Tiger Species: Part 3

The Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
The Bengal tiger, also known as the Royal Bengal tiger is the second largest tiger sub-species and is the most numerous of all tigers...as ironic as it sounds! With 2500 of them left in the wild, they live primarily in India with smaller populations in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Burma. This is one unique tiger as they have orange coats with either brown or black stripes and each cat has its own unique stripped patterns and may I add a white belly! They weigh around 550 pounds and grow to be about 10 feet long. The average weight for males is 221.2 kg while that of females is 139.7 kg. Interestingly, the white tiger (i'll talk about them real soon) is a recessive mutant of the Bengal tiger.

They live in a variety of habitats, including the cold Himalayan forests, the hills of Indian Peninsula, the wet forests of Northern India, the arid forests of the Rajasthan and the mangroves of the Sundarbans; the only mangrove forest where tigers are found. However, due to the rise in sea levels as a result of climate change, the Sundarbans are increasingly being threatened. Bengal tigers feed on deer, pigs, wild cattle, young elephants, antelopes and buffaloes. An interesting fact, the roar of the Bengal tiger can be heard from two miles away!

Though the creation of India's tiger reserves in the 1970s helped stabilize their numbers, poaching in the recent years has once again put them at risk. In addition, from the year 1997 to 2006, Bengal tigers are thought to have lost more than 50% of their habitat with their largest decrease in India. They are classified under the IUCN Red List as Endangered.

Did you know that the Bengal tiger is the national animal for both India and Bangladesh? Yet, sadly, poaching is rampant in these regions. The main threats facing these creatures is poaching and habitat loss. There's so much we can do to help these lovely creatures, we just have to identify what it is. And if by writing these articles, i help save even one tiger, I will be so very content.

An interesting fact for you movie lovers...in the Life of Pi...the tiger was a Bengal tiger :)

Happy Weekend and thanks again readers!

Tiger Species: Part 2

The Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)

Contrary to his brother, the Sumatran, this tiger is the largest sub-species of the tiger...which makes them the largest cats in the world! It is also known as the Amur tiger, named after the Amur River, weighing between 300 and 600 pounds and can grow to be as long as 10.5 feet! They are located in northeast China, eastern Russia and parts of North Korea. They are restricted to the mountainous areas and sadly, away from humans. They are extremely fast, strong and powerful and are used as symbols in many cultures... no wonder most poachers want them in their possession!

Adult males can weigh up to 320 kgs while female tigers weigh up to 180 kgs. They feed on the elks, boars, bears and deer that inhabit the region. They closely resemble other tigers though with a lighter shade of orange and lesser but colorful stripes. However, they have a thick layer of fur that can be as thick as 4 inches! They have extra fur on their neck and in their paws which helps them to keep warm. These tigers can feed on up to 9 kgs of meat in one sitting and usually need to hunt often as few of their hunts are successful.

Now this is one tiger that has had it rough! In the 1940s, hunting had driven them to the brink of extinction with only about 40 individuals remaining. Thankfully, rigorous efforts in the 1980s by Russia were able to grant the tiger full protection propelling its numbers to about a stable 450. Although poaching increased after the collapse of the Soviet Union, conservation efforts by WWF and other agencies have helped keep their number stable for the past decade. Interestingly, the Cold War protected them from being hunted as access to the forest was restricted. They are however classified as Endangered under the IUCN Red List.

The biggest threat that faces this tiger is poaching, human-tiger conflict and habitat destruction. They are hunted mostly for making traditional Chinese medicine and as trophies. Despite several efforts being done to curb poaching and conserve their habitats, it's sad to see how bad choices by our kind has been detrimental to the survival of this magnificent creature.

This begs the question, what can i do about this?

That's right...let's support campaigns in the forefront of saving our tigers!

Remember, you are the voice of the magnificent tiger!

Tiger Species: Part 1

So...i'd like us to look deeply into each of the tiger species and possibly be able to learn a thing or two. I had mentioned that there are 5 existing species, However, some research I've read shows there are currently 6 species...which includes the Malayan Tiger. So, for the next couple of days, i'll talk about these 6 remaining species and then crown this series by talking about the extinct species.

The Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae )
The Sumatran Tiger is named after the Sumatra Islands where they exist in the entire Indonesia. According to the IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature); a conservation status for species that indicates whether they are extant (still alive) and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future, the species is categorized as Critically Endangered. Harsh, right?

The Sumatran tiger is sadly at the brink of extinction with around 400 tigers left and therefore making efforts toward conserving them very intense. They are the smallest of all living subspecies of the tiger and interestingly so because they adapt to the dense forests of the Sumatra with less habitat than other tigers. Adult males weigh between 100 and 140 kgs and females weigh between 75 and 110 kgs. They grow to a length of up to 8 feet giving them a slender appearance. One distinctive thing about them is that the stripes on their body are closer together than any other species and have more hair on the face than other species. They are also extremely fast swimmers due to webbing in their feet...Nice, right? And that's not all, they have white spots on the back of their ears which confuses their prey and protects them from predators. No wonder they stand out!

The main threat facing this species is habitat destruction by humans paving way land for agriculture and infrastructure. The other reason for their near extinction is due to the rampant illegal wildlife market whereby their body parts are sold as traditional Chinese medicine. A study by Shepherd and Magnus in 2004 revealed that a minimum 50 Sumatran tigers were killed annually between 1998-2002, with app. 76% killed for trade and 15% due to human-tiger conflicts. Sad, isn't it?

