Tigers:
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. These tigers are called Siberian, Indochinese, South China, Bengal, and Sumatran. Their Latin name is Panthera tigris.
Tigers are an endangered species; only about 4,870 to 7,300 tigers are left in the wild. Three tiger subspecies, which are now extinct are: the Bali, Javan, and Caspian tigers. They have become so over the last 70 years..
People admire the tiger for its strength and beauty, but they fear it because they are known to kill human beings, yet almost all-wild tigers avoid people.
Probably only 3 or 4 out of every 1000 tigers eat people and most of these are sick or wounded animals, that can no longer hunt large prey. Wild tigers are found mostly in India. Until the 1800’s many lived throughout most of the southern half of the continent.
Tigers are generally solitary, territorial animals, with the range of one male overlapping that of several females. Females in estrus spray pheromone-rich urine on trees and others natural "signposts", alerting nearby males to their reproductive status. Through loud moaning calls, the prospective mates find each other.
Females give birth on average to two to three cubs (only one or two survive to maturity), and over the next several years teach them the hunting skills they will need to survive. At two to three years of age, the cubs establish their own territories. Daughters tend to settle near their mother, sons disperse greater distances.
