Scientific Name: Panthera Tigris Tigris
Family: Felidae
IUCN Red List: Endangered
Threats: The winter of 2006-2007 was marked by heavy poaching.
Weight: Males – 180 – 360kg
Females – 100 – 167kg
Length: Males – 2.5m (8 ft)
Females – 2.3m (7.5 ft)
Description: The tiger is reddish-rusty or rusty-yellow in color, with narrow
black transverse strips. The length of the skull is 250mm (10 in) and the length
of the carnassial tooth is over 26mm (1 in) long. It has an extended supple
body standing on short legs with fairly a long tail.
Diet: Prey species of the tiger include Manchurian Wapiti, Siberian Musk Deer,
Long-Tailed Goral, Moose, Siberian Roe Deer, Sika Deer, Wild Boar and
sometimes even smaller size Asiatic Black Bear.
Trophic Level: Carnivore
Facts
- The Siberian tiger was also called “Amur Tiger”, “Manchurian Tiger”,
“Korean Tiger”, and “Ussurian Tiger”. - They were called by this names depending upon the region where the
individuals were being observed. - Felis tigris was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for
the tiger. - Most putative subspecies described in the 19th and 20th centuries were
distinguished on basis of fur length and colouration, striping patterns and
body size – characteristics that vary widely within populations. - Morphologically, tigers from different regions vary little.
- It was proposed to recognize only two tiger subspecies as valid,
namely Panthera tigris tigris in mainland Asia, and P.t sondaica in
the Greater Sunda Islands and possibly in Sundaland. - In 2015, morphological, ecological and molecular traits of all putative tiger
subspecies were analysed in a combined approach. - Results support distinction of the two evolutionary groups: continental and
Sunda tigers. - In 2017, the Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and now
recognizes all the tiger populations in mainland Asia as P. t. tigris. - Researchers from the University of Oxford, U.S National Cancer
Institute and Hebrew University of Jerusalem collected tissue samples from
20 of 23 Caspian tiger specimens kept in museums across Eurasia. - They sequenced at least one segment of five mitochondrial genes and
found a low amount of variability of the mitochondrial DNA in Caspian tigers
as compared to other tiger subspecies. - They re-assessed the phylogenetic relationships of tiger subspecies and
observed a remarkable similarity between Caspian and Siberian tigers,
indicating that the Siberian tiger is the genetically closest living relative of
the Caspian tiger, which strongly implies a very recent common ancestry. - Tigers in mainland Asia fall into two clades: the northern clades comprise of
the Siberian and Caspian tiger populations, and the southern clade
comprise of all the remaining continental tiger populations. - Historical Siberian tigers and Bengal tigers were the largest ones, whereas
contemporary Siberian tigers are on average lighter than Bengal tigers. - The reduction of the body weight of today's Siberian tigers may be
explained by concurrent causes, namely the reduced abundance of prey
because of illegal hunting and that the individuals were usually sick or
injured and captured in a conflict situations with people. - A male captured by members of the Siberian Tiger Project weighed 206 kg
(454 lb), and the largest radio-collared male weighed 212 kg (467 lb). - The Siberian tiger is often considered to be the largest tiger.
- A wild male, killed in Manchuria by the Sungari River in 1943, reportedly
measured 350 cm (140 in) "over the curves", with a tail length of about 1 m
(39 in). It weighed about 300 kg (660 lb). - The skull of the Siberian tiger is characterized by its large size.
- The facial region is very powerful and very broad in the region of
the canines. - The skull prominences, especially in the sagittal crest and crista occipitalis,
are very high and strong in old males, and often much more massive than
usually observed in the biggest skulls of Bengal tigers. - The size variation in skulls of Siberian tigers ranges from 331 to 383 mm
(13.0 to 15.1 in) in nine individuals measured. - A female skull is always smaller and never as heavily built and robust as
that of a male. - The height of the sagittal crest in its middle part reaches as much as 27 mm
(1.1 in), and in its posterior part up to 46 mm (1.8 in). - Female skulls range from 279.7 to 310.2 mm (11.01 to 12.21 in).
