TIGERS

E B O O K F O R F A N S

KAREN CASTILLO & ANDRS GONGORA

Copyright 2016 Datamatic, S.C.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner
whatsoever without the express written permission
of the publisher except for the use of brief
quotations in a book review.

First Edition, 2016

Datamatic, S.C.
Miami, FL.

www.tigers-world.com
Text and research: Karen Castillo.
Design: Andrs Gngora.
Review: Berenice Lorenzo.
Production: Sergio Gngora

Editorial: Datamatic, S.C.

Photos: courtesy of Pixabay and the

respective authors.

All images rights are property of their

authors as listed in Pixabay.

Bioexpedition and its logo are

trademarks of Datamatic, S.C.
INTRODUCTION

The Tigers are one of the
big cats, a group that also
includes lions, jaguars,
and leopards.
The tiger is the largest cat in the world. Admired
and feared, it has been a part of the stories and art
of humans for thousands of years, and today it is a
very popular animal around the world.
Their beautiful striped fur makes them easy to
recognize from all other felines, and their mighty
roar makes them detectable from miles away.
Tigers (Panthera tigris), are native to the Asian
continent and have six subspecies:
Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), Siberian Tiger
(P. t. altaica), Indochinese tiger (P. t. corbetti),
Malayan tiger (P. t. Jacksoni), South China tiger (P.
t. amoyensis) and Sumatran tiger (P. t. sumatrae).
Many years ago they were distributed over a vast
area extending from Turkey to the east coast of
Russia, but now it is much smaller. Several
subspecies became extinct, such as the Bali tiger
(P. t. balica), the Java tiger (P. t. sondaica) and the
Caspian tiger (P. t. virgate)
5
All subspecies are ruthless predators endowed with
strength, skill and keen senses. They have been seen
as symbols of power, but also as aggressive and
dangerous animals. Regardless that, they are an
important part of the world's biodiversity.

6
HABITAT & DISTRIBUTION
Tigers are native to Asia; although today they can be seen all
over the world in captivity, their natural habitat is only on that
continent. Today they are present in 13 countries:

Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Laos,

Malaysia, Burma, Russia, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam. It is
possible that lately the populations of these cats have been
reduced to only eight countries, including Nepal, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, and Thailand.

They live in several types of habitat, all of which must have

three requirements: proximity to a fresh water source, the
abundance of prey and dense vegetation. Many live in tropical
forests, as well as temperate forests, the evergreen forests of
Assam and eastern Bengal, swamp forests with mangroves and
other types of forests. Some dwell in grasslands, savannahs,
and rocky terrains.

Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) are unique because they

thrive in the cold Russian forests, usually covered with a thick
layer of snow; these Tigers have a denser coat than the other
subspecies to survive in that cold habitat.

Most tigers to protect and shelter settle inside caves, grottos,

large trees and even the tall vegetation.

8
Unlike other cats, tigers
are excellent swimmers.

9
ANATOMY
Each tiger has a particular striped
pattern, so there are no two tigers with
the same coat.

Tigers body is built for hunting. Far from walking and running, especially when
being the fastest or biggest animals in making abrupt turns.
the world, they have key adaptations that
They have a robust skull, and large
make them efficient hunters to meet their
sharp teeth anchored to the jaws, which
needs. An adult tiger can reach up to
they use to pierce the skin and tear the
1.22 meters high to the shoulders and up
flesh of their victims. Other lethal parts
to 3.90 meters in length, and weigh more
are their retractable claws in their
than 300 kilograms, dimensions that
fingers. The hind legs are longer than the
exceed those of lions, jaguars, and
front legs, but all have soft pads.
pumas.
Their beautiful coat has orange tones in
They have a flexible spine that ends at
the background and thick dark stripes
the tip of their tail and acts as a flexible
that run to the tip of the tail. Each tiger
central support for their paws and
has a particular striped pattern, so there
thorax. Their tail, long and slightly thick,
are no two tigers with the same coat.
helps them to maintain the balance when

11
 The Siberian or Amur
Tiger is the largest
subspecies of all.

12
FEEDING
Tigers' favorite preys are
ungulate animals, usually deer.
Nobody is astonished to know that Tigers have
a great appetite, but it can be a surprise to
discover that they do not strictly eat every day.
Adults can spend up to two weeks without a
snack, although when they eat, they can
consume large amounts of food.
Tigers are carnivorous mammals. Their diet
consists of a wide variety of prey but depends
on the animals available in their particular
habitat. Some common victims are wild boars
(Sus scrofa), Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor),
water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), marsh deer
(Rucervus duvaucelii), Sika deer (Cervus
nippon), saiga antelopes (Saiga tatarica),
14
porcupines (Order Rodentia) and hare (Family Leporidae). If they do
not find food, they are sometimes forced to eat carrion or attack
domestic livestock.
When they prepare to hunt, they mainly rely on their ear and sight.
The tigers hunt by ambush. After detecting a prey, they walk
stealthily to approach it and lurk from a discreet distance, usually
camouflaged between the tall and dense grass. In a quick and
accurate movement, they catch their victim by surprise and give it a
powerful bite on the neck or the head to kill it quickly.

