There are eight main tiger subspecies that have traditionally distinguished by geography.Three of them - the Bali, Caspian and Javan - now completely extinct.The Amur tiger is also under threat of extinction, so it is listed in the Red Book of Russia and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as well as included in the Convention on the prohibition of the international trade in species of wild flora and fauna.
critically low number of tigers was recorded in the 30-40-ies of the last century, when they were only about thirty.Currently, the number of adults increased tenfold, and there are 100-110 tigers.
Hunting tigers is prohibited since 1947.
Habitats
Nine out of ten existing Amur tigers live in Russia, in the Primorsky Territory.Area habitat - about 150 thousand sq. M.km.In the south of the Far East, there are three disparate hearth, where you can meet tigers: Sikhote-Alin, the north-western border with China and south-western border.Familiar environment for the life of predators - cedar-broad-leaved forests of Manchurian type.
climate in these places quite harsh: cold snowy winters and short cool summer period.But the Amur tiger survives well in difficult conditions.Man's task - to save the ecosystem of the Far Eastern forests intact, as this kind of cat is not able to adapt to a different climate.
Amur tiger - a description
This is the biggest "cat" of the planet.For its size it surpasses even the lion.The body length with a tail up to 3 meters.The average weight of from 130 to 190 kg, but some specimens and 300-350 kg.The newborn cub weighs only 1 kg weight gaining rapidly: three months - 10 kg in six months - 30 kg to two years - 100 kg.
Amur tiger is characteristic bands, but its color paler, compared with other types of tigers.The coat had a reddish-orange with brown or black stripes.In the summer of color more vivid, the winter a bit dim, and the wool becomes long and thick, specially adapted for the cold snowy winters.Once these predators on his stomach has a thick fat "cushion" that they could easily lay on the snow, and the wide cushion on the feet, not to fall into the snow.
Arsenal attacks the tiger - a sharp long claws (about 10 cm) and large fangs (up to 8 cm in length), which he captures, kills and dismembers its prey.
Habits animal
Amur tiger lives only alone.He chooses and designates a certain area of the territory (about 500-600 sq. Km) and rarely leaves him.Tigers - polygamous animals, so a large area of the male habitat are often several smaller territories than females.
Constant den give birth to itself only females with calves and males tend to have a rest near his prey.
these predators feed on mostly boars, red deer, roe deer and sika deer.In the year they eat about 70-80 large carcasses.But, very hungry, they do not disdain anything they can eat, and fish, and fruits from the trees.
Amur tiger is moving very much in an average one day he can go in search of prey from 20 to 70 km.Moving animals, usually on the same route checked.
Most actively tigers behave in the evening, the night and the morning, and during the day prefer to relax, lying higher up on the cliff, it is good to see what is happening around.
tiger breeding
Puberty carnivores reach 3-4 years.Standard time of year for breeding tigers there, but most often it occurs in the second half of winter.Copulation lasts from 5 days to a week, after which the male leaves the female.Take care of cubs she will be alone.
Pregnancy lasts an average of 103-110 days, after which there are 1-4 cubs.Most often in the litter of newborn 2-3.They are born blind, to two months feed only breast milk, then begin to feed meat and hunting on the first go at the age of one and a half years.Then the young tigers leave the territory of the mother and begin independent life.
Mortality of cubs is very high - in the wild are killed about 50% of children.But even more aggravates the situation of human activities and poaching.Because of deforestation, the Tigers lost every three years a full-fledged land habitat.And because of the use of Chinese folk medicine all parts of tiger poaching has continued, despite the prohibitions.According to forecasts, in the shooting of an annual total of 5% of existing species, the Amur tiger population could disappear within the next 50 years.
