to live to see ten. The life of females, as a rule, is shorter than that of males, because the incredible strength and vital energy they have to spend not on themselves, but on raising their offspring.

Does a tiger have the same number of stripes throughout its life or does it change with age? Do tigers in different countries differ from each other in appearance?

The pattern of stripes on a tiger not only does not change, it serves as a reliable individual sign, like fingerprints on a person. No two tigers have the same stripe configuration. This is the basis of the photo accounting method.

The number and configuration of black stripes on the skin vary in different geographical areas and serves as one of the grounds for distinguishing subspecies of the tiger. The number of which reaches 100.

Ours, the Amur tiger, is distinguished by thick, long (compared to other subspecies) and fluffy fur, with a duller red background and fewer stripes than other subspecies. The Indochinese tiger, for example, has a darker overall coloration, while the Sumatran tiger is considered the brightest.

Can tigers purr?

In fact, science says that large cats are deprived of the ability to purr like domestic cats, that is, to vibrate both when exhaling and inhaling. But, you will laugh, unaware of the scientific research of their hard cartilage, which supposedly interferes with vibration; Amur tigers still purr in a good mood.

Can tigers climb trees?

It is believed that adult Amur tigers are unable to climb trees. However, there are reliable cases where a tiger easily and naturally climbed to the tops of huge fir trees or into the crowns of old oak trees. If he really needs it, he can do it. Keep this in mind.

Take care and love tigers and all other animals

The material was taken from the World Wildlife Fund website

Thank you for your attention

Subscribe to the blog "Cat of the Day"

The tiger is the largest and most formidable representative cat family. There are legends about the fierce temper of the predator; even lions are inferior to its cruelty and pressure. The vibes of wild, uncontrollable power emanating from the large and majestic body of the tiger cause unmotivated anxiety and panic fear among the inhabitants of the forest long before the beast appears within sight. A person who is close to an approaching predator experiences the same intense emotions.

Myths and legends

In the mythology of many peoples of the world, the tiger acts as the owner of the forest, the king of animals, the owner magical qualities And powerful energy. In ancient China, the predator was considered a threat to demons and a protector from disease; in Korea, it was known as the spirit of caves and mountains.

The Nivkhs, living in Japan and Russia, considered the beast to be a special breed of “human tigers.” When meeting him, it was necessary to bow and make a welcoming speech, but it was strictly forbidden to injure or kill the tiger. Many Indian tribes considered and still consider the animal to be their ancestor, who stood at the origins of the family.

The hunters of Transbaikalia called the tiger “fierce” and avoided the paths trodden by it. If by chance they came across the trail of an animal walking forward, they tried not to leave it, but to move with their backs in the opposite direction, while making frequent bows. This way, in their opinion, it was possible to avoid the tiger’s wrath and inevitable disaster. Kyrgyz shamans, in the process of ritual actions, turn to the kind white tiger for help.

In Chinese Buddhism, the beast represents anger. For Indians, it is a symbol of military valor. According to Japanese tradition, the predator in the bamboo grove symbolizes human evil.

In Eastern medicine, the tiger was considered as a source of valuable material for the manufacture of medicinal potions. To cure infertility, women were recommended to eat the meat of a predator or jump over its skin. Chinese healers made antipyretics and aphrodisiacs from various parts of the animal’s body.

Despite all sorts of prohibitions, products from tiger organs are in demand and are sold on illegal markets.



Carefully! Cannibals!

Collisions between an animal and an unarmed person end in bloodshed and a dramatic ending. Man-eating tigers pose a particular danger. Usually these are sick or old individuals who are not capable of attacking a stronger enemy. They purposefully hunt people, set up ambushes near rural roads, and always attack from behind. Quite healthy individuals can become cannibals. Animals quickly get used to the taste human meat and can no longer deny myself this pleasure.

To prevent a tiger attack, residents dangerous areas resort to various tricks and tricks. One of these tricks is a mask in the form of a face with big eyes, worn on the back of the head. The “look” of the mask scares away the predator and it does not risk attacking, but retreats back into the jungle.

Many notorious facts about tigers once again remind us of the bloody and insidious nature of the predator. Some of such evidence, such as the serial killings of people by a man-eating tigress in the Indian district of Nainital (1925 - 1930), are particularly cruel. According to confirmed data, the beast managed to kill 64 people.

The Champawat tigress is considered the most bloodthirsty predator of the 20th century. According to researchers, she is responsible for 436 murders, of which 200 people were killed in Nepal and 236 in the Kumaon region. The animal hunted people for several years. Even the Nepalese army could not cope with the dangerous predator - it always managed to evade pursuit. The famous hunter of cannibalistic predators Jim Corbett put an end to this tragic story. He covered the seasoned beast in 1911.

The mango forests of Sundraban, Uttar Pradesh state in India, still represent mortal danger for a person. According to local scientists, every fourth tiger living in these regions is a potential man-eater.



Features of hunting

For many centuries, the tiger has been a coveted trophy. Hunting for it, regardless of the region of its habitat, was widespread, becoming more of an entertainment and sporting pleasure than a way of protecting against attack by a predator.

In ancient Korea, animal hunters were highly revered and occupied a very high status in society. Their clothing was different from that of their fellow tribesmen, consisting of a blue turban, a jacket of the same color and an unusual necklace. The daily diet of trappers necessarily included the meat of a killed animal.

The great conqueror Alexander the Great hunted tigers in Central Asia. For her, he used darts sharpened in a special way.

The English colonialists entertained themselves with this dangerous and cruel activity. They used local residents as beaters. They themselves moved on elephants or followed the victim on foot. The skins of killed animals became carpets or stuffed animals in the homes of the English aristocracy, and the meat became a delicacy during feasts.



History of the species

Since 1929, the animal belongs to the genus Panthera (panther). The Latin name of the species is Panthera tigris, where “tigris” translated into Russian means fast or sharp. The first information about the predator can be found in the works of the physician and naturalist Carl Linnaeus; zoologist George Robert Gray also studied this species; naturalist Nikolai Severtsov contributed to scientific research.

Fossils wild tigers, dating back to the Pleistocene period, were found on the island of Java, northern China, Sumatra, Siberia, and India. According to molecular genetic studies, the predator is directly related to the genus Panthera and separated from the common ancestral branch more than two million years ago.

In the same time Saber-toothed tiger, despite its name, according to DNA results it has no relation to living tigers.

Distribution and population status

Previously, the living space of the predator covered vast territories: from Indonesia to Transcaucasia and Central Asia, from the Far East to Iran. At the beginning of the 20th century, up to 100 thousand animals lived on Earth, 40 thousand of which lived in India.

The growing invasion of civilization into virgin nature and poaching contributed to the catastrophic decline of the species. Now the tiger's habitat is limited to several regions of Asia, divided into separate populations, the total number of which does not exceed 5 thousand.

On the islands of Bali and Java, in Transcaucasia and Central Asia, animals disappeared in the second half of the last century. In Korea and Manchuria, from 20 to 30 individuals have survived, up to 550 predators live in the Far East, and in Sumatra there are no more than 500 of them. The largest number of tigers remain in Indochina and India - about 3.5 thousand.