- The skulls of male Caspian tigers from Turkestan had a maximum length of
297.0 to 365.8 mm (11.69 to 14.40 in), while that of females measured
195.7 to 255.5 mm (7.70 to 10.06 in).
- A tiger killed on the Sumbar River in Kopet Dag in January 1954 had a
greatest skull length of 385 mm (15.2 in), which is considerably more than
the known maximum for this population and slightly exceeds that of most
Siberian tigers. - However, its condylobasal length was only 305 mm (12.0 in), smaller than
those of the Siberian tigers, with a maximum recorded condylobasal length
of 342 mm (13.5 in). - The biggest skull of a Siberian tiger from northeast China measured
406 mm (16.0 in) in length, which is about 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) more
than the maximum skull lengths of tigers from the Amur region and northern
India, with the exception of a skull of a northern Indian tiger from the vicinity
of Nagina, which measured 16.25 in (413 mm) "over the bone". - The ground colour of Siberian tigers' pelage is often very pale, especially in
winter coat. - However, variations within populations may be considerable.
- Individual variation is also found in form, length, and partly in colour, of the
dark stripes, which have been described as being dark brown rather than
black. - The fur of the Siberian tiger is moderately thick, coarse and sparse
compared to that of other felids living in the former Soviet Union. - Compared to the extinct westernmost populations, the Siberian tiger's
summer and winter coats contrast sharply with other subspecies. - Generally, the coat of western populations was brighter and more uniform
than that of the 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. - Siberian and Caspian tigers had the thickest fur amongst tigers.
- The whiskers and hair on the back of the head and the top of the neck are
also greatly elongated.
- The background colour of the winter coat is generally less bright and rusty
compared to that of the summer coat. - Because of the winter fur's greater length, the stripes appear broader with
less defined outlines. - The summer fur on the back is 15–17 mm (0.59–0.67 in) long, 30–50 mm
(1.2–2.0 in) along the top of the neck, 25–35 mm (0.98–1.38 in) on the
abdomen, and 14–16 mm (0.55–0.63 in) on the tail. - The winter fur on the back is 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in), 70–110 mm
(2.8–4.3 in) on the top of the neck, 70–95 mm (2.8–3.7 in) on the throat,
60–100 mm (2.4–3.9 in) on the chest and 65–105 mm (2.6–4.1 in) on the
abdomen. - The whiskers are 90–115 mm (3.5–4.5 in).
- The Siberian tiger once inhabited much of the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria
and other parts of north-eastern China, the eastern part of Siberia and the
Russian Far East, perhaps as far west as Mongolia and the area of Lake
Baikal, where the Caspian tiger also reportedly occurred. - During the late Pleistocene and Holocene, it was likely connected to the
South China tiger population through corridors in the Yellow River basin,
before humans interrupted gene flow. - In August 2012, a Siberian tiger with four cubs was recorded for the first
time in north-eastern China's Hunchun National Nature Reserve located in
the vicinity of the international borders with Russia and North Korea. - Camera-trap surveys carried out in the spring seasons of 2013 and 2014
revealed between 27 and 34 tigers along the China-Russian border. - In April 2014, World Wide Fund for Nature personnel captured a video of a
tigress with cubs in inland China. - The tiger population in the Changbai Mountains dispersed westwards
between 2003 and 2016. - Siberian Tigers are known to travel up to 1,000 km (620 mi).
- Siberian tigers share habitat with Amur leopards (P. pardus orientalis), but
in the Changbai Mountains have been recorded more often in lower
elevations than leopards. - Prey species of the tiger include Manchurian wapiti (Cervus canadensis
xanthopygus), Siberian musk deer (Moschus moschiferus), long-tailed goral
(Naemorhedus caudatus), moose (Alces alces), Siberian roe deer
(Capreolus pygargus), sika deer (Cervus nippon), wild boar (Sus scrofa),
and even sometimes small size Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus)
and brown bears (Ursus arctos). - Siberian tigers also take smaller prey like hares, rabbits, pikas and salmon.
