facts about siberian tigers
By zteve t evans
Of all the tigers the Siberian is the largest and renowned for its strength and power. Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) are also known as Amur tigers and they live mostly in remote forested parts of eastern Russia and across the border in China.
Habitat
Their environment is one of the coldest and harshest in the world, but it does offer some advantages for them. There are far fewer humans encroaching on their habitat and the vast forests give them more space to roam free. During the 1940s hunting had taken a huge toll and the Siberian tiger was faced with extinction with only 40 individuals left in the wild. It was saved when Russia became the first country in the world to give the tiger protection. It also greatly benefited from the Cold War, which largely closed its remote habitat to people.
Hungry tigers!
Tigers are solitary animals living alone in large territories which they mark with scent to deter rivals. They are powerful nocturnal hunters preying on animals such as wild boar, deer and elk and smaller animals such as rabbits, hares and sometimes salmon, sometimes travelling many miles in search of prey. They will patiently lie in wait for a victim and very slowly and with great stealth edge close enough to their prey to be able to take them with one quick, powerful, bound. Hungry tigers can eat as much as 27 kg (60 pounds) in a night, though they usually settle for less.
Although they have fearsome reputations tigers generally avoid humans as much as possible. Sometimes a sick tiger that cannot hunt naturally will become a man-eater, and this can also happen in areas where their usual prey has disappeared.
Females produce litters of two to six cubs and raise them alone with very little, or no help from males. Cubs are dependent on their mothers for hunting up to the age of eighteen months. They will stay with their mother for two to three years before finally leaving to find territories of their own.
Their environment is one of the coldest and harshest in the world, but it does offer some advantages for them. There are far fewer humans encroaching on their habitat and the vast forests give them more space to roam free. During the 1940s hunting had taken a huge toll and the Siberian tiger was faced with extinction with only 40 individuals left in the wild. It was saved when Russia became the first country in the world to give the tiger protection. It also greatly benefited from the Cold War, which largely closed its remote habitat to people.
Hungry tigers!
Tigers are solitary animals living alone in large territories which they mark with scent to deter rivals. They are powerful nocturnal hunters preying on animals such as wild boar, deer and elk and smaller animals such as rabbits, hares and sometimes salmon, sometimes travelling many miles in search of prey. They will patiently lie in wait for a victim and very slowly and with great stealth edge close enough to their prey to be able to take them with one quick, powerful, bound. Hungry tigers can eat as much as 27 kg (60 pounds) in a night, though they usually settle for less.
Although they have fearsome reputations tigers generally avoid humans as much as possible. Sometimes a sick tiger that cannot hunt naturally will become a man-eater, and this can also happen in areas where their usual prey has disappeared.
Females produce litters of two to six cubs and raise them alone with very little, or no help from males. Cubs are dependent on their mothers for hunting up to the age of eighteen months. They will stay with their mother for two to three years before finally leaving to find territories of their own.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
The biggest and increasing threat comes from trophy hunters and the market for their body parts that are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Although there are a number of protection programs in use and poaching has been reduced all of subspecies of tiger are endangered by it.
According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature the illegal hunting of tigers for body parts has wiped out populations in several reserves. Tiger's body parts are in such demand that traders are storing them to capitalize on their value. As tiger numbers decline the value of their body parts increases.
For at least 1,000 years tiger bones have been a traditional ingredient used to treat various ailments in TMC and traditions die hard. The Chinese government has sponsored scientific studies which show there are valid alternatives to using tiger body parts and most Chinese practitioners accept this. Nevertheless, there is still a thriving market in Asia for tiger body parts such as whiskers, claws and teeth, which are deemed to bring good fortune and have protective properties.
There is also a growing demand for tiger meat and with growing populations and increased prosperity there has also been a rise in demand for tiger pelts for clothing and accessories. When poachers kill tigers they leave very little of the animal behind. Although many people see Siberian tigers as beautiful, magnificent beasts which enrich our world, to traders in the black market the tiger is worth more dead than alive.
© zteve t evans
The biggest and increasing threat comes from trophy hunters and the market for their body parts that are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Although there are a number of protection programs in use and poaching has been reduced all of subspecies of tiger are endangered by it.
According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature the illegal hunting of tigers for body parts has wiped out populations in several reserves. Tiger's body parts are in such demand that traders are storing them to capitalize on their value. As tiger numbers decline the value of their body parts increases.
For at least 1,000 years tiger bones have been a traditional ingredient used to treat various ailments in TMC and traditions die hard. The Chinese government has sponsored scientific studies which show there are valid alternatives to using tiger body parts and most Chinese practitioners accept this. Nevertheless, there is still a thriving market in Asia for tiger body parts such as whiskers, claws and teeth, which are deemed to bring good fortune and have protective properties.
There is also a growing demand for tiger meat and with growing populations and increased prosperity there has also been a rise in demand for tiger pelts for clothing and accessories. When poachers kill tigers they leave very little of the animal behind. Although many people see Siberian tigers as beautiful, magnificent beasts which enrich our world, to traders in the black market the tiger is worth more dead than alive.
© zteve t evans
Reference and Attributions
Copyright zteve t evans
Copyright zteve t evans
- Image: File:Siberian tiger.jpg from Wikimedia Commons – Author: Lucie Arsenault (www.honeygoune.daportfolio.com) Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.-
- File:Panthera tigris altaica 13 - Buffalo Zoo.jpg From Wikimedia Commons - Author Dave Pape - Public Domain
- National Geographic
- Siberian tiger From Wikipedia
- WWF - Tigers - Amur Tiger