Security measures

The predator is under international security and is listed in the Red Book. Hunting for it is prohibited. To preserve the species and maintain the population size, specialized protected areas are created.

In the Far East there are several state-protected zones - Sikhote-Alinsky, Lazovsky and Ussuriysky national parks, the Kedrovaya Pad nature reserve. To observe tigers, scientists most often use camera traps, the tracking method, GPS tracking, and radio tracking.

Appearance

The tiger cat is massive in appearance, but incredibly flexible and agile animal.

• Its weight exceeds all conceivable limits and is the most impressive among the representatives of the cat family. The average-sized tiger weighs 190 - 250 kg. A large individual can reach a body weight of up to 300 - 320 kg.
• An adult animal has a length, excluding the tail, of about three meters, and a height at the withers of up to 1.2 meters.
• The front legs are more powerful and tall than the hind legs. The feet are very wide, the claws are retractable. The hind paw has only four toes, the front paw has five toes.
• The massive, rounded head of the tiger is set on a wide, powerful neck. The muzzle is decorated with sideburns on both sides.
• The eyes are yellow with round pupils.
• The forehead is convex.
• The nose is large, the bridge of the nose is wide.
• The jaw is strong, the length of the fangs is up to 8 cm.
• The ears are small, without tufts.



Thanks to its color, the tiger looks very colorful in life and in photos. The southern subspecies have a short, sparse and fairly hard coat. Northern individuals have a fluffy skin with long, medium-hard hair. The striped tiger may have a rusty brown or rusty red base color. The throat, belly and paws are white-gray on the inside. There are light spots on the face and ears.

The stripes on the coat are located uniquely in each individual. The predator has up to 100 such stripes. The color palette includes all shades of brown and black, depending on the subspecies. In the neck and on the body they are located in the transverse direction, reaching the belly, where they end with sharp ends, like a bayonet.

On the front half of the body, the stripes are rare, their frequency increases towards the beginning of the tail. In the pelvic area, the stripes go down halfway to the hips. The tiger's tail has up to ten transverse stripes and black spot at the very end.

Color options

• The white tiger is a successful result of a gene mutation, occurring once in 10 thousand individuals. In life and in photos white tiger It looks amazingly beautiful - absolutely white fur sparkling in the sun, heavenly purity blue eyes, clearly defined black-brown stripes. The first such tiger cub was taken from its mother by a trapper in 1951. Since then, scientists have been breeding them in captivity, and all individuals are descendants of the found animal. Tigers with unusual colors reproduce well and constantly replenish their mini-population.
• The golden tiger owes its color to a recessive gene responsible for its unusual coat color. The history of the appearance of the animal goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, it was then that the first animal with this color was discovered. At that time, many theories were put forward in this regard, but none of them were confirmed. An explanation for this phenomenon was found after a genetic study, as a result of which a recessive gene was found. There are 30 golden-colored individuals in zoos around the world, and almost all of them are the result of crossing adults with their offspring.
• The population contains completely black tigers and animals with a bluish-gray color.



Habitat and lifestyle

The landscapes where these animals live are very diverse. The predator adapts well to any climate and terrain, be it mangrove or bamboo thickets, tropical forests, bare rocks, harsh Siberian taiga or dry savannah with sparse vegetation. Found at altitudes up to 3 thousand meters.

The animal tiger is a loner by nature. During the day it sleeps in the den, and in the evening it goes in search of prey. Hiking sometimes lasts until the morning.

At the age of a tiger cub, he deftly and quickly climbs trees; an adult predator does not climb trees - his weight does not allow him. Loves and knows how to swim, is not afraid of severe frosts, tolerates well hot weather. Usually the tiger is silent. It makes dull growling sounds only during the mating season, at the moment of rage and when it attacks the victim.

Wherever a tiger lives, its personal territory is saturated with an individual scent. It abundantly irrigates rocks, bushes, and tree trunks with urine. Leaves urine marks on vertical surfaces. To remind himself even more, he rubs his back against the trees, scratches the bark, loosens the snow or earth.

The size of hunting grounds depends on the region inhabited, the amount of food available and gender. Males occupy large territories - from 60 to 100 km 2. In search of prey, they cover from 9 to 41 km per day. Females are limited to more modest boundaries; the area of ​​their personal territory does not exceed 20 km 2. The areas of a male and several females can intersect with each other. Animals always move along the same paths.

It behaves aggressively towards other males, when it sees them it takes a threatening pose and makes no less threatening sounds. If mutual understanding is not reached, he enters into a brutal, bloody battle to the bitter end. The tiger is more favorable towards females; it can live with them in the same territory and share its prey.


Hunting and food

The predator hunts alone. It waits for prey near trails or stalks. The choice of hunting method depends on the time of year. IN summer time In search of prey, it follows the trail, and in winter it hunts near trails. For an ambush he chooses the leeward side. Sneaks up on the victim quietly and unnoticed.

The tiger attacks with lightning speed, making incredible leaps (up to 10 meters). The victim is grabbed by the throat and breaks her neck, sometimes simply strangled. It can eat up to 30 kg of meat per day. Stays near large prey for several days.

The daily diet includes all the game that lives in the same region. As a rule, these are ungulates, hares, birds, and monkeys. Loves nuts and fruits, eats grass.



Reproduction and care of offspring

The mating season occurs in December - January and is accompanied by stormy courtship. Males find a female ready for fertilization by the smell of marks left by the chosen one. Other males, if they appear on the tiger’s path, meet with a decisive rebuff and are driven away.

The female's estrus lasts several days and repeats after some time if pregnancy has not occurred. Animals mate several times a day. The process is accompanied by a loud, heartbreaking roar.

The female is ready to have offspring when she reaches three to four years of age, but not more often than once every two to three years. Pregnancy lasts on average three months (98 - 112 days). Before the birth of her babies, the tigress sets up a warm den in hard-to-reach and safe places - in windbreaks, distant caves, dense mangroves, rock crevices. The male is not allowed to the den, as he has a ferocious disposition and may well kill newborn tiger cubs; he does not participate in the upbringing of his offspring.

The litter appears in late March - early April and consists of two, three or four kittens. Cubs are born blind, have a significant weight (1.3 to 1.5 kg), and require constant maternal care. Eyes open one week after birth.



They eat for up to one and a half months breast milk. Upon reaching two months, they can leave the den and accompany their mother on short trips. The female gradually accustoms them to eating meat, teaches them all the intricacies of hunting, and serves as a reliable support and protection during the entire period of their stay together.

By the age of two, young tigers are ready to live independently. Young females tend to establish their own den near their mother's hunting grounds. Males have to go in search of new, unoccupied territories. Often they come across old predators on their way, and here they cannot do without a fight that is fatal for one of the individuals.

Females reach sexual maturity at three to four years, males at four to five years.

The lifespan of animals in natural conditions does not exceed 26 years.

Life in captivity

They live in many zoos around the world and reproduce well. In some US states, according to experts, 12 thousand predators are kept as pets. They are tamed and trainable, but keeping them outside an enclosure is very dangerous. With age, the animal becomes aggressive and poses a real threat to life. You can find out how much a tiger costs in a specialized nursery.



