The Tigers are Big Cats
| The tiger is a carnivorous mammal in the feline family. Its fur yellowish is with black stripes. Each tiger has its own distinct type of stripes that identify him from the other tigers. Its front legs are longer than it's hind legs which gives him the ability to make extraordinary jumps. The tiger is more dangerous than the lion because it is more courageous. This animal eats meat exclusively. Tigers do not like the sun, they sleep in the day in a place protected well by the foliage or in a den. The male is a recluse and the females are shared between them. It's appetite is enormous so it hunts primarily large prey such as deer, wild boar, elk, buffalo and even elephant calves. The tiger hunts alone except where the prey ais too large and then it will hunt in pairs. It can consume 7 to 9kg of meat per day. One should not try to escape the tiger by jumping into the water as it is an excellent swimmer as well. The gestatation period for the tiger is approximately 112 days with the female giving birth to 2-4 cubs that she will nurse for the first two months. At six months of age the cubs are introduced to meat and will begin taking them on huntng excursions. The young tigers will stay with their mother until the age of two. They reach their sexual maturity between the ages of two and five. The tigers only enemy is man who has hunted it for it's beautiful fur. It is now a protected species as it was beginning to near extinction. Some tigers are kept in zoo's in order to ensure that the species survives. Bengal and Siberian tigers are also protected species. The lifespan of a tiger is from 16 to 18 years. |