Endangered animals.The Siberian tiger. UNIT 3
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:47 pm1. Endangered animals.
The Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is also known as the Amur, Manchurian, Altaic, Korean, North China or Ussuri tiger. Though it once ranged throughout Western and Central Asia and eastern Russia, it is now completely confined to the Amur-Ussuri region of Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai in far eastern Siberia, where it is now protected. It is the biggest of the eight recent tiger subspecies and the largest living felid.[2] Genetic research in 2009 revealed that the current Siberian tiger population is almost identical to the Caspian tiger, a now extinct western population once thought to have been a distinct subspecies.
Pelage
The pelage of the Siberian tiger is moderately thick, coarse and sparse compared to that of other felids living in the former Soviet Union. Compared to now extinct westernmost populations, the still living Far Eastern Siberian tiger's summer and winter coats contrasts sharply compared to other subspecies. Generally, the coat of now extinct western populations was brighter and more uniform than that of Far Eastern populations. The summer coat is coarse, while the winter coat is denser, longer, softer and silkier. The winter fur often appears quite shaggy on the trunk, and is markedly longer on the head, almost covering the ears. The whiskers and hair on the occiput and the top of the neck is also greatly elongated. The background colour of the winter coat is less bright and rusty compared to that of the summer coat, and tends to be more ocherous. Due to the winter fur's greater length, the stripes appear broader with less defined outlines. The summer fur on the back is 15-17 mm long, 30-50 mm along the top of the neck, 25-35 mm on the abdomen, and 14-16 mm on the tail. The winter fur on the back is 40-50 mm, 70-110 mm on the top of the neck, 70-95 mm on the throat, 60-100 mm on the chest and 65-105 on the abdomen. The whiskers are 90-115 mm.
Size and weight
The Siberian tiger is typically 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) taller at the shoulders than the Bengal tiger, which is about 107-110 cm (42-43 in) tall. Males measure 8-feet-10-inches to 10-feet-10-inches long and weigh 419 to 675 pounds; females average 7-feet-11-inches to 9-feet long and weigh 221 to 368 pounds. The largest male with largely assured references was 350 cm (138 in) "over curves" (3,30 m/130 in. between pegs) in total length. Females are normally smaller than males and weigh 100-167 kg (220-368 lb), probably up to 180 kg (400 lb). The bodies of now extinct western populations were generally less massive than that of their Far Eastern cousins, and their average size was slightly less. In Turkestan, male tigers exceeded 200 cm in length, though an estimated body length of 270 cm was recorded. Females were smaller in size, normally ranging between 160-180 cm. The maximum known weight was 240 kg. Although tigers from Turkestan never reached the size of Far Eastern tigers, there are records of very large individuals of the former population. The tail length in fully grown males is about 1 m (39 in). Weights of up to 318 kg (700 lb) have been recorded and exceptionally large males weighing up to 384 kg (847 lb) are mentioned in the literature but, according to Mazak, none of these cases can be confirmed via reliable sources. A further unconfirmed report tells of a male tiger shot in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in 1950 weighing 384.8 kg (846.6 lb) and measuring 3.48 m (11.5 ft).
Siberian tiger
The "Siberian Tiger Project", which has operated from Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik since 1992, found that 215 kg (474 lb) seemed to be the largest that they were able to verify, albeit from a limited number of specimens. According to modern research of wild Siberian tigers in Sikhote-Alin, an average adult male tiger (>35 months) weighs 167.3 - 185.7 kg (the average asymptotic limit, computed by use of the Michaelis-Menten formula, gives 222.3 kg for male tigers) and an adult tigress weighs 117.9–122.6 kg. The mean weight of historical Siberian tigers is supposed to be higher: 215.3-260 kg for male tigers. At least one authority suspects that this is the difference between real weights and hunter's estimates. Dale Miquelle, program director of the Siberian Tiger Project, writes that, despite repeated claims in the popular literature that the Siberian is the largest of all tigers, their measurements on more than fifty captured individuals suggest that body size is, in fact, similar to that of Bengal tigers.
The skull of the Siberian tiger is distinguished by its larger overall size, as well as the great development of its sagittal crest, whose height and strength exceeds that of other tigers and the lion. Maximum skull length in Amur male tigers is 361.8-383 mm, while the females range from 279.7-310.2 mm. The skull length of the males of Turkestan had a maximum length of 297.0-365.8 mm, while that of females was 195.7-255.5 mm. On January 10, 1954, a tiger killed on the Sumbar in Kopet-Dag had a skull greatest length of 385 mm, which is considerably more than the known maximum for this population and slightly exceeds that of most Far Eastern tigers. However, it condylobasal length was of only 305 mm, smaller than those of the Amur tigers, with a maximum recorded condylobasal length of 342 mm. Based on skull measurements, it appears that the biggest Siberian tigers came from Manchuria, where today the cats are reduced to a handful of individuals. The largest Manchurian skull on record measures 406 mm in length, which is about 20-30 mm more than the maximum skull lengths achieved by tigers from the Amur region and northern India.