Hybrids

The desire for profit by owners of private zoos has led to the emergence of tiger hybrids. The most famous of them are the tiger lion and the liger.

• The tiger lion was the result of crossing a male tiger and a female lion. The animal has a short mane, stripes and spots on the body. Its weight does not exceed 150 kg. Females can give birth, males are sterile.
• The liger is an unusual hybrid that grows throughout its life. In old age, its body reaches three meters in length. The liger's mother is a tigress, and his father is a male lion. Female ligers can interbreed with individuals of the original species.

Subspecies

This species has nine subspecies, three of which are completely exterminated by poachers.

• lives in the Ussuri taiga, owns huge hunting grounds (up to 800 km 2). This is the biggest tiger known to science. No more than 500 individuals of this subspecies survive in the wild. The weight of a tiger can reach 320 kg, body length - 2.5 meters. The animal has thick, long hair and a thick layer of fat on its belly. It is distinguished by a dull color and a smaller number of stripes than its relatives. The beast is depicted on the coat of arms of the Primorsky Territory.
• - endemic to the island of Bali. The last individual was exterminated by poachers in 1937. The animals had short, stiff fur of a bright orange hue and a small number of black stripes. Locals They didn’t like the animal and considered it a dark and destructive force.
• – is part of the largest population (3 - 4.5 thousand individuals). Lives in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan. In some countries it is considered the national animal. Average weight females are about 150 kg, males - 230 kg. It has a light orange or yellow color, brown stripes. The menacing roar of the predator can be heard at a distance of three kilometers. This subspecies has become notorious due to numerous attacks on people.
• lived in the southern territory of Russia, Azerbaijan, Abkhazia, Armenia, Turkey. Another name for the subspecies is the Caspian tiger. The predator was exterminated in the sixties of the last century. He had a bright color with dark, numerous stripes and long, thick hair. The largest tiger weighed 240 kg.
• It is distinguished by its dark color and lives on the Indochina Peninsula. The weight of adult males reaches 190 kg, females – 140 kg. The population size is about 1.8 thousand individuals. Animal organs are illegally used by Eastern healers.
• - one of the smallest subspecies. The weight of females does not exceed 120 kg, males 180 kg. The body length of animals is in the range of 2.3 – 2.6 meters. These animals most likely no longer exist in the wild. The South China tiger is kept in zoos in China, where only 59 individuals live.
• chose the Malacca Peninsula as his place of residence. It was classified as a separate subspecies only in 2004. The population numbers almost 800 individuals. The animal is depicted on the coat of arms of Malaysia.
• lives on the island of Sumatra. The number of subspecies is 400 - 500 individuals. The animal is relatively small in size compared to the Indian and Amur subspecies. The weight of males does not exceed 130 kg, females - 90 kg. The beast is very aggressive and often attacks people.
• - endemic to the island of Java. The beast was completely destroyed in 79 of the last century. The animal had a small weight category - the minimum weight of a female reached 75 kg, a male - 100 kg.

Tiger (lat. Panthera tigris) - a predator of the class mammals, such as chordates, the order Carnivores, the cat family, the panther genus, the subfamily big cats. It got its name from the ancient Persian word tigri, which means “sharp, fast,” and from the ancient Greek word “arrow.”

The tiger is the largest and heaviest member of the cat family. Some male tigers reach a length of 3 meters and weigh over 300 kg. Tigers are listed in the Red Book, and hunting these animals is prohibited.

Tiger: description and photographs

Tigers are distinguished by a flexible, muscular body and a round head with a convex forehead, expressive eyes and small but sensitive ears. Tigers see perfectly in the dark, and according to scientists, they can distinguish colors. Bengal and Amur tigers are the largest of their species. The size of these tigers can reach 2.5-2.9 meters in length (excluding the tail), and the weight of tigers of this species reaches 275-320 kg. The height of a tiger at the withers is 1.15 m. Average weight an adult male is 180-250 kg.



According to official data, the record recorded weight of the big tiger(Bengali) was 388.7 kg.

Moreover, females are usually smaller than males in size.



Elastic white tiger whiskers grow in 4-5 rows, framing the tiger's muzzle. With sharp fangs up to 8 cm long, the tiger easily deals with its prey.

Special keratinized protrusions on the side of the movable tongue help to cut the carcass of a killed animal, and also serve auxiliary hygiene. Adult mammals have 30 teeth.



There are 5 fingers on the front paws of a tiger, there are only 4 on the hind paws, and retractable claws are located on each finger.

Tiger ears are small and round in shape. The animal's pupil is round, the iris is yellow.



Southern species of tigers have short and dense hair, while their northern counterparts are fluffier.

The color of the animals is predominantly rust with a red or brown tint; the chest and belly are much lighter, and sometimes even white.



The tiger owes its exceptional beauty to the dark brown or completely black stripes located throughout the body. The tiger's stripes have characteristic pointed ends, sometimes bifurcating, then joining again. Typically an animal has more than 100 stripes.

The long tail, covered with rings of stripes, is always black at the end. The tiger's stripes are uniquely positioned, like a human fingerprint, and serve as excellent camouflage for the animal.



The track of a male tiger is longer and more elongated than that of a female. The length of the male tiger's track is 15-16 cm, the width is 13-14 cm. The length of the female tiger's track reaches 14-15 cm, and the width is 11-13 cm.

The roar of a tiger can be heard at a distance of almost 3 kilometers.



Despite their considerable weight, tigers can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h regardless of the surrounding landscape.

The lifespan of an animal in captivity is approximately 15 years.



Who is stronger - a lion or a tiger?

This question worries and interests many. Unfortunately, there are very few recorded facts about battles between a lion and a tiger, so there is no reason to talk about the superiority of one representative of the animal world over another. It is only possible to compare a tiger and a lion according to their external parameters and lifestyle.

• So, as for the weight category, although a little, about 50-70 kg, the tiger is still heavier than the lion.
• In terms of jaw compression force when biting, both animals are in the same positions.
• The principle of killing the chosen victim is also identical - both the tiger and the tiger bite into the neck of their prey, piercing it with powerful fangs.
• But in terms of lifestyle, these two predators are radically different. The tiger is a born solitary hunter who prefers to get food in his own “land”, that is, in a marked territory. Feuds between relatives are almost impossible, since tigers rarely intersect with each other during the hunt. Lions live in pride clans, so males often fight not only for the right to hunt, but also for the “lady of the heart” during mating games. Often such fights end with serious wounds and even the death of one of the lions.
• It is impossible to say with certainty who is more resilient - a lion or his striped brother from the cat family. Both animals run quite quickly, covering considerable distances, but such a criterion as endurance can be justified by the age of these predators, living conditions, or their state of health.



There are facts when trained lions fought with the same circus tigers. Mostly the lion emerged victorious from the battle, but again, this conclusion subjective, no one kept statistics, so you shouldn’t use such information as a 100% statement of superiority.

Both animals, the lion and the tiger, are very strong, powerful and perfectly adapted to their natural environment.



