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Siberian tiger

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Siberian Tiger
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Felidae
Subfamily:
Pantherinae
Genus:
Panthera
Species:
P. tigris
Subspecies:
P. tigris altaica
Trinomial name
Panthera tigris altaica
Temminck, 1884
Distribution of the Siberian tiger (in red)

The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is a rare subspecies of tiger (P. tigris). Also known as the Amur, Manchurian, Korean, Altaic, or North China tiger, it is confined completely to the Amur region in the Far East, where it is now protected. It is considered to be the largest of the six tiger subspecies and the largest cat in the world.

Physical features

The Siberian tiger is typically only 2-4 inches taller at the shoulder than the Bengal Tiger, which is about 107-110 cm (42-43 in) tall .[1] Old Males reach normally a head and body length of 190-220 centimetres (75-97 in). The largest male with largely assured references was 350 cm (138 in) "over curves" (3,30 m/130 in. between pegs) in total length.[2] (The tail length in old males is about one m/39 in.) A maximum body weight of up to 306 kg (675 lbs) is recorded[2] and exceptionally large males weighing up to 384 kg (847 lbs) are mentioned in the literature but, according to Mazak, none of these cases were confirmed via reliable sources.[2] Females are normally smaller than males and weigh 100-167 kg (220-368 lbs),[3] probably up to 180 kg (400 lbs).[4]

Siberian tiger

The "Siberian Tiger Project", which has operated from Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik since 1992, found that 215 kg (474 lbs) seemed to be the largest that they were able to verify, albeit from a limited number of specimens.[5] According to modern research of wild Siberian tigers in Sikhote-Aline, an average adult male tiger (>35 months) weighs 167,3 - 185,7 kg (the average asymptotic limit, computed by use of the Michaelis-Menten formula, gives 222,3 kg for male tigers) and an adult tigress – 117,9 – 122,6 kg, respectively. The mean weight of historical Siberian tigers is supposed to be higher: 215,3-226,7 kg for male tigers. [6] At least one authority suspects that this is the difference between real weights and hunter's estimates.[7] Dale Miquelle, program director of the Siberian Tiger Project, writes that, despite repeated claims in the popular literature that the Siberian is the largest of all tigers, their measurements on more than fifty captured individuals suggest that body size is, in fact, similar to that of Bengal tigers.[8]

Apart from its size, the Siberian tiger is differentiated from other tiger subspecies by its mane of fur around the neck, which is much more developed than in other subspecies as an adaptation against the cold. The fur of this subspecies grows longer and thicker than that of other tigers. During cold winter months, the fur can measure as long as 21 inches with 3,000 hairs over every square centimetre of its surface. The paws have extra fur to provide insulation against the snow. Siberian tigers have more white in their coats than other subspecies and coat colour is more gold than orange. Compared to other subspecies, the Siberian tiger has less striping, the stripes being more brown than black. Stripes appear largely absent on the outer area of the front legs.[9]

Distribution and population

The Siberian tiger is critically endangered. In the early 1900s, it lived throughout northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, northeastern Mongolia and southeastern Russia. Today, the majority of the population is confined to a tiny part of Russia's southern Far East: the Amur-Ussuri region of Primorsky and Khabarovsky Krai. There are very few tigers in northeastern China and fewer still in North Korea. The South Korean population died out in 1922.

Two Siberian tigers
in Berlin Tierpark.

By the 1940s the estimated population was down to fewer than 50 in the Russian Far East, although some hundreds still populated neighbouring China.[10] The number increased to more than 200 in 1982, although in China there are now thought to be no more than a dozen or so Siberian tigers. Poaching has been brought under better control by frequent road inspections. Captive breeding and conservation programs are active.[11] The Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Centre in the northern Heilongjiang province of China plans to release 620 Siberian tigers after its numbers have increased from 708 to 750.[12]

A 1996 count reported 430 Siberian tigers in the wild. However, Russian conservation efforts have led to a slight increase, or at least to a stable population of the subspecies, as the number of individuals in the Siberian forests was estimated to be between 431 and 529 in 2005.[13] According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the latest Russian Census reports put this number to be anywhere between 480 and 520 without including the small numbers of this subspecies present in mainland China.[14]

