Siberian tiger: Difference between revisions
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Tigers will occasionally kill wolves to remove competition over their limited prey base.<ref name="IUCN-Reuters">{{cite web | url = http://www.iucn.org/reuters/2000/eeurope.html | title = The IUCN-Reuters Media Awards 2000 | publisher = [[IUCN]] | accessdate = 2007-08-17}}</ref><ref name="savethetiger">{{cite web | url = http://www.savethetigerfund.org/Content/NavigationMenu2/Community/GeneralPublic/TigerSubspecies/AmurSiberianTigers/default.htm | title = Amur Tiger | publisher = Save The Tiger Fund | accessdate = 2007-08-17}}</ref>Thus, where there are more tigers, the wolves cease to exist.<ref name="IUCN-Reuters" /> |
Tigers will occasionally kill wolves to remove competition over their limited prey base.<ref name="IUCN-Reuters">{{cite web | url = http://www.iucn.org/reuters/2000/eeurope.html | title = The IUCN-Reuters Media Awards 2000 | publisher = [[IUCN]] | accessdate = 2007-08-17}}</ref><ref name="savethetiger">{{cite web | url = http://www.savethetigerfund.org/Content/NavigationMenu2/Community/GeneralPublic/TigerSubspecies/AmurSiberianTigers/default.htm | title = Amur Tiger | publisher = Save The Tiger Fund | accessdate = 2007-08-17}}</ref>Thus, where there are more tigers, the wolves cease to exist.<ref name="IUCN-Reuters" /> |
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[[Image:Amersfoort Zoo Siberian Tigers.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Amur tiger cubs in captivity]] |
[[Image:Amersfoort Zoo Siberian Tigers.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Amur tiger cubs in captivity]] |
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The captive population of Siberian Tiger comprises several hundred specimens. A majority of these tigers are found in China, with subordinate populations in [[Europe]] and [[North America]]. The large, distinctive and powerful cats are popular zoo exhibits. The Siberian Tiger is bred within the [[Species Survival Plan]] (SSP), a project based on 83 wild caught tigers. According to most experts, this population is large enough to stay stable and genetically healthy. Today, approximately 160 Siberian Tigers participate in the SSP, which makes it the most extensively bred tiger subspecies within the programme. There are currently no more than around 255 tigers in the tiger SSP from three different subspecies. Developed in 1982, the Species Survival Plan for the Siberian Tiger is the longest running program for a tiger subspecies. It has been very fortunate and productive, and the breeding program for the Siberian Tiger has actually been used as a good example when new programs have been designed to save other animal species from extinction. |
The captive population of Siberian Tiger comprises several hundred specimens. A majority of these tigers are found in China, with subordinate populations in [[Europe]] and [[North America]]. The large, distinctive and powerful cats are popular zoo exhibits. The Siberian Tiger is bred within the [[Species Survival Plan]] (SSP), a project based on 83 wild caught tigers. According to most experts, this population is large enough to stay stable and genetically healthy. Today, approximately 160 Siberian Tigers participate in the SSP, which makes it the most extensively bred tiger subspecies within the programme. There are currently no more than around 255 tigers in the tiger SSP from three different subspecies. Developed in 1982, the Species Survival Plan for the Siberian Tiger is the longest running program for a tiger subspecies. It has been very fortunate and productive, and the breeding program for the Siberian Tiger has actually been used as a good example when new programs have been designed to save other animal species from extinction. |
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The Siberian Tiger is not very difficult to [[captive breeding|breed in captivity]], but the possibility to release captive bred specimens into the wild is small. Conservation efforts that secure the wild population are therefore still of imperative importance. If a captive bred Siberian Tiger were to be released into the wild, it would lack the necessary hunting skills and starve to death. Captive bred tigers can also approach humans and villages since they have learned to associate humans with feeding and lack the natural shyness of the wild tigers. In a worst-case scenario, the starving tigers could even become man-eaters. Since tigers must be taught how to hunt by their mothers when they are still cubs, a program that aimed to release captive bred Siberian Tigers into the wild would face great difficulties. |
The Siberian Tiger is not very difficult to [[captive breeding|breed in captivity]], but the possibility to release captive bred specimens into the wild is small. Conservation efforts that secure the wild population are therefore still of imperative importance. If a captive bred Siberian Tiger were to be released into the wild, it would lack the necessary hunting skills and starve to death. Captive bred tigers can also approach humans and villages since they have learned to associate humans with feeding and lack the natural shyness of the wild tigers. In a worst-case scenario, the starving tigers could even become man-eaters. Since tigers must be taught how to hunt by their mothers when they are still cubs, a program that aimed to release captive bred Siberian Tigers into the wild would face great difficulties. |
