Tigers

After doing this report, my favorite animal is the tiger. Hands down. Besides, They're so fun to draw!

Panthera tigris is the subject of my paper. That is, 'Hunters' that are 'Arrow-like'/ 'Fast' (meanings of Panthera tigris), also known as tigers. Tigers are sometimes called King of the Cats; and the stripes on their foreheads look like the Chinese character for 'King.' I will be writing about tigers' general habits, then about the specific species, and finally about how tigers became an endangered species.

Tigers generally have eyes, one nose, and teeth. A group of tigers is called a 'streak.' One thing that sets them apart from other predators is their stripes, which are on their skin also, not just their fur. Another difference between them and other cats is that tigers can't purr, when they meet friendly tigers they 'chuff,' a sound that's sort of like a snore. When a tiger roars, it is usually quick, but can carry two miles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoXqF7SSJtg (-tiger's roar.)Tigers need this yell to communicate, since they are very solitary. Each tiger has their own territory. If there is lots of prey in one area, the territory will be 10²mi. or less. If game is scarce, the territory could be up to 200²mi. Usually a male's territory will overlap several female territories, but males try to stay away from each other by marking their boundaries. Tigers try not to fight each other, because if a tiger is injured it can't hunt, and if it can't hunt, it can't live. A tiger's saliva works as an anti-septic to clean wounds. All tigers sleep for about 18 hours a day. Female tigers (when they're going to have cubs) are pregnant for 16 weeks, about 4 months, and when the cubs are born, they are blind and helpless. They start out weighing a little more than 2 lbs. but are able to gain 3-½ oz. every day. After ten days, they open their eyes. When they are 18 months they can hunt on their own, and by the time they're two their mother chases them off to claim their own territory. Unfortunately, because of hunting and poaching, only 50% of the cubs live to be 1 yr. Alot of the tigers live in jungles, although some live up North.http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/tiger/habitat-&-distribution.htm (-tiger habitats)

The Siberian tiger lives in Russia above North Korea along the coast. Since it lives so far north, it needs to trap heat. It does this with its 20,000 hairs in every square inch of its body, and has plenty of fat. It is the largest tiger, partly because of its hair and fat. It has a lot of white in it's fur to help camouflage it with the snow, and its stripes are more brown than black. The smallest tiger is the Sumatran tiger, which lives on an island in Indonesia (it's the big one under the Malay peninsula). As the smallest tiger, it ranges from 7-8 ft. from head to tail (the tail is usually about 1/3 of the body length). It is not only the smallest tiger, but it also has the most stripes of all the tigers. The South Chinese tiger has the least amount of stripes, and lives in S. China (if it lives at all). The S. Chinese tigers' coat is more yellow-ish than other tigers' and its stripes are somewhat pointed. Other than that, it's very similar to the Bengal tiger. The Bengal tiger is probably one of the best known tigers. It lives scattered throughout India. It is usually orange, but there is a type that is white. It is one of the national symbols of both India and Bangladesh. Next to Bangladesh is a country called Myanmar. From Myanmar to Vietnam and down to the Malay Peninsula is the habitat of the Indochinese tiger. This tiger mainly eats llamas, ordered medium and large. Speaking of large, two types of tigers would be smaller than the Sumatran tiger (the Bali and Javan tigers) but they, and the Caspian tiger, are now extinct.

The Siberian tigers are also very close to extinction. There are 400 in the wild, and 400 in captivity. Russia has made laws protecting it, but it could easily be extinct in the wild within the next ten years. Communism has not helped tigers at all. On the contrary, in the early 1950's there were 4,000 S. Chinese tigers in China; then the government declared them 'pests' and the Chinese people were ordered to hunt and kill all of them. In 1982 there were about 150-200 left. Five years later, there were 30-40 left. In 1990 it was rumored that there were tigers in 11 protected areas of China, but in 2001 eight of these areas were searched, and there was no sign of the S. Chinese tiger, though it may still exist. For the Bengal tigers, 100 yrs ago there were 40,000; now there are fewer than 1,400. The last Indochinese tiger seen in China was eaten by a man (it wasn't a man-eater, it was man-eaten)(the man was punished with 12 yrs imprisonment); and the people in Vietnam kill it for pharmacies. It might not survive, unless the villagers are convinced that it's more valuable alive than dead. But it was the royalty who really had a hay day. King George V and his group shot 39 tigers in Nepal in 11 days; the King of Nepal and some guests shot 433 tigers in 7 yrs (1933-40); A historian records that more the 80,000 tigers were killed (just in India) for sport and bounty.

Tigers need help, and one why for us to help them is to learn about them and help educate others about tigers' habits, species, and troubles.