Reproduction
Siberian tigers reach sexual maturity at four years of age. They mate at any time of the year. A female signals her receptiveness by leaving urine deposits and scratch marks on trees. She will spend a week with the male, during which she is receptive for three days. Gestation lasts from three to 3½ months. Litter size is normally three or four cubs but there can be as many as six. The cubs are born blind in a sheltered den and are left alone when the female leaves to hunt for food.
Cubs are divided equally between genders at birth. However, by adulthood there are usually two to four females for every male. The female cubs remain with their mothers longer, and later they establish territories close to their original ranges. Males, on the other hand, travel unaccompanied and range farther earlier in their lives, thus making them more vulnerable to poachers and other tigers.
Dietary habits
In the southeast Trans-Caucasus, the Siberian tiger's main prey was Wild Boar, though it occasionally fed on Roe Deer, Red Deer and domestic animals such as dogs and cattle in winter. Tigers in Iran ate the same species with the addition of gazelle. The Siberian Tiger's prey in Turkmenia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan was primarily boar, as well as Bactrian deer. In the lower Amu Darya River, tigers sometimes preyed on Golden Jackals, Jungle Cats and locusts. On the Zhana-Darya and around the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan, as well as boar, the tiger fed on Saiga, Goitered Gazelle, Wild horses, Mongolian Wild Ass and Argali. In Tajikistan and other regions of central Asia, as well as Kazakhstan, tigers frequently attacked dogs, horses and rarely Bactrian Camels. In Baikal, the Siberian tiger fed on Wild Boar, Roe Deer, Manchurian wapiti, Moose and livestock.
In the Amur region, the tiger preys primarily on Red Deer and Wild Boar, which make up 65-90% of its diet in the Russian Far East. Other important prey species are Manchurian wapiti, Moose, Siberian Roe Deer, Sika Deer, Musk deer and goral. It will also take smaller prey like lagomorphs (hares, rabbits, and pikas) and fish, including salmon. Tigers may prey on both Brown and Black Bears when ungulate populations decrease.
The Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is also known as the Amur, Manchurian, Altaic, Korean, North China or Ussuri tiger. Though it once ranged throughout Western and Central Asia and eastern Russia, it is now completely confined to the Amur-Ussuri region of Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai in far eastern Siberia, where it is now protected. It is the biggest of the eight recent tiger subspecies and the largest living felid.[2] Genetic research in 2009 revealed that the current Siberian tiger population is almost identical to the Caspian tiger, a now extinct western population once thought to have been a distinct subspecies.
Pelage
The pelage of the Siberian tiger is moderately thick, coarse and sparse compared to that of other felids living in the former Soviet Union. Compared to now extinct westernmost populations, the still living Far Eastern Siberian tiger's summer and winter coats contrasts sharply compared to other subspecies. Generally, the coat of now extinct western populations was brighter and more uniform than that of Far Eastern populations. The summer coat is coarse, while the winter coat is denser, longer, softer and silkier. The winter fur often appears quite shaggy on the trunk, and is markedly longer on the head, almost covering the ears. The whiskers and hair on the occiput and the top of the neck is also greatly elongated. The background colour of the winter coat is less bright and rusty compared to that of the summer coat, and tends to be more ocherous. Due to the winter fur's greater length, the stripes appear broader with less defined outlines. The summer fur on the back is 15-17 mm long, 30-50 mm along the top of the neck, 25-35 mm on the abdomen, and 14-16 mm on the tail. The winter fur on the back is 40-50 mm, 70-110 mm on the top of the neck, 70-95 mm on the throat, 60-100 mm on the chest and 65-105 on the abdomen. The whiskers are 90-115 mm.
