Evolution:
The oldest known felids including tigers are believed to have evolved over 1 million years ago in Asia. From there the tiger spread north to the Amur region of eastern Russia, south to the islands of Indonesia, and southwest to Indochina and the Indian subcontinent, eastern Turkey, and the Caspian Sea. The tiger has distinct traits & at times is grouped as a separate sub genus.
Distribution:
It is widely distributed over the forests of India ranging from the sub-alpine Himalayas to down south and across east-west, but excluding Kashmir valley and the desert and arid portions of Rajasthan and Kutch.
Distinctive traits:
The tiger (panthera tigris) is one of the biggest and most fearsome predators in the world. The body bears black stripes against a brownish yellow to rufous background with a white underside. The adult animal is solitary and strongly territorial when inhabiting better habitats having fair prey density. The territory of the male in such cases encompasses smaller territories of two or more females. The distinctive colour scheme of the tiger allows it to camouflage unseen in the forest.
Age:
The life span of tigers in the wild on an average is around 8 to 15 years. Tigers in zoos live longer (between 16 and 20 years).
Vision:
Tigers have round pupils and yellow irises (except for the blue eyes of white tigers). Due to a retinal adaptation that reflects light back to the retina, the night vision of tigers is six times better than that of humans. It can adjust to sudden darkness at once unlike the human eye. The presence of rods & cones in the eye indicates the possibility of colour vision.
Tactile Hair:
Tiger hairs are used as tactile receptors helping it to know more about its immediate surroundings The fur hair length varies geographically. In the southern subspecies the hairs are short (approximately 7 to 20 mm on the back and 15 to 35 mm on the stomach). The density of fur is dependent on seasonal and geographical factors.
Claws:
A tiger's forefeet have five toes and the hind feet have four toes. All toes have claws. The claws are sickle shaped and are important for offence and defence. The claws are retracted during walking and extended during attack.
Chromosomes:
The diploid Chromosomes are 38 in number.
Teeth design:
Tigers are meat eaters and their teeth design is adapted for this purpose. There are 30 teeth & the tiger bites with the side of its mouth. Its long, powerful canines are used to kill & grab the prey. The length of the canine teeth can be between 2.5 to 3 inches (74.5 to 90 mm.).
Maintenance of equilibrium:
It is extremely well-developed in tigers. The Tail is 3 to 4 feet long, about half as long as its body. Tigers use their tails for balance when they run through fast turns. They also use their tails to communicate with other tigers. Paw prints: A tiger's paw prints are called pug marks, which are individualistic like human finger prints. No two tigers have the same pug marks.
Size:
Tigers are the largest of all big cats- the body length of the male ranges from 275-290 cm, and for the females it is around 260 cm. The size and colouration varies according to the climate.
Reproductive behaviour & post-natal care:
Mating follows a definite courtship period, the mother carries total responsibility of bringing up the young. Cubs stay with their mother for as long as 18-30 months. Males are generally intolerant of cubs, though exceptions are there.Stripes act as camouflage, and help tigers hide from their prey. The Sumatran tiger has the most stripes of all the tiger subspecies, and the Siberian tiger has the fewest stripes.
Living Alone:
Tiger is a solitary animal unlike lions. However there is a temporary bond between the tigeress and cubs till the latter come of age.
Territory:
The size of a tiger's territory depends on the amount of food available, antipredator strategy of prey, distribution of welfare factors and usually range,season, from about 10 to 30 square miles (26-200 sq. km). Males live alone, but tiger territories overlap. Generally, several female territorie are encompassed within the territory of a male. The animal advertises its presence through scent markings. The constitution of the territories and their ownerships, although stable over periods of time, are nonetheless subject to change, in tune with the relative prowess of individuals occupying a habitat at a given point of time. Territorial definition weakens in unique habitats like Sunderbans.
Olfaction and Audition:They play an important part in the social behaviour of tigers. Tigers mark their territories by spraying the bushes and trees with a special mixture of urine and scent gland secretions. The auditory capabilities of tigers are also highly developed & are able to trace the origin of sound.
Eating:
Tigers are carnivorous & hunt for prey primarily by sight and sound. They feed on dear, wild pig, bovids and even other predators like leopards and bears. But ungulates like - hoofed animals such as deer and wild pigs are mostly their prey. Tigers eat in bouts.
