Tiger : The Jungle Hunter for Animals.

Tiger : The Jungle Hunter for Animals. These topic are about Tiger's life. Its habit, feed, and related about it daily life.
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family; the largest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. Native to much of eastern and southern Asia, the tiger is an apex predator and an obligate carnivore. Reaching up to 4 metres (13 ft) in total length and weighing up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds), the larger tiger subspecies are comparable in size to the biggest extinct felids. Aside from their great bulk and power, their most recognizable feature is the pattern of dark vertical stripes that overlays near-white to reddish-orange fur, with lighter underparts. The largest subspecies of tiger is the Siberian tiger.Highly adaptable, tigers range from the Siberian taiga, to open grasslands, to tropical mangrove swamps. They are territorial and generally solitary animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey demands. This, coupled with the fact that they are endemic to some of the more densely populated places on earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans. Of the nine subspecies of modern tiger, three are extinct and the remaining six are classified as endangered, some critically so. The primary direct causes are habitat destruction and fragmentation, and hunting. Their historical range, which once reached from Mesopotamia and the Caucasus through most of South and East Asia, has been radically reduced. While all surviving species are under formal protection, poaching, habitat destruction and inbreeding depression continue to be threats.
Nonetheless, tigers are among the most recognizable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. They have featured prominently in ancient mythology and folklore, and continue to be depicted in modern films and literature. Tigers appear on many flags and coats of arms, as mascots for sporting teams, and as the national animal of several Asian nations.

The word "tiger" is taken from the Greek word "tigris", which is possibly derived from a Persian source meaning "arrow", a reference to the animal's speed and also the origin for the name of the River Tigris. In American English, "Tigress" was first recorded in 1611. It was one of the many species originally described, as Felis tigris, by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae. The generic component of its scientific designation, Panthera tigris, is often presumed to derive from Greek pan- ("all") and theron ("beast"), but this may be a folk etymology. Although it came into English through the classical languages, panthera is probably of East Asian origin, meaning "the yellowish animal," or "whitish-yellow". A group of tigers is rare, but when seen together is termed a 'streak' or an 'ambush'.

Tiger
A Bengal Tiger (P. tigris tigris) in India's Bandhavgarh National Park.
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Panthera Species: P. tigris
Binomial name
Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758)
Historical distribution of tigers (pale yellow) and 2006 (green).
Synonyms
Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758[3] Tigris striatus Severtzov, 1858 Tigris regalis Gray, 1867

In the historical past tigers were widespread in Asia, from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, to Siberia and Indonesia. During the 19th century the striped cats completely vanished from western Asia, and became restricted to isolated pockets in the remaining parts of their range. Today, this fragmented relic range extends from India in the west to China and Southeast Asia in the east. The northern limit is close to the Amur River in south eastern Siberia. The only large island inhabited by tigers today is Sumatra. Tigers vanished from Java during the second half of the 19th century, and in Borneo are known only from fossil remains.The oldest remains of a tiger-like cat, called Panthera palaeosinensis, have been found in China and Java. This species lived about 2 million years ago, at the beginning of the Pleistocene, and was smaller than a modern tiger. The earliest fossils of true tigers are known from Java, and are between 1.6 and 1.8 million years old. Distinct fossils from the early and middle Pleistocene were also discovered in deposits from China, and Sumatra. A subspecies called the Trinil tiger (Panthera tigris trinilensis) lived about 1.2 million years ago and is known fossils found at Trinil in Java.

Tigers are the biggest cats in the world. They live in wet, humid and hot jungles as well as icy cold forests. There are five different kinds or subspecies of tiger which are still alive today. Tigers that live in the tropical forest region may breed any time throughout the year. As for the tigers inhabiting the northern regions, their breeding season is in the winter months. Tigers are polygamous, and males mate with all the females of his territory.

The gestation period is 103 days. A female gives birth to 3-4 blind and helpless cubs. The mother rears the litter. As her cubs grow, she has to hunt more often in order to feed them and sustain herself. The cubs are ready to follow their mother out of the den at about 8 weeks of age. Young tigers are capable to go off in search of their own range at the age of 2 years old. They reach sexual maturity by 3-4 years of age.

The basic social unit is the female tiger with her young. Female and male tigers tend to maintain home ranges that do not overlap the home range of another tiger of the same sex. The ranges of tiger males are larger than those of females. Tiger males defend the territory. They use urine and anal gland secretions, which they spray on trees, bushes and rocks in various places. Other tigers interpret these signals as a territorial right and will try to avoid a particular area.

Source : Wikipedia tigers-photos.com