Breeding

Siberian tiger cub

Siberian tigers reach sexual maturity at 3 years of age. They mate at any time of the year. A female signals her receptiveness by leaving urine deposits and scratch marks on trees. She will spend seven days with the male, during which she is receptive for three days. Gestation lasts 3–3½ months. Litter size is normally 3 or 4 cubs but there can be as many as 6. 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 genders at birth. However, by adulthood there are usually 2 to 4 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, thus making them more vulnerable to poachers and other tigers.[1]

Diet

Like all other cats, the Siberian tiger is a carnivorous predator. It preys primarily on wild boar and red deer, which make up 65-90% of its diet in the Russian Far East. Other important prey species are moose, roe deer, sika deer, musk deer and goral. Even dangerous animals like adult brown bears are among the prey species of the Siberian tiger. Asiatic black bears and brown bears constitute 5-8% of the Siberian tigers diet,[2]. In particular, the brown bears input is estimated as 1-1,5%.[15] Tigers generally avoid full-grown male brown bears (which usually weigh more than 200 kg in this region), but will frequently predate on cubs and females. However, even tigers are not always on the top of food chain. Scientists report about 12 incidents when tigers, most likely old or traumatized, were killed and eaten by brown bears.[15] Certain tigers have been reported to imitate the calls of Asiatic black bears to attract them.[16] It will also take smaller prey like lagomorphs (hares, rabbits, and pikas) and fish, including salmon. Because its main prey are red deer and wild boar, protecting these and other prey animals from illegal hunting may be just as important to the tiger's survival as preventing the direct killing of the big cats. In areas where Siberian tigers and wolves share ranges, the tigers depress the number of wolves, either to the point of localized extinction or to such low numbers as to make them a functionally insignificant component of the ecosystem. Wolves appear capable of escaping competitive exclusion only when human persecution decreases the number of tigers.[17]

Deforestation and the destruction of the habitats for the tiger's prey animals will also affect the number of tigers in certain regions.

History

Native perceptions

The Tungusic people considered the Siberian tiger a near-deity and often referred to it as "Grandfather" or "Old man". The Udege and Nanai called it "Amba". The Manchu considered the Siberian tiger as Hu Lin, the king.[1]

Soviet Union

In the early years of the Russian Civil War, both Red and White armies based in Vladivostok nearly wiped out the local Siberian tigers. In the 1920s, tigers were heavily persecuted by the Red Army, which would on occasion kill up to eight or ten on a single outing. In 1935, when the Manchurian Chinese were driven back across the Amur and the Ussuri, the tigers had already withdrawn from their northern and western range. The few that remained in the East Manchurian mountains were cut off from the main population by the building of railroads. Within a few years, the last viable Siberian tiger population was confined to Ussuri Land.

During World War II, tiger populations were given some respite. Legal tiger hunting within the Soviet Union would continue until 1947 when it was officially prohibited. In 1962, the last tiger in Heilongjiang received protection. In the mid 1980s, it was estimated that the Siberian tiger population consisted of approximately 250 animals.

Post Soviet Era

In 1989, law and order almost entirely broke down due to impending collapse of the Soviet Union. Subsequent illegal deforestation and bribery of park rangers made the poaching of Siberian tigers easier, once again putting the subspecies at risk from extinction.[1] However due to the work of The Siberian Tiger Project, founded in 1992, the Siberian tiger has seen a steady recovery and stabilization after the disastrous post-Soviet years that saw its numbers decline sharply. The basis of the success has largely been on the meticulous research carried out on these tigers which led to the longest ongoing study of a single tiger, Olga Project Tiger #1. Through this the project was able to focus their conservation efforts to decrease tiger mortality and to improve the quality of their habitat, as well. The project included anti-poaching patrols, consultation with local governments regarding human-tiger conflicts, reducing the occurrences of clearcut logging and other habitat depletion activities.[18]

Captivity

File:A mersfoort Zoo Siberian Tigers.jpg
Amur tigress with cub in captivity

The captive population of Siberian tiger comprises several hundred. A majority of these tigers are found in China, with other populations in Europe and North America. The large, distinctive and powerful cats are popular zoo exhibits. The Siberian tiger is bred within the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a project based on 83 wild caught tigers. According to most experts, this population is large enough to stay stable and genetically healthy. Today, approximately 160 Siberian tigers participate in the SSP, which makes it the most extensively bred tiger subspecies within the programme. There are currently no more than around 255 tigers in the tiger SSP from three different subspecies. Developed in 1982, the Species Survival Plan for the Siberian tiger is the longest running program for a tiger subspecies. It has been very fortunate and productive, and the breeding program for the Siberian tiger has actually been used as a good example when new programs have been designed to save other animal species from extinction.