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[[Image:Amersfoort Zoo Siberian Tigers.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Amur tiger cubs in captivity]] |
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The captive population of Siberian Tiger comprises several hundred specimens. A majority of these tigers are found in China, with subordinate populations in [[Europe]] and [[North America]]. The large, distinctive and powerful cats are popular zoo exhibits. The Siberian Tiger is bred within the [[Species Survival Plan]] (SSP), a project based on 83 wild caught tigers. According to most experts, this population is large enough to stay stable and genetically healthy. Today, approximately 160 Siberian Tigers participate in the SSP, which makes it the most extensively bred tiger subspecies within the programme. There are currently no more than around 255 tigers in the tiger SSP from three different subspecies. Developed in 1982, the Species Survival Plan for the Siberian Tiger is the longest running program for a tiger subspecies. It has been very fortunate and productive, and the breeding program for the Siberian Tiger has actually been used as a good example when new programs have been designed to save other animal species from extinction. |
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==Trivia== |
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The Siberian Tiger is not very difficult to [[captive breeding|breed in captivity]], but the possibility to release captive bred specimens into the wild is small. Conservation efforts that secure the wild population are therefore still of imperative importance. If a captive bred Siberian Tiger were to be released into the wild, it would lack the necessary hunting skills and starve to death. Captive bred tigers can also approach humans and villages since they have learned to associate humans with feeding and lack the natural shyness of the wild tigers. In a worst-case scenario, the starving tigers could even become man-eaters. Since tigers must be taught how to hunt by their mothers when they are still cubs, a program that aimed to release captive bred Siberian Tigers into the wild would face great difficulties. the siberain tiger loves to eat deer! |
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*[[Hodori]], an Amur Tiger cub, was chosen as the mascot for the [[1988 Summer Olympics]]. |
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==Gallery== |
==Gallery== |
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==References== |
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Revision as of 06:55, 26 August 2007
| Siberian Tiger | |
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| Subspecies: | P. tigris altaica
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| Trinomial name | |
| Panthera tigris altaica Temminck, 1884
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| Distribution of the Siberian Tiger (in red) | |
The Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is a rare subspecies of tiger (P. tigris). Also known as the Amur, North China, Manchurian, or Korean Tiger, it is the largest tiger subspecies in the world.
Physical characteristics
Male Siberian Tigers weigh commonly up to 300 kilograms (660 lb).[1] An average male siberian tiger weighs around 230 kg (507 lb), but they can weigh as much as 360 kg (790 lb). Females are generally smaller and weigh usually 100-180 kg (220-390 lb).[2] Old Males reach normally a head and body length of 190-220 centimetres (75-97 in). The largest male with largely assured references was 350 cm (138 in) "over curves" in total length.[3] (The tail length in old males is about one metre.) At these sizes, the Siberian Tiger is the largest subspecies of tiger. This, however, is not as large as the liger, a panthera hybrid found exclusively in captivity. Apart from its size, the Siberian Tiger is differentiated from other tiger subspecies by its paler fur and dark brown (rather than black) stripes. As well as colour their fur is thicker and longer to keep them warm in the freezing temperatures of their habitat. Siberian Tigers also have larger feet than most other sub-species to facilitate movement through snow.
Distribution and population
The Siberian Tiger is critically endangered. In the early 1900s, it lived throughout the northeastern China, Korean Peninsula, northeastern Mongolia and southeastern Russia. Today, it has virtually disappeared from South Korea and is largely confined to a very small part of Russia's southern Far East (the Amur-Ussuri region of Primorsky and Khabarovsky Krai).[citation needed] There are very few tigers in northeastern China and fewer still in North Korea. Captive breeding and conservation programs are currently active.[citation needed]
The tiger population in the wild was probably lower than 50 in the 1930s, increasing to more than 200 in 1982. Poaching has been brought under better control thanks to frequent road inspections.