With continued efforts the world over to try and lift up this species from near extinction, we need to pose and ask what we can do. I know what am doing about it. What about you reader?

Tiger Cubs

Hey Readers,

I sure hope you've enjoyed my first 3 articles...Kindly +1, like, favorite or comment and i will happily reply.

Now, more on tigers...

So, i was doing a bit of reading on tiger cubs. Here's a photo...so adorable, don't you think? 

Female tigers give birth about once every two years to an average of 3 cubs. Interestingly, cubs are born blind, only obtaining full vision after a couple of weeks and are completely dependent on their mother for survival.  They weigh between 785 and 1610 grams. The cubs, having been raised solely by their mothers, stay with her until they are two years old as she teaches them how to hunt and protect themselves. Sadly, only about half of those born survive to reach maturity for one reason or the other. However, if a litter dies, the female tiger can be able to produce another litter within 5 months...Just want to put a smiley right there!

By nature, tiger cubs are rather active and spend their days playing with one another and rolling around in mock fighting. They feed on milk until they are two months old, and thereafter their mother will begin teaching them how to hunt for their own prey. Female tigers nurse their cubs up to 6 months of age and thereafter, the cubs begin accompanying her on hunts. As a matter of fact, they become accomplished hunters by the time they are 18 months old! Cool..ha?

As you may have guessed, male cubs are more adventurous than their female siblings, which sadly accounts for the survival rate of female cubs being higher. Major threats to young cubs include predators, fires and floods. However, as they get older, they face being killed or injured during training or hunting. Female cubs tend to find personal territories close to their mothers while the male cubs wander further away from her. I guess that's the trend for all creatures, right?!

Did you always wonder why a mother tiger licked her cubs endlessly? Turns out, she does this to stimulate the cubs circulation and bowel movements! And as disgusting as this sounds, she may even go to lengths of eating her cub's faeces in order to protect them from potential predators detecting their scents! How great a love is that?

I guess when I think about how much mother tigers cares for her cubs, I cannot help but appreciate them more...Cheers to all mother tigers!

Tiger's Habitats

So today, i was researching tiger's habitats...

Did you know that tigers are sensitive  to heat...that's why they never live too far from water so they can swim and cool down...that's their brand of sunscreen!

Might i add that they are perfect swimmers!

Tiger's live in both tropical and temperate forests as well as in swamps.  They live in places that have tall grass, trees and bushes as they require shelter from the sun as well as to camouflage from potential prey. These surrounding also helps protect the female tiger and her cubs. I guess now you can see why tiger's need their habitat intact!

Tigers that live in cold areas are usually bigger and heavier than those that live in tropical habitats...of course the same way polar bears are heavy weights against their brother's the grizzly bears!

Asia is home to these lovable creatures ranging from India, the lower parts of the Himalayas, the mangrove swamps of West Bengal and the dense vegetation in the Far East. Tigers, despite their high adaptability are slowly running out of time...they were made to roam their lands and this is why humans encroaching their lands gives them few options.

That's why we need to support parks and natural reserves that are the 'safe haven' of several tigers. These parks in Africa, Europe and America help to protect and conserve them and therefore help to create awareness about these magnificent creatures.



This article is dedicated to the brave men and women in the forefront of championing programmes that help keep our tigers safe to live another day!

The Tiger Story Continued...

So, here are a few more facts on the tiger...

The scientific name for the tiger is Panthera tigris. There are currently 5 sub-species of the tiger; Bengal, South China, Indochinese, Sumatran, and Siberian. Three subspecies of the tiger; the Caspian, Bali, and Javan are sadly extinct.

On a lighter note, here's something most of you might not know about tigers...there are no tigers with identical markings! Interesting, right? Yeah, the same way each of us is unique, is the same way tigers are unique in their identity.

Now, we previously talked about how much tigers eat in one sitting, but something more interesting is they can take days till they finish, always covering their food with leaves and dirt and returning to eat till its finished! Talk about table manners...!

Tigers are not choosy animals, they eat both small and large animals ranging from turtles and frogs, as well as the buffalo and large deer. I guess that's why they can survive in captivity for up to 26 years!

There are several other interesting facts about tigers that if we actually take time to know about, we will all be at the lead in conserving them.

The Tiger Story

First of all, am a lover of the big cat, the tiger!
I have never seen one in a zoo or national park, but i fell in love with them just the same.
See, they are beautiful, most powerful and often misunderstood creatures.
I am here to write their story.

Tigers are the largest of the big cats... guess that makes them king by size! It consumes quite a lot of meat at a go...up to 40 kgs!

God made all things for us to care for, yet, tigers keep vanishing by the minute! Its deeply saddening. However, i am hopeful that all the work being done by many agencies the world over to conserve and protect the tiger is and will continue to bear fruit. However, am not convinced we're doing our best. Currently, according to a WWF report, there are as few as 3200 tigers in existence today, meaning we have lost 97% of our tigers...Ouch! I will not lose hope though, but i will be content the day i hear that their population has increased even by 10!

So, here's to the first of many of 'The Tiger Story'!