15
BEHAVIOR
Most cats are solitary creatures, and Tigers are no exception.
During most of their adult life, they roam and hunt alone,
although while cubs they spend a lot of time with their mother
and during the breeding season, they have to establish
relationships with the opposite sex to mate. They are more
active during the night, for that reason they do not usually
interact with diurnal species. However, activity patterns may
vary depending on the season and the activities of their prey.

Something that characterizes Tigers is that they are very

territorial and maintain exclusive household ranges where they
have easy access to food. The males' home ranges are larger
than those of females, since, although they do not live in a herd,
the male gender is dominant.

To secure their territory and warn others that they cannot enter,
a tiger leaves scent marks or claws on trees or rocks. In
addition to these visual and olfactory marks, Tigers watch the
limits of their territory to avoid the entrance of intruders. When
they are not inspecting, they prefer to spend time resting.

Tigers perform many

vocalizations, such as roars
and grunts.

17
REPRODUCTION
Males and females are polygamous, Tigers develop inside their mother
so they mate with several individuals for an average of 105 days. Typically,
throughout their life after reaching a female gives birth to a litter of two
sexual maturity, which happens or three offspring, but they may have
between three and five years of age. up to seven in a single delivery. As
they are born blind and completely
Both genders can mate at any time
defenseless, the mother shelters her
of the year, but when they are in
puppies in a den, feeds them with
heat, females vocalize and leave
breast milk and teaches them to hunt
scent marks more frequently to
for some months until they are ready
capture the attention of males. If a
to live on their own.
couple meets, they move in circles,
vocalize and growl, and then
separate, in a ritual of recognition
and establishment of trust.
Subsequently, the male places
himself over the female and
copulates for a short time. The
couple can stay together for a few
days, after which each one takes its
way.

19
 The only lasting social
relation of tigers is that of
a mother with her
offspring.

20
BENGAL TIGER
Panthera tigris tigris

The Bengal tiger or royal Bengal tiger is one of the most

common subspecies. It distributes in India,
Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, and it is a frequent
visitor to savannahs and mangrove areas in these
countries. Most of its population lives in India and
Bangladesh.

It is the second largest tiger reaching a total length of

240 to 310 centimeters and a height of 90 to 110
centimeters to the shoulders. It can weigh up to 325
kilos. Their physical appearance is not very different
from that of other tigers, since it shares with them the
large and muscular body, the sturdy legs and the long
tail.

Panthera tigris tigris hunts many native ungulates of the

Indian subcontinent, usually species such as chital
(Axis axis), gaur (Bos gaurus), sambar deer (Russian
unicolor) and marsh deer (Rucervus duvaucelii).

Bengal tigers are victims of illegal hunting, which along

with habitat reduction and destruction are one of their
most serious problems.Panthera tigris altaica

22
The Bengal tiger is the
most common subspecies
and the one with the
largest population.

23
SIBERIAN TIGER
Panthera tigris altaica

This subspecies, which is also known as Amur tiger, is the only

one that inhabits the most eastern regions. It is mainly located
in Siberia, where it has adapted to a cold environment often
covered with snow.

Their fur is paler than other tigers, but thicker and longer to
protect them from low temperatures. Their dimensions are
exceptional; when adults they can weigh more than 300
kilograms, although females tend to be smaller than males.

Most of these animals inhabit small areas of Russia. Their

distribution range is very large and they have to travel
considerable distances to find food. Siberian musk deer
(Moschus moschiferus), long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus
caudatus), Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus), wild boar
(Sus scrofa) and other deer species predominate in their diet.
Surprisingly, it is known that they rarely hunt bears.

Litters are usually two to four cubs, and the mother is in charge
of their care. When they grow up and acquire skills to hunt and
live alone they separate from it, but females take longer to do
so.

25
 The skull of the Siberian
tiger is very similar to the
one of the lions, due to its
large size.

26
THREATS
It is estimated that tigers have lost
93% of their historical distribution
range.

Tigers are among the most threatened
animals on the planet. The species has
been considered endangered for several
years, mainly due to human activities
such as poaching and illegal trade of
parts of their body. Habitat loss, the
effects of climate change, and conflicts
with people for the areas linked to
activities such as deforestation, land
conversion for agriculture and livestock.
In 2009 it was estimated that there were
around 3,200 tigers worldwide, while in
1998 there were between 5,000 and
7,000 tigers, although in recent years
there has been a slight increase. Today,
the conservation of tigers is an issue of
interest to many, because their
importance for the biodiversity.

In fact, for centuries the distribution of

these cats covered a much larger area,
but as a result of the threats mentioned
above, the area is becoming smaller. The
trade of their coat, bones and internal
organs, for traditional Chinese medicine
remedies is a disturbing activity, which
keeps reducing their population.

28
www.tigers-world.com