A count, taken in 1996 reported 430 Siberian Tigers in the wild. However, Russian conservation efforts have led to a slight increase, or at least to a stable population of the subspecies, as the number of individuals in the Siberian Forests was estimated between 431 and 529 in the last count in 2005.[4] According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the latest Russian Census reports put this number to be anywhere between 480 and 520 without including the small numbers of this subspecies present in mainland China.[5] The Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Centre in the northern Heilongjiang province of China plans to release 620 Siberian tigers in 2007, after its numbers grew from eight to 750.[6]
Breeding
Siberian tigers reach sexual maturity when they are 3 years old male and female. They mate any time of the year. A female shows that she is ready by leaving urine deposits and scratch marks on trees. The female is receptive for 3 of the 7 days that she will spend with the male while they are mating. The female when pregnant carries the babies for 3-3 1/2 months. They usually have a litter with 3-4 cubs but they can have as many as 6 cubs in one litter. The cubs are born blind in a sheltered den to keep them protected while the mother goes and hunts for food.
Diet
Like all other cats, the Siberian Tiger is a carnivorous predator; an adept hunter, it preys primarily on wild boar and red deer. Both species make up 65-90% of its diet in the Russian Far East. Other important prey species are moose, roe deer, sika deer, musk deer and goral. Even dangerous animals like adult brown bears are among the prey species of the Siberian tiger. Asiatic black bears and brown bears constitute 5-8% of the Siberian tigers diet,[3] but it will also take smaller prey like lagomorphs (hares, rabbits, and pikas) and fish, including salmon. Because its main prey are red deer and wild boar, protecting these and other prey animals from illegal hunting may be just as important to the tiger's survival as preventing direct killing of the big cats.
Tigers will occasionally kill wolves to remove competition over their limited prey base.[7][8]Thus, where there are more tigers, the wolves cease to exist.[7]
Captivity
The captive population of Siberian Tiger comprises several hundred specimens. A majority of these tigers are found in China, with subordinate populations in Europe and North America. The large, distinctive and powerful cats are popular zoo exhibits. The Siberian Tiger is bred within the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a project based on 83 wild caught tigers. According to most experts, this population is large enough to stay stable and genetically healthy. Today, approximately 160 Siberian Tigers participate in the SSP, which makes it the most extensively bred tiger subspecies within the programme. There are currently no more than around 255 tigers in the tiger SSP from three different subspecies. Developed in 1982, the Species Survival Plan for the Siberian Tiger is the longest running program for a tiger subspecies. It has been very fortunate and productive, and the breeding program for the Siberian Tiger has actually been used as a good example when new programs have been designed to save other animal species from extinction.
The Siberian Tiger is not very difficult to breed in captivity, but the possibility to release captive bred specimens into the wild is small. Conservation efforts that secure the wild population are therefore still of imperative importance. If a captive bred Siberian Tiger were to be released into the wild, it would lack the necessary hunting skills and starve to death. Captive bred tigers can also approach humans and villages since they have learned to associate humans with feeding and lack the natural shyness of the wild tigers. In a worst-case scenario, the starving tigers could even become man-eaters. Since tigers must be taught how to hunt by their mothers when they are still cubs, a program that aimed to release captive bred Siberian Tigers into the wild would face great difficulties.
Trivia
- Hodori, an Amur Tiger cub, was chosen as the mascot for the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Gallery
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A tiger at the Henry Doorly Zoo -
A tiger in St. Louis Zoo -
A tiger's eye -
A tiger perched in a tree -
.jpg)
References
- ^ Turner, Alan (1997). The big cats and their fossil relatives. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10229-1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Sunquist, Mel (2002). Wild Cats of the World. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-77999-7.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Vratislav Mazak: Der Tiger. Nachdruck der 3. Auflage von 1983. Westarp Wissenschaften Hohenwarsleben, 2004 ISBN 3 894327596
- ^ "Siberian Tigers Stable, According to Landmark Survey". National Geographic. 2005-06-16. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "World's biggest tiger winning extinction fight". The Telegraph. 2007-04-14. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Baby boom for endangered tigers". BBC News. 2007-06-17. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "The IUCN-Reuters Media Awards 2000". IUCN. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
- ^ "Amur Tiger". Save The Tiger Fund. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
General references
- Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes a brief justification of why this subspecies is critically endangered and the criteria used
- "Russian Plan to Save World's Largest Tiger Succeeds". Environment News Service. US: Environment News Service.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - Seidensticker, John (1999). Riding the Tiger. Tiger Conservation in Human-dominated Landscapes. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521648351.
- Chamberlain, Ted (2007-04-16). "Photo in the News: Biggest Tiger Pounces Back From Brink". National Geographic.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Amur (Siberian) tiger at WWF
- Siberian Tiger Profile at National Geographic
- Wildlife Conservation Society's Siberian Tiger Project
- AMUR - Preserving leopards and tigers in the wild