Subspecies of tigers, names, descriptions and photos

The classification identifies 9 subspecies of the tiger, 3 of which, unfortunately, have already disappeared from the face of the earth. Today in nature live:

• Amur (Ussuri) tiger (lat. Panthera tigris altaica)

The largest and smallest representative of the species, distinguished by thick fur and a relatively small number of stripes. The color of the Amur tiger is orange with a white belly, the fur is thick. The body length of males reaches 2.7 – 3.8 meters. The weight of a male Amur tiger is 180-220 kg. The height of the Amur tiger at the withers is 90-106 cm.

A population of approximately 500 Ussuri tigers inhabits the Amur region of Russia. A number of individuals are found in North Korea and northeast China. The Amur tiger is listed in the Red Book of Russia.



• Bengal tiger (lat. Panthera tigris tigris, Panthera tigris bengalensis)

Characterized by the largest numbers, representatives have a bright coat color from yellow to light orange. In nature, there are also white Bengal tigers that do not have stripes at all, but they are rather a mutated species. The length of the Bengal tiger reaches 270-310 cm, females are smaller and reach a length of 240-290 cm. The tiger's tail is 85-110 cm long. The height at the withers is 90-110 cm. The weight of the Bengal tiger is from 220 to 320 kg as a maximum.

According to various sources, the population of this tiger species includes from 2.5 to 5 thousand individuals, most of who live in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and South Asia.







Albino white tiger

• Indochinese tiger (lat. Panthera tigris corbetti)

It is distinguished by a dull red color and numbers a little more than a thousand individuals. The stripes of this species are narrower and shorter. This type of tiger is smaller in size than others. The length of the male is 2.55-2.85 cm, the length of the female is 2.30-2.55 cm. The weight of a male Indochinese tiger reaches 150-195 kg, the weight of a female tiger is 100-130 kg.

The area where Indochinese tigers live is Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Southeast Asia, South China.



• Malayan tiger (lat. Panthera tigris jacksoni)

The third largest subspecies in the number of individuals, living in the Malaysian, southern region of the Malay Peninsula.

This is the smallest tiger among all species. The length of a male Malayan tiger is 237 cm, the length of females is up to 200 cm. The weight of a male Malayan tiger is 120 kg, the weight of females does not exceed 100 kg. In total, there are about 600-800 tigers of this species in nature.



• Sumatran tiger (lat. Panthera tigris sumatrae)

It is also considered the smallest representative of the species. The length of a male tiger is 220-25 cm, the length of females is 215-230 cm. The weight of male tigers is 100-140 kg, the weight of females is 75-110 kg.

About 500 representatives are found in nature reserves on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.



• South China tiger (Chinese tiger) (lat. Panthera tigris amoyensis)

A small subspecies, no more than 20 of these tigers live in captivity in the south and center of China.

The body length of males and females is 2.2-2.6 meters, the weight of males does not exceed 177 kg, the weight of females reaches 100-118 kg.



Extinct species are Bali tiger, Caspian tiger And Javan tiger.

In addition to white tigers, species with a yellow color are sometimes born; such animals are called golden tigers. The fur of such tigers is lighter and the stripes are brown.



Tiger hybrids

Hybrids, born from crossing the big tabby cat and other representatives of the panther genus, began to appear in captivity as early as the 19th century.

• Liger

A hybrid of a lion and a female tiger, it is huge in size and mature age reaches three meters in length.



• Tigrolev (tigon)

A hybrid of a tiger and a lioness, always smaller than its parents and endowed with the characteristics of both: paternal stripes and maternal spots. Males have a mane, but it is smaller than that of a liger.


Tigers and ligers are born exclusively in zoos. In the wild, tigers and lions do not interbreed.

Ussuri tigers live in Amur region in Russia, Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories, about 10% of the population is found in North Korea and northeast China. Bengal tigers live in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and South Asia. The area where Indochinese tigers live is Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Southeast Asia, and Southern China. The Malayan tiger lives in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula. Sumatran tigers are found in nature reserves on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Chinese tigers live in south-central China.

These striped predators prefer a variety of zones for their habitats: rain forests tropics, shady jungles, semi-desert regions and savannas, bamboo thickets and steep rocky hills. The tiger is so able to adapt to conditions that it feels great both in hot climates and in the harsh northern taiga. Steep cliffs with numerous niches or secret caves, secluded reed or reed thickets near water bodies are the most favorite territories where the tiger makes his lair, hunts and raises restless and nimble offspring.



Tiger's lifestyle and habits

Possessing quite massive dimensions and enormous strength, tigers feel like absolute masters of the territory in which they live. Leaving his marks with urine everywhere, stripping the bark from trees along the perimeter of his property and loosening the soil with his claws, the male tiger clearly marks his “land”, not allowing other males there.

At the same time, tigers from the same “family” are quite friendly to each other and sometimes behave very funny during communication: they touch their muzzles, rub their striped sides, “snort” noisily and energetically, while exhaling air through their mouths or nose.



In nature, tigers are most often solitary animals, but in zoos with these cats everything looks a little different. After the birth of a pair of offspring, the tiger-father takes care of the babies no less reverently than the tigress-mother: he spends leisure time with them during games, licks them and gently trembles in the form of punishment for the scruff of the neck. Watching the tiger family is really interesting.

IN natural environment tigers do not limit themselves to the time of day during the hunt - when they are hungry and prey has turned up, then the fatal throw for the victim will be made. By the way, the tiger is an excellent swimmer and will never refuse to eat fish,

To the family Felidae already 35 million years. Wild felines are absent only in Australia and Antarctica. There are 36-35 species in total, grouped into 4 genera.

The largest and the smallest

The largest wild cat is the tiger: its weight reaches 270 kilograms, but this is not the limit. Hunters have killed tigers weighing 320 kg. Lions in the wild rarely weigh more than 200 kg, their weight category is 125-250 kg. The experience of zoos and circuses convinces us: if a lion fights with a tiger, the first remains defeated. If the animals are not separated in time, the tiger will kill the lion.

The largest tiger

...Amur. The smallest is the Sunda, he used to live on the island of Bali and now continues to live in Sumatra.

The biggest teeth

Of all predatory animals, the tiger has the largest teeth; its jaws are so powerful that they allow it to bite through the spine of any land animal.


The smallest



...black-footed cat (Felis nigripes), which weighs exactly 270 times less. It is smaller than a domestic cat, lives in Africa, the largest cat weighs about 2 kg.

Miniature leopard
Marble cat lives in the same forests as the clouded leopard, has the same coloration and also has a long tail, but is almost half the size. She hunts for small arboreal animals, frogs and lizards.

Little cats

Cat sizes depend on climate

Populations wild cats depend on the climate: small cats live in countries with warm climates, large cats live in cold climates. The Sumatran tiger, the smallest of the species (it is 1 m shorter than its northern relative), lives in the warmest areas, the Amur tiger, the heaviest, lives in the coldest.


Sexual dimorphism

In many cat species, the male and female differ significantly in size. Male fish cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) 11-12 kg, female - 6-7 kg. Fish cats are medium-sized cats.

How many wild cats live in nature?