Size and weight
The Siberian tiger is typically 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) taller at the shoulders than the Bengal tiger, which is about 107-110 cm (42-43 in) tall. Males measure 8-feet-10-inches to 10-feet-10-inches long and weigh 419 to 675 pounds; females average 7-feet-11-inches to 9-feet long and weigh 221 to 368 pounds. The largest male with largely assured references was 350 cm (138 in) "over curves" (3,30 m/130 in. between pegs) in total length. Females are normally smaller than males and weigh 100-167 kg (220-368 lb), probably up to 180 kg (400 lb). The bodies of now extinct western populations were generally less massive than that of their Far Eastern cousins, and their average size was slightly less. In Turkestan, male tigers exceeded 200 cm in length, though an estimated body length of 270 cm was recorded. Females were smaller in size, normally ranging between 160-180 cm. The maximum known weight was 240 kg. Although tigers from Turkestan never reached the size of Far Eastern tigers, there are records of very large individuals of the former population. The tail length in fully grown males is about 1 m (39 in). Weights of up to 318 kg (700 lb) have been recorded and exceptionally large males weighing up to 384 kg (847 lb) are mentioned in the literature but, according to Mazak, none of these cases can be confirmed via reliable sources. A further unconfirmed report tells of a male tiger shot in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in 1950 weighing 384.8 kg (846.6 lb) and measuring 3.48 m (11.5 ft).
Siberian tiger
The "Siberian Tiger Project", which has operated from Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik since 1992, found that 215 kg (474 lb) seemed to be the largest that they were able to verify, albeit from a limited number of specimens. According to modern research of wild Siberian tigers in Sikhote-Alin, an average adult male tiger (>35 months) weighs 167.3 - 185.7 kg (the average asymptotic limit, computed by use of the Michaelis-Menten formula, gives 222.3 kg for male tigers) and an adult tigress weighs 117.9–122.6 kg. The mean weight of historical Siberian tigers is supposed to be higher: 215.3-260 kg for male tigers. At least one authority suspects that this is the difference between real weights and hunter's estimates. Dale Miquelle, program director of the Siberian Tiger Project, writes that, despite repeated claims in the popular literature that the Siberian is the largest of all tigers, their measurements on more than fifty captured individuals suggest that body size is, in fact, similar to that of Bengal tigers.
The skull of the Siberian tiger is distinguished by its larger overall size, as well as the great development of its sagittal crest, whose height and strength exceeds that of other tigers and the lion. Maximum skull length in Amur male tigers is 361.8-383 mm, while the females range from 279.7-310.2 mm. The skull length of the males of Turkestan had a maximum length of 297.0-365.8 mm, while that of females was 195.7-255.5 mm. On January 10, 1954, a tiger killed on the Sumbar in Kopet-Dag had a skull greatest length of 385 mm, which is considerably more than the known maximum for this population and slightly exceeds that of most Far Eastern tigers. However, it condylobasal length was of only 305 mm, smaller than those of the Amur tigers, with a maximum recorded condylobasal length of 342 mm. Based on skull measurements, it appears that the biggest Siberian tigers came from Manchuria, where today the cats are reduced to a handful of individuals. The largest Manchurian skull on record measures 406 mm in length, which is about 20-30 mm more than the maximum skull lengths achieved by tigers from the Amur region and northern India.
Reproduction
Siberian tigers reach sexual maturity at four years of age. They mate at any time of the year. A female signals her receptiveness by leaving urine deposits and scratch marks on trees. She will spend a week with the male, during which she is receptive for three days. Gestation lasts from three to 3½ months. Litter size is normally three or four cubs but there can be as many as six. The cubs are born blind in a sheltered den and are left alone when the female leaves to hunt for food.
Cubs are divided equally between genders at birth. However, by adulthood there are usually two to four females for every male. The female cubs remain with their mothers longer, and later they establish territories close to their original ranges. Males, on the other hand, travel unaccompanied and range farther earlier in their lives, thus making them more vulnerable to poachers and other tigers.
Dietary habits
In the southeast Trans-Caucasus, the Siberian tiger's main prey was Wild Boar, though it occasionally fed on Roe Deer, Red Deer and domestic animals such as dogs and cattle in winter. Tigers in Iran ate the same species with the addition of gazelle. The Siberian Tiger's prey in Turkmenia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan was primarily boar, as well as Bactrian deer. In the lower Amu Darya River, tigers sometimes preyed on Golden Jackals, Jungle Cats and locusts. On the Zhana-Darya and around the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan, as well as boar, the tiger fed on Saiga, Goitered Gazelle, Wild horses, Mongolian Wild Ass and Argali. In Tajikistan and other regions of central Asia, as well as Kazakhstan, tigers frequently attacked dogs, horses and rarely Bactrian Camels. In Baikal, the Siberian tiger fed on Wild Boar, Roe Deer, Manchurian wapiti, Moose and livestock.
In the Amur region, the tiger preys primarily on Red Deer and Wild Boar, which make up 65-90% of its diet in the Russian Far East. Other important prey species are Manchurian wapiti, Moose, Siberian Roe Deer, Sika Deer, Musk deer and goral. It will also take smaller prey like lagomorphs (hares, rabbits, and pikas) and fish, including salmon. Tigers may prey on both Brown and Black Bears when ungulate populations decrease.