The Siberian tiger is not very difficult to breed in captivity, but the possibility of survival for animals bred in captivity released into the wild is small. Conservation efforts that secure the wild population are therefore still imperative. If a captive bred Siberian tiger were to be released into the wild, it would lack the necessary hunting skills and starve to death. Captive bred tigers can also approach humans and villages, since they have learned to associate humans with feeding and lack the natural shyness of the wild tigers. In a worst-case scenario, the starving tigers could even become man-eaters. Since tigers must be taught how to hunt by their mothers when they are still cubs, a program that aimed to release captive bred Siberian tigers into the wild would face great difficulties.

Attacks on humans

Unlike the Bengal tiger, the Siberian tiger very rarely becomes a man-eater. There are currently only six cases in Russia of unprovoked attacks leading to man-eating behaviour. Provoked attacks are however more common, usually the result of botched attempts at capturing them.[1]

In an incident at the San Francisco Zoo on 25 December 2007, a Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped and killed one visitor, injuring two others. The animal was shot dead by the police. Investigators believe the three visitors, whose blood tests showed they had consumed illegal drugs and sufficient alcohol to be above the legal driving limit, had climbed onto the rail by the animal's enclosure and provoked it with taunts and projectiles.[19] Whether the tiger was provoked with projectiles is very much in dispute. Recent reports say police did not find any evidence that the tiger had been provoked by the use of projectiles.[20]

Another incident occurred in Ontario, Canada. In the GTA. two people by the name of David Balac and Jennifer Anne Cowles were attacked by four Siberian Tigers at the African Lion Safari.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Matthiessen, Peter (2001). Tigers In The Snow. North Point Press. ISBN 0865475962. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d Vratislav Mazak: Der Tiger. Nachdruck der 3. Auflage von 1983. Westarp Wissenschaften Hohenwarsleben, 2004 ISBN 3 894327596
  3. ^ Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
  4. ^ Sunquist, Mel (2002). Wild Cats of the World. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-77999-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Prynn, David (2002). Amur Tiger. Russian Nature Press. ISBN 0953299031.
  6. ^ Miquelle, D.G., Smirnov, E.N., Goodrich, J.M. (2005). Tigers of Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik: ecology and conservation. Vladivostok, Russia: PSP. pp. 25–35.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Matthiessen, Peter (2001). Tigers in the Snow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0865475962.
  8. ^ Thapar, Valmik (2004). Tiger: The Ultimate Guide. CDS Books. ISBN 1593150245.
  9. ^ Amur or the Siberian tiger - Panthera tigris altaica
  10. ^ National Fish and Wildlife Foundation | Amur Tiger
  11. ^ See, for instance, the Siberian Tiger Project of the Wildlife Conservation Society. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
  12. ^ "Baby boom for endangered tigers". BBC News. 2007-06-17. Retrieved 2007-06-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Siberian Tigers Stable, According to Landmark Survey". National Geographic. 2005-06-16. Retrieved 2007-02-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "World's biggest tiger winning extinction fight". The Telegraph. 2007-04-14. Retrieved 2007-07-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ a b Seryodkin, Ivan (2006). "The ecology, behavior, management and conservation status of brown bears in Sikhote-Alin (in Russian)". Far Eastern National University, Vladivostok, Russia. pp. pp.1-252. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help) Cite error: The named reference "Seryodkin_PhD" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ Brown, Gary (1996). Great Bear Almanac. pp. pp.340. ISBN 1558214747. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  17. ^ Matthiessen, Peter (2005). Large Carnivores and the Conservation of Biodiversity: Biodiversity. pp. pp.526. ISBN 1559630809. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  18. ^ "Siberian Tiger Project", Wildlife Conservation Society
  19. ^ AP, "Tiger attack victim admits taunting, police say; Teen attacked by Tatiana reportedly says young men yelled, waved at cat", MSNBC.com (January 17, 2008)
  20. ^ Jaxon Van Derbeken, "S.F. Zoo mauling investigation winding down" San Francisco Chronicle (January 19, 2008)

General references

See also

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