African lions
Twenty years ago there were 230,000 lions in Africa, but today there are only 23,000. Many of them are carriers of AIDS and bone tuberculosis. The reason for the catastrophic reduction in livestock is their destruction by humans. Lions attack livestock. IN central regions In Kenya, lion damage to livestock is estimated at $A500 per year. For every lion there is one cow or three sheep per year. This problem could be solved by organizing more effective night security, but the population prefers to solve it through poisonous baits and shooting animals.

Asiatic lions



There are now 300 Asiatic lions living in Asia, of which 1 is in the Girsky lion national park, PC. Gujarat, India on an area of ​​125,000 hectares.

Cheetahs were distributed throughout most of Africa, Central and Western Asia. Today there are less than 15,000 of them. The main enemy of cheetahs is wild dogs that live in areas adjacent to the Sahara region; in these areas there are less than 5,500 cheetahs left.

Striped skin

Tigers not only have striped fur, but also striped skin.

How many tigers are left

Back in 1930, approximately 100 thousand tigers lived on Earth, of which 40 thousand were in India. Today, only about 5,000 tigers remain in the world. More recently, there were 8 subspecies of tigers. The Caspian, Balinese, and Javan tigers have been completely destroyed. Today there are only five subspecies left: Bengal tiger- about 4000 individuals (2000 in Indochina, the same number in India), Sumatran tiger - 600-700 individuals, Indochinese tiger - less than 1500 individuals. More optimistic estimates double these figures. Thanks to measures taken the population of Amur tigers in the Russian Far East numbers 450-470 individuals, in the territory Khabarovsk Territory much smaller - 60-70 and no more than 20 individuals in China on the border with Russia. There are 50 tigers in Manchuria and Korea. In Java there are from 6 to 14 tigers.


How many snow leopards are there in Russia?

In total, about 2 thousand snow leopards live on the territory of the former USSR.


The rarest wild cats



Spreading Iriomothean cat (Felis iriomotensis) limited o. Iriomote, Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Their number does not exceed hundreds; several more individuals live in Japanese zoos.

Cats live and sleep in water
In Turkey, in Lake Van, there live cats whose whole life is connected with water. They not only live in water, but even sleep in it.

If it rains

The tiger endures rain and wanders around its territory in bad weather. And leopards hide if it drips from the sky.

Jaguar fur with a black spot in the rosette

Not everyone can tell a jaguar from a leopard. These animals are very similar, and their spots are similar in shape and color, only in the jaguar they are larger, and some rosettes have a small black spot in the center.

A tiger's hind legs are larger than its front legs

Tiger - very strong cat, with a powerful, muscular body that allows him to successfully cope with even a large victim. Its hind legs are longer than its front legs. Due to this, he easily jumps on his prey. Its large claws and powerful, muscular shoulder girdle allow it to capture prey so that it has no chance of escape.


cat nose

A cat's nose leaves a print that can be used to identify it as belonging to a particular cat - it identifies it like a fingerprint identifies a person.

Drink a lot and swim



During lunch, tigers often settle down near water bodies, because... drink a lot while eating. And on hot days they spend many hours swimming in ponds. Tigers are good swimmers and do not hesitate to rush into the water for prey. Where the tiger is not disturbed, it can lie in the water. Tigers swim well: big rivers, even the Ganges, can be crossed without difficulty.

Water and Jaguar (Panthera onca) he is not afraid - he loves to swim, and swims well. That is why the inhabitants of rivers and lakes have to feed this predator: capybaras (capybaras), turtles, and fish come to it for lunch, and the jaguar hunts fish from the shore, throwing them out of the water with powerful blows of its paws. He even hunts smaller crocodiles.



Jaguar in a boat
The jaguar swims well and swims across the Amazon. There was such a case: a jaguar attacked people in a boat. They jumped into the water, and the jaguar got into the boat and swam, looking around.

Fishing cat
Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)- a relatively large cat weighing 12 kg, lives on the coast of the Indian Ocean. He climbs trees reluctantly. But it swims great. They say he even dives for fish like an otter.

And here sand cat (Felis margarita) able to live without water. They say she doesn't drink water. This is a small wild cat weighing 3.4 kg.

Cats learned to dive and swim



On the island of Miladummadulu, located in the Indian Ocean, cats, having exterminated all small living creatures, were forced to learn to swim and dive and now get their food in the ocean, deftly hunting fish.

The skin is also striped
Tigers not only have striped fur, but also striped skin.

Five-centimeter layer of fat

In winter, Amur tigers have a five-centimeter layer of fat under the skin on their bellies.

Puma lives widely

The living space of no cat is as spread out as that of the puma: from southern Alaska to the Machellan Strait. This was the case at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Now the puma has been exterminated almost everywhere. The smallest pumas (about 30 kg) live in tropical forests South America– they have short red-brown fur. The largest pumas (9110 kg) inhabit Rocky Mountains North America and are found in Tierra del Fuego.

They growl and don't growl

The roar of a lion (Panthera leo) can be heard 5 miles away. But the cheetah does not growl or meow - it barks, squeals and chirps, but it can purr. In a good mood, the leopard purrs, the clouded leopard and the puma too. But they can also growl.


Lion hunting area

...ranges from 8 to 150 square miles. This territory is guarded by male lions. Within one area, a flock of lions can live, consisting of six male lions, twelve adult lionesses and young lion cubs. Depending on the living conditions in a given territory and the number of other animals, a flock can occupy an area of ​​up to 400 square km, however, where there is more than enough food, this territory can be much smaller.

The cougar lives in an area up to 100 miles in circumference. Even if she is not disturbed, she wanders within the area, never staying anywhere for long.


Black and smoky cats

Leopards (Pantera pardus) with black colored skin (black panthers) are especially common on the island of Java. Clouded leopards live there, as well as in the mountain forests of Nepal, Sikkim, all of southern China and Indochina. They are painted very beautifully: a black marble pattern on a bright yellow background. Clouded leopards are classified as a special genus because their anatomy combines the features of both large and small cats.

Children are spotted - adults are not

The puma's fur does not have any pattern, although its kittens are spotted. With the first molt, the spots disappear.


White and black leopards



Everyone knows about black panthers, but in the leopard family there are also albinos and so-called flavists: they have little black paint, their spots are faded, ocher, or at best chocolate. African leopards have small spots, while Asian leopards have larger spots. The background tone of the Caucasian and Central Asian ones is sandy-grayish, while that of the Far Eastern ones is reddish-yellow.

Lions' manesthere are black and light
Lions' manes are black and light, modest and wide - scientists distinguish 10-12 subspecies among lions based on their varied manes. The Barbary and Somali lions have a black mane; the Masai, Cape and Persian lions have dark brown manes, while others have yellow ones. The most magnificent mane was that of the Barbary lion, now exterminated.

Why do cats have short jaws?



Like all cats, the tiger has short jaws, due to this the gripping force and the depth of gnawing into the prey with its teeth increases many times.

Modern sabertooth
Skull clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) elongated, which distinguishes him from other cats. His fangs are larger than those of other cats in proportion to body size. Sometimes it is classified as a modern "saber-tooth".

The male is twice as heavy as the female

The male lion is much larger than the female and is 50 percent heavier in weight. He is easily recognized by his massive mane. The huge weight of the lion gives crushing force to its blow. He easily scatters females when he takes prey from them. Many males live by feeding exclusively on food obtained by females, and almost never try to get anything themselves.

