Tigers
TigersThe tiger is part of the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Carnivora, family Felidae, subfamily Panthernae, genus/species Panthera tigris. Tigers have round pupils and yellow irises
(except for the blue eyes of white tigers). Due to a retinal
adaptation that reflects light back to the retina, the night vision of
tigers is six times better than that of humans. Like domestic
cats, tiger claws are retractable. Tiger scratches on trees serve
as territorial markers. No one knows exactly why tigers are
striped, but scientists think that the stripes act as camouflage (See diagram A), and help tigers hide from their prey.
The Sumatran tiger has the most stripes of all the tiger subspecies, and the Siberian tiger has the fewest stripes. Tiger stripes are like human fingerprints; no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes. The tiger's head often carries the Chinese mark of wang or king on the forehead. Most tigers have an orange coat with dark brown or black stripes accented with white. Tigers that live in cold climates (Siberian tigers) have thicker fur than tigers that live in warm climates. A tiger's tail is 3 to 4 feet long, about half as long as its body. Tigers use their tails for balance when they run through fast turns. They also use their tails to communicate with other tigers.
Where did tigers come from? Tigers (and all other carnivores) are descended from civet-like animals called miacids that lived during the age of the dinosaurs about 60 million years ago. These small mammals, with long bodies and short flexible limbs, evolved over millions of years into several hundred different species, including cats, bears, dogs and weasels. Approximately 37 cat species exist today, including Panthera tigris, the tiger. Tigers evolved in eastern Asia, and while some of the earliest tiger fossils have been found in Siberia and China, the tiger's exact place of origin is unknown.
Adult tigers are solitary animals that establish their territories in areas with enough prey, cover and water to support them. The difficulty of locating prey in tiger habitat makes it more efficient for tigers to hunt alone. As a result, they do not tend to form social groups like lions. A female tiger and her cubs are the exception to this. The territory of a tiger usually ranges in size from about 26-78 sq. km, although the territory of a Siberian tiger may be as large as 310 sq. km. The size of a tiger's territory depends on the amount of prey available. Tiger territories are not exclusive. Several tigers may follow the same trails at different times, and a male's territory usually overlaps those of several females. Both male and female tigers spray bushes and trees along their route with a mixture of urine...
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