Tigers are the largest beasts,belonging to the numerous feline family. They are significantly larger than lions. Moreover, these striped cats are considered the most majestic and charming of all the large animals living on our planet. The life span of tigers directly depends on the conditions of their existence. So, in this article we will take a closer look at the biggest cats on Earth: find out how they live and why they die.
What did Vladimir Heptner say about tigers?
Scientists, speaking of tigers, can not alwaysto use your academic jargon - these wild cats are very charming and attractive. Perhaps the best description of this animal belongs to the famous zoologist Vladimir Georgievich Geptner. In his scientific monograph entitled “Mammals of the Soviet Union,” he not only describes the life span of a tiger in nature, but also elegantly describes its appearance.
The zoologist writes that, according to the general stockquite typical cat. It has a flexible and elongated body, low legs and a long tail. For obvious reasons, the front of the tiger case is more developed than the back. In the shoulders of a wild beast is higher than in the sacrum. At first glance, the impression is of some kind of heaviness, but also of great power. This is emphasized by the strong and wide front legs, the heavy and slightly lowered head.
His withers are high, and his muscles are mighty andstands out perfectly. This is especially evident in the front part of the tiger torso. The shoulders are powerful and "iron". A tiger is a slow-moving beast, even its jumps seem slow. Lying striped cat also gives the impression of calm power. The overall appearance of this “iron” beast is a tremendous physical strength and calm confidence, combined with some heavy gravity. The scientist also describes the life span of a tiger in nature and in captivity, but we'll talk about this a little later.
Real giants
As we already know, the largest and most formidable catin the world is the tiger. For example, adult males of Amur tigers can reach a length of 3.5 meters and weigh more than 400 kilograms! But not all striped cats are so big. For example, the Bengal and southern tigers are much smaller than their Amur counterparts: their weight does not exceed 220 kilograms. Incidentally, some scientists believe that the life expectancy of animals (tiger, lion, leopard, elephant, whale or gorilla depends on this or that anthropometric data is not important).
Where did they come from?
It is generally accepted that the birthplace of thesepowerful and formidable predators - Southeast Asia. It was from there that more than 10,000 years ago they were able to settle to the north, reached the Ussuri region and the Amur region. But the Far East is not the only habitat for these animals, tigers once lived throughout India, and also inhabited the islands of Sumatra, Bali, Java, and the Malay Archipelago.
Tiger lifestyle
Ecology and biology of large cats havea significant impact on the life expectancy of lions and tigers, as well as cheetahs and leopards. After all, they are most active in the evening hours, at night and in the morning, which makes them vulnerable to poachers hunters. During the day, they never leave their caves, because they are fast asleep. Tigers are solitary hunters. They roam in the footsteps of humans, wild boars and other animals. These cats are excellent swimmers, they love to swim in ponds, endure cold.
The largest tigers are Amur
Unfortunately, they are the smallest inEarth: the life span of tigers inhabiting the Far East in the wild is 12-15 years, and in captivity - 24 years. Amur tigers are the largest subspecies among all members of the cat family. Once again we recall: old males weigh up to 400 kilograms, but on average their weight does not exceed 3 centners.
Более того, это единственные полосатые кошки, adapted to life in the snow. They have thick and long fur. Amur tigers grow slowly and for a long time, they do it almost all their lives. Curiously, the stripes on their skin are much more rarely than their counterparts. Once these animals began to actively exterminate, because of this, their life expectancy has decreased markedly. About this and talk.
Tiger life span
This is a pretty painful topic for all defenders.animals and, of course, the tigers themselves. The fact is that the constantly changing natural conditions (for example, climate change) and external factors affecting humans (plowing up lands, cutting down forests, poaching) noticeably reduce the habitat of poor animals. Of course, this has a negative effect on their numbers and time of existence on Earth.
For example, the average life expectancy of a tiger,living in the Far East, approximately 15 years. In the wild, as you know, these animals can live to 26 years. But few of them can live such a long life. The extermination of the population of tigers by man and the destruction of their natural habitat is a serious threat not only to striped cats, but also to the entire natural community.
Unfortunately, at present the number of theseamazing animals inexorably reduced. For example, the life span of the Amur tiger in nature today is 8-10 years, not more! If we compare the population of these cats in the past XX century with their number in the XIX century, the difference will be 95%. It is estimated that currently the population of all tigers living on our planet is about 6500 individuals. It is very small.
Tigers guarded
To increase the lifespan of tigers and,as a result, to multiply their population, these cats were taken under world protection. They are listed in the International Red Book, and the hunt for them since 1947 is completely prohibited. Unfortunately, it is precisely the shooting of these giants that plays the main role in reducing the number of their livestock: people kill tigers for the sake of their hides, valuable internal organs, etc.
Tigers and people: who is who?
В настоящее время, к сожалению, человека уже hard to distinguish from a tiger. People behave worse than animals, they ruin the wild nature without shame. Note that tigers, no matter how strange it may sound, never hunted people. Having heard a person, they, of course, do not take to flight, but they do not attack first. Basically, they go to meet people, hiding and let them closer to him.
If a person does not take any aggressiveaction against this cat, the tiger just goes away. These animals do not hate or fear people. Scientists say that it is fear that causes certain animals to rush at people (as is the case with bears), but for tigers such behavior is not typical. Of course, this does not mean that they are harmless animals.
This is, above all, predators, and no one knows howthey can lead themselves at one time or another, so it’s best not to risk it. Tigers are hardly harmful to the household, as they rarely attack cattle. By the way, wolves, foxes and bears raise sheep, goats and chickens 5 times more often than tigers. However, these cats are subjected to constant harassment by humans. This is unfair.