Lion face

It's like a person's fingerprints. No two lions have the same muzzles (or even the same whiskers).

A bone with a claw at the end of the tail
The lion has a long, thin and very strong tail. The most remarkable thing about it is the brush, and in it there is a claw, or rather a thorn, the last vertebra breaking through the skin.

Cat color vision



There is reason to believe that cats have color vision - a rarity in the animal world. Large predatory cats have a round pupil. And the small ones (clouded leopard) are ovoid.

Night vision of tigers six times better than humans Due to a mechanism that reflects light back to the retina, tigers' night vision is six times better than humans.

They look at the sun without blinking
Leo is called the king of beasts because he can look at the sun without blinking. Many other cats can do this too.

Lions vision

Five times better than a human, a lion can hear prey from a mile away.

Sense of smell is weak

Leopards have excellent eyesight and hearing, but a weak sense of smell.

When a tiger hunts, it approaches from the leeward side out of attention to the sense of smell of its victims; the tiger’s own sense of smell is no good. In India they say that the tiger is the smartest animal after the elephant. He seems to imitate the cry of a deer, luring him. But when he chases monkeys. He growls terribly, and they, frightened, weaken with fear and fall to the ground.


The fluffiest

The fur of the Pallas' cat (Otocolobus manul) is as thick and long as that of any other cat.

There are no wild cats in Australia and Oceania.


Lionesses are attracted to males with dark and luxuriant manes.

... more than lions with light and short hair. Dark mane color is usually observed in lions with high levels of the main male sex hormone testosterone in the blood. Under its influence, the development of male genital organs and secondary sexual characteristics is enhanced. Therefore, it is not surprising that lionesses prefer males with more dark mane, and other lions are afraid of them.


Fingers and claws

All cats retract their claws, with the exception of the cheetah, which moves by touching the ground with its claws. Interestingly, young cheetahs have claws for up to four months. Like all cats, they can retract into their fingers. With age they lose this ability. A tiger has five toes on its front paws and four on its hind paws. All fingers of a tiger have claws ranging from 80 to 100 mm long.

Walking in the snow

Various predators of our forests are differently adapted to winter deep snow. For example, a wolf is poorly adapted to running in the snow, which is explained by the small supporting surface of its paws. Weight load per 1 sq. cm is equal to 89-103 g. For a lynx, these figures are 34-39 g, for a wolverine – 20-35 g, for a tiger – 155 per 1 sq. cm.


Climber cat

The snow leopard, or snow leopard (Uncia uncia) is a resident of the Altai, Pamir, Tien Shan mountains, highland Mongolia, Tibet, and the Himalayas), lives at an altitude of 2-3 thousand m above sea level. In summer, following the mountain ungulates, the leopard rises even higher - up to six thousand meters. He watches for hours somewhere on a rock or under a rock for rams or goats.

The largest predator living in Madagascar

is the Fossa - an animal weighing from 5 to 10 kg, vaguely reminiscent of a cat.

The fastest of mammals



This cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, which develops a speed of 96 km (60 miles) per hour over short distances, there is data about 105-115 km per hour. And according to unofficial data, some hunters with stopwatches in their hands measured the running speed of the cheetah and said: 140 kilometers per hour. Of other wild cats, the lion reaches a speed of 75-80. The usual speed of a lion in the first minutes of the hunt is 50 kilometers per hour.

Longest-legged cat
also a cheetah. After the South American maned wolf, the cheetah is the longest-legged animal of prey. He gives the impression of a dog with a cat's head.

Tigers defeated lions



A tiger fights better because he has more experience in martial arts; a lion living in a pride is used to counting on his comrades. For this reason, lions were driven out of Asia not only by people, but also by tigers.

African lions sleep the most
Swiss zoologist P. Hodiger traveled for several years across countries and continents, finding out how much different animals sleep. It turned out that African lions sleep the most. When transistor transmitters were strapped to the necks of lions in Tanzania, it was discovered that one lion slept 20 hours a day. In three weeks, he walked, hunting and having fun, only 90 km.

Sleeping in the trees
Where there are a lot of elephants and rhinoceroses, so that these pachyderms do not disturb the peace, lions sleep in the trees, stretched out on the branches and hanging their paws down.

Jaguars know how to sleep in trees, hiding in the foliage so that you cannot notice them. True, they forget to remove their tail, and it hangs from the branch, warning other animals of danger.

Sleeping in the trees

Where there are a lot of elephants and rhinoceroses, so that these pachyderms do not disturb the peace, lions sleep in the trees, stretched out on the branches and hanging their paws down.

Jaguars know how to sleep in trees, hiding in the foliage so that you cannot notice them. True, they forget to remove their tail, and it hangs from the branch, warning other animals of danger.


Tiger Power

Great is the strength of the tiger. He dragged a wild guar bull, which one tiger killed, along the ground for almost 12 meters. 13 people could not move the carcass of this bull. Another tiger killed a horse and dragged it along the ground for 500 m. There are rare cases when tigers defeat young elephants that have strayed from the herd in a difficult battle. A case is described in which two tigers attacked an adult elephant and killed it.
But when the tiger is hungry, he eats rodents, frogs and even berries.

Speed ​​and jumping

The lioness can reach speeds of 35 miles per hour for short distances, with a jump length of up to 30 feet.

African leopards (Panthera pardus) can jump onto trees up to 5.5 meters high.

The puma (Puma concolor) jumps 5-6 m in height, and sometimes 14 m from a height downwards.


The agile lynx itself is a caracal

The caracal (Caracal caracal) can catch birds in flight. He will creep up to a flock sitting on the ground and jump high above it. The birds fly up screaming, and the beast claws them in the air. This is an average Asian cat weighing 18 kg. The fur of the caracal is uniform, red, and the cubs are spotted.

Lynx prowls for tens of kilometers

When there is a lot of prey, and the main prey of the northern lynx (Lynx lynx) is hares, then the hunter remains on familiar place. If there are few hares, the lynx goes tens of kilometers away. If the lynx's attack is unsuccessful, then it pursues the prey for a day or two.


Servals don't like to climb

Servals (Leptailurus serval) can climb trees, but they do not like it. Only from wild dogs do they seek shelter above the ground: in the branches of acacia or baobab trees.


The most vocal



Roar lion heard at a distance of several miles, it is not a roar, but thunder from heaven. More often, however, lions roar half-heartedly, which is also impressive. However, the most amazing feature of lion talk is ventriloquism. Lions are capable of making strange sounds that seem to come not through the throat, but from the belly. In this way, the old lion leads the hunt, giving ventriloquist instructions to his subordinates.

Doesn't growl
Jaguar– the only cat that doesn’t growl.

Purr and growl
Clouded leopards They can purr like small cats, but they can also growl.

Clean leopards



Leopards, like domestic cats, buries, and tiger and lion- No.

How do cheetahs live?
Cheetahs often unite in small groups. These are females with grown up young cheetahs, sometimes several adult males also hunt together. They also accept females into the “male” company. Sometimes this animal lives and gets food alone. But associations of female cheetahs alone were never seen anywhere.

