Tigres

One of the best-known mammals in the world is the Tiger. Located mainly in the area of ​​Asia and India, this animal is the biggest cat in the world surpassing even the lion.

Find out what their characteristics are, the types of tiger that exist (or have existed), where they live and some more curiosities.

tiger characteristics

The tiger is known to be one of the largest felines in the world. Can reach 2-3 meters in length whenever their habitat allows it, and a weight that easily reaches 300-400 kilos in the case of males, up to 200 kilos in females.

This panthera tigris, its scientific name, has an "identifier seal", to call it in a way. And it is that its basic orange color, together with white tones, especially on the face, legs and chest area, is "cut" by some black stripes that it has throughout the body. These are not the same among tigers, in fact, no two have the same pattern, but males are known to have more stripes than females.

There are some specimens that are not orange, but of other colors, such as White Tiger (with a white hue dotted with black stripes), the golden tiger (yellow in color and light (brown) stripes), and the blue tiger (although no specimen of this species has yet been found).

Its head is broad but short, and it has a large neck. The tiger's eyes have a circular pupil as well as a yellow iris, with few exceptions. The tongue, due to its papillae, is very rough to the touch. Their teeth are very strong and large. The canines can reach a size of 7,6 centimeters and has a total of 30 teeth. In addition, they have nerves that are sensitive to pressure, so they know how much to squeeze when catching their prey.

As for its tail, it reaches a meter in length, quite thick and strong, which it uses to maintain balance.

The tiger's legs are not really equal in length; the hind ones are longer than the front ones, and the latter have five fingers, instead of four, at the rear.

tiger habitat

You could say that tigers are originating from Asia and India. In fact, practically all of the species, both current and extinct, come from areas of this part of the world. However, today the tiger is found only in India, South Asia, Western China and parts of Russia (up to 13 countries in total).

Each of the tiger subspecies settles on a specific area, adapting to one habitat or another. They usually live in tropical forests, coniferous or evergreen, since they use it to camouflage themselves and be able to hide or hunt. However, they can also be found in savannahs, rocky areas, grasslands...

In all these areas, the tiger usually chooses places where there is water nearby, since they not only drink it, but also like to bathe in it; and also that there is plenty of food. In addition, they need hiding places or elements with which they can hide and hide their presence, especially to be able to hunt and protect themselves.

types of tiger

Currently, there are several types of tiger such as:

Bengal tiger

It is also called indian tiger or royal tiger. Originally from India, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, it is the most numerous subspecies that exists today, although there aren't many of them either and it is in danger of extinction due to poaching and climate change.

It is the largest of all types of tiger, reaching 300 kilos in weight in the case of males, or 160 kilos in females.

indochinese tiger

Known as Corbett's Tiger, It is found in areas such as Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand... They are smaller and darker in color than Indian tigers, weighing no more than 200 kilos in males, or 130 in the case of females.

Malayan tiger

Sighted only in the Malay Peninsula, this tiger not considered a subspecies until the year 2004.

Today there are just over 500 specimens and their weight is around 100-120 kilos depending on whether they are male or female.

Sumatra tiger

Originally from Sumatra, this is one of the smallest that exists, since the males do not reach 140 kilos, while the females remain at a weight of 110 kilos.

Their size is explained by the fact that they live in the forests of the island, which implies that they have had to adapt to a not too large area.

amur tiger

This mammal, which receives other names such as Siberian Tiger, from northern China or Manchuria, is native to the Amur region of Siberia.

There are few specimens and it is characterized by being the largest feline in the world, being able to exceed 300 kilos of weight. It has fewer stripes than other specimens and also a duller color throughout its skin.

south china tiger

Also known as Amoy or Xiamen tiger, is a mammal of which very few remain and is in danger of extinction.

It is one of the smallest, since the males do not weigh more than 175 kilos, and the females more than 115.

extinct species

In addition to these subspecies, other types are known to have existed which, unfortunately, are now extinct. It was about:

bali tiger

Also called balinese tiger, It was only found on the island of Bali (Indonesia). This mammal was about the size of a leopard or a puma and had short, dark fur, with stripes and also small black dots. Also, it had a white belly.

caspian tiger

Known as persian tiger, was in the area of ​​Türkiye and Iran, as well as in Central Asia. Its size was less than that of the Bengal, although some specimens could be compared to it. It was characterized by having a shiny coat with stripes, instead of black, brown.

Java tiger

It had long, thin dark stripes, very different from those usual on tigers. It was a large animal, although not as large as the Bengal. In addition, he had a narrow and elongated nose.

Curiosities

One of the best known curiosities is its jumping ability. The so-called "tiger jump" is due to the fact that these animals are capable of reaching, in a single jump, five meters in height due to their legs. It is said that, even dead, he is able to remain on his feet.

Another of the curiosities is that the pups are born blind. They do not open their eyes until the following 15-20 days, so during that time they need the mother practically 24 hours, not only to nurse, but also not to get lost if they move a lot.

The roar of a tiger is a peculiar sound, what may not be known about it is that it contains a series of infrasound waves that cause whoever hears it to remain paralyzed, which is why its prey is often unable to to react before he attacks them.

Tiger stripes are known to be like your own fingerprintWhat you may not know is that if this cat's hair were removed, those stripes would also be on its own skin, as if they were tattoos.