- Scat was collected along the international border between Russia and
China between November 2014 and April 2015; 115 scat samples of nine
tigers contained foremost remains of wild boar, sika deer and roe deer. - Between January 1992 and November 1994, 11 tigers were captured, fitted
with radio-collars and monitored for more than 15 months in the eastern
slopes of the Sikhote-Alin mountain range. - Results of this study indicate that their distribution is closely associated with
distribution of Manchurian wapiti, while distribution of wild boar was not
such a strong predictor for tiger distribution. - Although they prey on both Siberian roe deer and sika deer, overlap of
these ungulates with tigers was low. - Distribution of moose was poorly associated with tiger distribution.
- The distribution of preferred habitat of key prey species was an accurate
predictor of tiger distribution. - Results of a three-year study on Siberian tigers indicate that the mean
interval between their kills and estimated prey consumption varied across
seasons: during 2009 to 2012, three adult tigers killed prey every 7.4 days
in summer and consumed a daily average of 7.89 kg (17.4 lb); in winter
they killed more large-bodied prey, made kills every 5.7 days and
consumed a daily average of 10.3 kg (23 lb). - Tigers can tackle bears larger than themselves, using an ambushing tactic
and jumping onto the bear from an overhead position, grabbing it by the
chin with one fore paw and by the throat with the other, and then killing it
with a bite in the spinal column. - Tigers mainly feed on the bear's fat deposits, such as the back, hams,
and groin.
- Siberian Tigers mate at any time of the year.
- Gestation lasts from 3 to 3 ½ months.
- Litter size is normally 2 to 4 cubs, but sometimes it may be 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 sexes 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, making them more vulnerable to poachers and other tigers. - At 35 months of age, tigers are subadults.
- Males reach sexual maturity at the age of 48 to 60 months.
- The average lifespan for Siberian tigers ranges from 16–18 years.
- Wild individuals tend to live between 10–15 years, while in captivity
individuals may live up to 25 years. - Genetic Analysis results show that 95 wild Siberian tigers from Russia
revealed that genetic diversity is low. - Only 27-35 individuals contribute to their genes.
- After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, illegal deforestation & bribery of
park rangers facilitated the poaching of Siberian tigers. - Tigers are included on CITIES Appendix I, banning international trade.
- All tiger range states and countries with consumer markets have banned
domestic trade as well. - In 1992, the Siberian Tiger Project was founded, with the aim of providing a
comprehensive picture of the ecology of the Amur tiger and the role of
tigers in the Russian Far East through scientific studies. - By capturing and outfitting tigers with radio collars, their social structure,
land use patterns, food habits, reproduction, mortality patterns and their
relation with other inhabitants of the ecosystem, including humans is
studied. - These data compilations will hopefully contribute toward minimizing
poaching threats because of traditional hunting. - The Siberian Tiger Project has been productive in increasing local capacity
to address human-tiger conflict with a Tiger Response Team, part of the
Russian government's Inspection Tiger, which responds to all tiger-human
conflicts. - In August 2010, China and Russia agreed to enhance conservation and
cooperation in protected areas in a transboundary area for Amur tigers. - China has undertaken a series of public awareness campaigns including
celebration of the first Global Tiger Day in July 2010, and International
Forum on Tiger Conservation and Tiger Culture and China 2010 Hunchun
Amur Tiger Culture Festival in August 2010. - China is the home to the second largest captive tiger population in the
world, after the U.S., which in 2005 had an estimated 4,692 captive tigers.
- Liu Dan, Chief Engineer of the Heilongjiang Northeast Tiger Forest Park,
introduced a measure such that the Park and its existing tiger population
would be further divided into two parts, one as the protective species for
genetic management and the other as the ornamental species. - It was discovered that when the Heilongjiang Northeast Tiger Forest Park
was founded it had only 8 tigers. - The Siberian tiger very rarely becomes a man-eater.