Hunting TechniquesTigers approach their prey in a creeping run with intermittent pauses and momentary stalking, followed by a jump from a short distance- thereby grabbing the animal with the forepaws. The hind legs are kept on the ground which enable the cat to change its position as per the escape movements of the prey animal. Medium sized prey are killed by the neck bite; the larger ones by grabbing at the trunk region followed by a severe throat bite. Tigers hunt by stalking their prey, approaching as close as possible, and then charging the animal from behind. Their prey range from 65 to 2,000 pounds (30-900 kg).
Size Variations in Tigers
Tigers living in cold climates are usually larger than those living in warmer climates. Thus tigers in colder climates have a lower ratio of body size to weight than tigers in warmer climates. A larger body is capable of producing more heat, which is necessary to survive in cold climates such as northern Russia. Also, because other mammals such as deer and wild boar also tend to be larger in colder climates, northern tigers must be larger in order to catch and kill their prey.
Tiger sightings have become quite rare these days in India, reason being the Tiger killings because of its multitude of medicinal or magical properties that is why tiger trade is very profitable. Genuinely the tiger skin is not fashionable but the smuggling of Tiger fur coats and rugs are not difficult for the impoverished hunters. Even after the bans made by the government warning not to gather even wood from the former hunting grounds, poaching of tigers continue.Still efforts are continuously made to preserve these magnificent predators from extinction. The Project tiger was launched in India in 1972 as conservation programme for saving the Indian Tiger Population. Some of the best examples of this programmes success can be seen in the national parks situated in the high Himalayan region, to the mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans and the thorny scrubs of Rajasthan. But more wildlife conservation laws and awareness among people is still required to make Indian sanctuaries a safe haven for tigers.
Reasons for the Endangered Status:
The Tiger is endangered because it is poached for its body parts to cater to an illegal market. Another reason is habitat loss due to depletion of forest cover interference of humans and encrochment of forest land by people causing fragmentation. At the turn of the century, there were almost reportedly 40,000 tigers in India, but now only around 4,000 remain in the wild.
Why Save Tigers?
Tiger is symbol of wilderness and well-being of the ecosystem. By conserving and saving tigers the entire wilderness ecosystem is conserved. In nature, barring human beings and their domesticates, rest of the ecosystem is wild. Hence conserving wilderness is important and crucial to maintain the life support system. So saving tiger amounts to saving the ecosystem which is crucial for man's own survival.
Project Tiger Reserves in India :
Bandhavgarh National Park Check out the place where firstly and formostly the white Tigers of Rewa were discovered Bandhavgarh. This park is some of the left out preserved wild pockets of Madhya Pradesh of what were once splendid forests that extended across the whole of Central India.
Corbett National Park, U.P.Corbett is India's first and finest national park spread along the banks of the Ramganga River, in the foothills of the Himalayas. A well-protected wild habitat, Corbett provides an unforgettable experience to a nature lover.
Kanha National Park Ever though what it feels like to visit a tiger country, then visit the state of Madhya Pardesh, check out the wilds of Kanha and see for yourself why this place is called a wild hideout taken straight from the famous "Jungle Book".
Ranthambore National Park A nearby attraction of Sawai Madhopur, in the state of Rajasthan, Ranthambore National Park is an outstanding example of Project Tiger's efforts at tiger conservation in the India.
Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary Probably the most visited park in India, Sariska was also a hunting reserve previously just like other national parks in India. The reserve was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958 and came under the "Project Tiger" as a tiger reserve in 1979.
Sundarbans National Park Come to Sundarbans where adventure awaits you at every corner. Known as the largest estuarine delta in the world, this Tigerland vibrates with countless forms of colourful life.
Bandipur & Nagarhole National Parks, KarnatakaTwo of the most attractive national parks of Karnataka are Nagarhole and Bandipur. Even if separate entities, they are a part of a large neighboring wildlife reserve that also includes Madumalai Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu and Wynad Reserve of Kerala.
Dudhwa National Park, U.P. Also popular as a Tiger Reserve, this national park is located in the district of Lakhimpur, along the Indo-Nepal border. Another major attraction of this wild reserve is the Barasingha or the Swamp Deer, found in the southwest and southeast region of the park.
Manas Tiger Reserve, Assam Assam is the state of the Great One Horned Rhino. Beside the Kaziranga there's Manas another habitat of the Rhino's, located in one of the remotest region among the foothills of Himalayas.
Nandankanan Zoo, Orissa A combination of a beautiful botanical garden, a zoo and a sanctuary, Nandankanan, is situated 20-km from Bhubaneshwar, and is popularly known as the "Garden of Pleasure" in Orissa. The zoo at Nandankanan is world famous for its White Tigers
SAVE INDIAN TIGERS !! SAVE OUR PRIDE !!