Sometimes tigers unite

If, due to some circumstances, it becomes very difficult for one tiger to get food, then several tigers can unite to hunt. But tigresses usually settle separately and carefully mark their territory. Typically, the hunting grounds of females do not border each other, much less intersect. However, the domain of a male tiger may border or even include the domain of several females. Tigresses' marks help males find them if they are ready to mate. Maintaining and preserving the territory within its boundaries is essential for the survival of tigers. While the tiger is walking around its territory, it can learn about good places for hunting, breeding, etc.

If sometimes you happen to see several tigers together, it is most likely a tigress with her cubs, who remain with the mother until they are able to get their own food.


Internal structure subordinate



Within flocks, herds, etc. there is a complex internal structure subordination of individuals or groups according to “ranks”. Lions are the only cats that live in packs (prides). Several animals live in idleness: a male (usually one adult. But sometimes two or three), females, cubs, young lions. Sometimes the number of animals reaches 30, but more often there are about 18. The pride is led by an old lion - the head of the family. Prides consisting only of lionesses have also been observed.

Domain of the Lions
The pride's domain consists of tens of square kilometers of thickets and open spaces. People, as a rule, do not interfere with lions.

The tails of wild cats almost never rise above their backs.

How do bachelors live?

Exiled males sometimes form a pack where they have a better chance of surviving. A pride of bachelor males is short-lived. Driven by instincts, males go to prides where lionesses live, and there they try to fight for leadership. In the heat of battle, success favors the strongest and most agile, and the once friendly pack of males soon disintegrates.


How much do lions eat?



A pride of four lions kills a large antelope or zebra once a week. One lion kills about fifteen large animals with an average weight of one hundred and ten kilograms per year. He shares his prey with his packmates.

Eat meat from three weeks of age
Three-week-old cheetah “kittens” eat meat in addition to milk.

How do lions hunt?
While one of the lions scares, distracting attention. His comrades are lying in ambush. Crawling up on his belly in the grass. The bloody role is usually assigned by lionesses to young lions. The old lion leads the hunt. The lenient role of lions towards jackals is surprising: while the lioness eats from the middle, the jackals pull the end of the victim. But lions strangle hyenas when the opportunity arises, because hyenas attack decrepit lions.

Male lion cubs are trained to hunt late

Male lion cubs are taught to hunt later than lionesses; sometimes young lions begin to learn only in the fifth year of life. Therefore, it is important that males remain in their home pride for as long as possible, but they are usually kicked out when they are still young.

Leopards drag prey up a tree

There is one significant feature that distinguishes leopards from other big cats: their habit of dragging prey up trees. Thus, their food remains safe and does not go to predators that are warring and competing with leopards - lions and hyenas.


Doesn't hunt like a cat

The cheetah's hunting style is not that of a cat. First, he looks out for his victim from a high hill, having identified the victim, crawls up, and 20-100 meters before the target he rushes in pursuit. Immediately developing amazing acceleration. When it catches up, it strikes with its front alps, knocks down its prey and immediately bites into the throat. If the cheetah does not catch up with the game in the first hundred meters of the race, it no longer pursues it.

Hunting



Every fourth hunt is successful
Every fourth lion attack ends, as a rule, in the complete victory of the predators. When the hunters eagerly pounce on their prey, the male lion appears. It is possible that a pack of hyenas may be nearby. Usually lions, having dealt with a large killed animal, generously allow others to feast on the prey.

Wild cats kill their prey instantly by biting its spine. in the area of ​​the cervical vertebrae. The chance of delivering such an accurate and effective bite is one in a million.

Strategy – pursuit



Tigers hunt alone. The tiger's hunting strategy boils down to chasing its prey into the most impenetrable thickets, where it has no chance of escape. That's when he pounces on her. When a tiger attacks, it attacks the prey from the side or from behind. The tiger strangles its prey by biting its throat. He wouldn't hurt a kid, but he hates dogs

If leopard If he's not hungry, he won't hurt even a kid. The leopard harbors enmity towards dogs and strangles them as soon as possible. There was a case when a leopard stole a dog right from under the table on the veranda in front of people.

Leopard vs monkeys
Leopards kill thousands of baboons every year, and with leopards wiped out completely, baboons have become a serious problem in many areas. They attack sheep and even people.

10 cm fangs



U leopard fangs are the size of a Finnish blade, 10 cm. And very sharp.

Leopard doesn't use trails
The leopard has no specific routes; it appears unexpectedly. When meeting with a trespasser, the leopard enters into a fight.

Lions are attacked by large crocodiles
Crocodiles attack lions on hot days when they come to drink water: they grab them and drag them into the water.

Tiger attacks people from behind



Tigers usually avoid contact with humans. However, in India, people who go to places where tigers live wear a mask depicting a person's face on the back of their heads. The fact is that tigers always attack their prey from behind. With such a mask, staying in the forest is relatively safe. The tiger does not pursue people wearing such masks: after all, it does not see the “back”, does not find it, and therefore does not attack.

How tigers talk
The tiger growls during a fight or makes a victorious growl after have a good hunting. When meeting a person or rival, the tiger hisses or purrs threateningly. When attacked, he snorts like domestic cat. During love encounters, the tiger purrs gently, sometimes turning to meowing.

Living cat

A tiger shot in the heart continues to live for another 10-20 seconds. The tiger, struck by a fatal shot, remains on its feet for some time.

Tiger telepathy

When tiger walks through the jungle, birds, deer and monkeys scream in alarm when they see him. Even a person, without yet seeing a tiger, without expecting its appearance, feels a special strange anxiety - perhaps this is telepathy. The raging emotions of the beast subconsciously excite a person.

Theft
Lions They hunt large animals: zebras, gazelles, wildebeests and do not hesitate to steal, taking prey from other predators, mainly hyenas and cheetahs.

Apart from the cheetah, all large cats eat not only fresh meat, but also carrion, often in old age.

Lion's Meal
The pride of lions' meal lasts 4 hours. The lion eats first, although the lionesses brought the prey. After the meal, the lion goes to water, and he drinks for 20 minutes. A lion in a zoo eats 15 pounds of meat daily; in the wild, lions eat twice a week.

Most tiger attacks are successful



The striped skin of a tiger serves him good camouflage in forests and bushes, and thanks to the soft pads on its paws, it moves almost silently. Most of his attacks are successful.

Live canned jaguar
Hunting turtles by the sea, the jaguar throws them belly up one after another. Turtles cannot roll over and crawl away, but they do not die or deteriorate. Then the jaguar comes and with its claws pulls out of the shell those who are tired of lying with their backs up and sticking their heads out.

Tiger's Meal



Tiger (Panthera tigris) On average, he eats 7-9 kg of meat per day. A tigress with cubs quickly makes short work of even a large animal. A female with 2 cubs has to kill one large animal every 5 or 6 days to feed herself. A tiger requires about 2.5-3 tons of meat per year, almost twice as much as a lion. Taking into account skins and guests total weight tiger victims amount to 4.5 tons. An Indian tiger eats a sambar deer in two days, and a buffalo in three to four days. Having had enough, it covers its prey with branches and settles down to rest nearby.