- Numerous cases of attacks on humans were recorded in the 19th century,
occurring usually in central Asia excluding Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and
the Far East. - Tigers were historically rarely considered dangerous unless provoked,
though in the lower reaches of the Syr-Darya, a tiger reportedly killed a
woman collecting firewood and an unarmed military officer whilst passing
through reed thickets. - Attacks on shepherds were recorded in the lower reaches of Ili.
- In the Far East, during the middle and late 19th century, attacks on people
were recorded. - In 1867 on the Tsymukha River, tigers killed 21 men and injured 6 others.
- In China's Jilin Province, tigers reportedly attacked woodsmen and
coachmen, and occasionally entered cabins and dragged out both adults
and children. - In January 2002, a man was attacked by a tiger on a remote mountain road
near Hunchun in Jilin Province, China, near the borders of Russia and
North Korea. - He suffered compound fractures but managed to survive.
- When he sought medical attention, his story raised suspicions as Siberian
tigers seldom attack humans. - An investigation of the attack scene revealed that raw venison carried by
the man was left untouched by the tiger. - Officials suspected the man to be a poacher who provoked the attack.
- The following morning, tiger sightings were reported by locals along the
same road, and a local TV station did an on-site coverage. - The group found tiger tracks and blood spoor in the snow at the attack
scene and followed them for approximately 2,500 meters, hoping to catch a
glimpse of the animal. - Soon, the tiger was seen ambling slowly ahead of them.
- As the team tried to get closer for a better camera view, the tiger suddenly
turned and charged, causing the four to flee in panic. - About an hour after that encounter, the tiger attacked and killed a 26-year-
old woman on the same road. - Authorities retrieved the body with the help of a bulldozer.
- By then, the tiger was found lying 20 meters away, weak and barely alive.
- It was successfully tranquilized and taken for examination, which revealed
that the tiger was anaemic and gravely injured by a poacher's snare around
its neck, with the steel wire cutting deeply down to the vertebrae, severing
both trachea and oesophagus. - Despite extensive surgery by a team of veterinarians, the tiger died of
wound infection. - Subsequent investigation revealed that the first victim was a poacher who
set multiple snares that caught both the tiger and a deer. - The man was later charged for poaching and harming endangered species.
- He served two years in prison.
- After being released from prison, he worked in clearing the forest of old
snares. - In an incident at the San Fransico Zoo in December 2007, a tiger escaped
and killed a visitor, and injured two others. - The animal was shot by the police.
- The zoo was widely criticized for maintaining only a 12.5 ft (3.8 m) fence
around the tiger enclosure, while the international standard is 16 ft (4.9 m). - The zoo subsequently erected a taller barrier topped by an electric fence.
- One of the victims admitted to taunting the animal.
- Zookeepers in Anhui province and the cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen
were attacked and killed in 2010. - In January 2011, a tiger attacked and killed a tour bus driver at a breeding
park in Heilongjiang province. - Park officials reported that the bus driver violated safety guidelines by
leaving the vehicle to check on the condition of the bus. - In September 2013, a tiger mauled a zookeeper to death at a zoo in
western Germany after the worker forgot to lock a cage door during feeding
time. - In July 2020, a female tiger attacked and killed a 55-year-old zookeeper at
the Zürich Zoo in Switzerland.
- The Tungusic people considered the tiger a near-deity and often referred to
it as "Grandfather" or "Old man". - The Udege and Nani people called it "Amba".
- The Manchu considered the Siberian tiger as Hu Lin, the king.
- Since the tiger has a mark on its foreheads that looks like a Chinese
character for 'King' or a similar character meaning "Great Emperor", it is
revered for this by people, including the Udege and Chinese people. - The Siberian tiger is used in heraldic symbols throughout the area where it
is indigenous. - A drawn Siberian tiger was the mascot of the 1981 Bandy World
Championship, which was played in Khabarovsk in southeast Siberia.