Polite companions
Later, when the cubs grow up, their father comes to visit the family. Sometimes this happens during lunch. J. Schaller once saw an adult tiger, two tigresses and four cubs, who were quite friendly, without quarrels, eating one bull. Another time, a tigress and four cubs were having lunch when an adult tiger appeared. He was hungry and greedily looked at the prey. However, he politely waited on the sidelines until the kids were full. And only then did he start having lunch himself.

Beware the porcupine



Tigers and leopards, when hungry, they attack porcupines. They do not always manage to dodge and grab the prickly one by the head; the porcupine's quills go deep into the muscles of the predator in case of an unsuccessful hunt. In the body of the tigers, fragments of needles as thick as a pencil and a quarter of a meter long—up to fifty pieces—were found.

The lion comes from the wind
No hunter approaches the game from the side from which the wind blows. And the lion does just that. Its task is to frighten the victim and distract its attention from the ambush.

Cannibals
Lions, tigers and other big cats can be man-eaters. Tigers appear to attack people more often than other cats, and the reasons for this behavior are still unclear. Perhaps it is provoked by the size of a person, corresponding to the size of the animals that tigers usually attack; In addition, an old or wounded tiger can easily attack a person. Only 3 percent of the entire tiger population may be man-eaters. More people died in Africa from crocodiles than from lions.

Attracted by the frog's croaking

One day a tiger attacked a man carrying a bag of frogs. It is said that the tiger was attracted by the frog's croaking.


Lynx in enmity with wolves

In winter, wolves attack a lynx in a pack, drag it to the ground and kill it. If a lynx encounters a lone wolf, it will kill it.

Loving cats



The record holders for mating among mammals are lions and tigers. Tigers can mate up to 50 times a day for five or six days, with each act lasting from 5 to 15 minutes. However, they are inferior to Australian crickets (Ornebius aperta) - male crickets can copulate 50-58 times within 3-4 hours with the same female.

Gentle at any time
U leopards The male and female not only during the breeding season, but also at other times, live nearby and are very affectionate with each other: they love to play and frolic.

Milk is three times more nutritious than cow's milk

Leopard milk is fatty and three times more nutritious than cow's milk.

Lioness gives birth alone



When the time comes for breeding, the lion takes his girlfriend away from the pride. Then they return to the pride. After 100-108 days, the lioness leaves the pride to give birth. She makes her lair in the thick of thorny bushes or in a mountain crevice. After the birth of 3, rarely 5-6 lion cubs, she lives with him in solitude, and at the age of one and a half months she brings her offspring to the pride.

Close-blooded mating has led to serious degradation of South China tigers
High incidence of disease and "mental weakness" are threatening the existence and development of this critically endangered species, a sad situation, Chinese experts say. The South China tigers now living in China are the offspring of six “grandfathers” and “grandmothers” captured in the wild in 1956. As a result of close-blooded mating and a “carefree life,” tigers developed signs of degeneration such as an underdeveloped physique, physical weakness, decreased immunity and other ailments.

One female raises tiger cubs

Tigers pair up only for a short period of time. The tiger cubs are raised by one female. The litter contains two to four tiger cubs weighing from 800 to 1750 grams. They spend the first two months in a shelter that the mother finds before they are born. Then the babies begin to gradually switch to the prey brought by the tigress, but they suck mother’s milk for up to six months and spend the first three years of their lives with the tigress, completely dependent on her. That is why females can bear offspring only once every three to four years.


Pride females do not have cubs at the same time

Lions breed at any time of the year, however, females of one pack (pride) prefer to have cubs at the same time (to make it easier to protect them from other predators and male lions of another pride). They even feed them, without dividing them into friends and foes. If one female dies, the others take care of the deceased's cubs.


Cheetah moms

Mother cheetahs are so exhausted caring for their playful offspring that they sometimes fall asleep while sneaking around for prey.

Lions kill cubs

One of the mysteries of lion behavior was that for some reason the males killed their cubs. Now this mystery has been solved. The fact is that the attack of males is caused by their jealousy of young lion cubs. Male lions do not tolerate unnecessary rivals in their pack, so they strive to get rid of them. There is another explanation for such cruel and incomprehensible behavior. The male in this way encourages the female to give birth to new cubs. And they have a better chance of survival than previous cubs. And they will get more food.

Can eat babies



Father from leopard unimportant: on occasion he is not averse to eating the cubs. The female therefore builds a den in secret from him.

Meat for a rainy day
Leopard cubs weigh 20-80 kg and are unusually voracious. They hide the meat on a tall tree.

The father takes care of the cubs
Male- cheetah takes care of the female and offspring and brings them food. If a female cheetah dies, the father does not abandon the cubs.

Leopards are born in a hollow

The clouded leopard gives birth to its offspring in a hollow tree; there are 1-5 cubs in a litter, each weighing 150-280 grams.

Leopard from the vulture's nest



Snow leopards often make their lair in vulture nests in low trees. There their offspring are born.

Pulls fur from belly
Mother leopard (Uncia uncia) insulates the lair by tearing the fur from its belly. The jungle cat (Felis chaus) also does this. Other cats don't.

Loss of genetic diversity
Cheetahs There are no more than 20,000 left in the wild; cheetah cubs living in nature reserves do not survive one year in 70% of cases, and in zoos, in the safest conditions, up to 30% of kittens die. The reason was the loss of genetic diversity of the species. Almost all living cheetahs are genetically almost identical. Most probable cause This phenomenon is a certain long-standing (10-12 thousand years ago) catastrophe, after which one or two pairs of these animals survived. Thus, all cheetahs are very close relatives who do not receive “fresh blood”, and therefore have the same set of characteristics, received from both their father and mother. They have completely lost the ability to adapt.

The jaguar is not related to the leopard

The American jaguar (Panthera onca) looks like a leopard. It has a length of up to 1.8 meters, excluding the tail, its weight ranges from 36 to 158 kg. Indeed, both animals are close relatives. It even turned out that females, a cross between a leopard and a jaguar, are capable of procreation.

Leopards love to ride from the mountains



Leopards love to play and roll in the snow. Having become playful, they slide off the cliff on their backs, and at the bottom they quickly turn over and fall into a snowdrift on all four paws.

Cougars are chasing butterflies
The puma loves to have fun: when frolicking, it jumps after butterflies, somersaults, and catches its tail if there is no one to play with. If she meets a person in the desert, she never attacks herself - she will run up, jumping and digging the ground with her paw, as if inviting the person to play.

Lifespan of a lion

...13 years old, the lion "Nero" is known, who lived for 29 years in a West German zoo. Average duration life of a tiger: 16-18 years. In zoos, tigers live on average twenty to twenty-five years. In general, tigers can live 40-50 years.

Cloning a Tasmanian tiger

Scientists at the Australian Museum managed to obtain genetic material from the Tasmanian tiger that disappeared more than half a century ago - the large predator who lived on this continent. The last individual of this animal died at the Gobart Zoo 66 years ago, but in May 1999, scientists accidentally discovered a test tube with a Tasmanian tiger embryo in one of the archives. Now researchers have to clone the animal, which requires finding a “surrogate” mother and implanting DNA cells into her. They claim that around 2010 they will be able to revive this animal.