I. The Introduction:

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright………

In The Forest At The Night!!!

The Tiger.......What to say about this most beautiful animal.....My most favourite animal and perhaps the most beautiful animal ever lived on this planet earth by my point of view.Tiger have a perfect blend of beauty and power....also it lives in a conditons very much difficult for hunting and surviving which makes it different from many of his companions!!!!!Here are some of the facts and some information regarding this Beauty With Power beast!!! The Tiger is a mammal of the Felidae family, the largest of four "big cats" in the Panthera genus. Native to the mainland of Asia, the tiger is an apex predator and the largest feline species in the world, comparable in size to the biggest fossil felids. The Bengal Tiger is the most common subspecies of tiger, constituting approximately 80% of the entire tiger population, and is found in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal. It has disappeared from much of its former distribution including the Caucasus, Java and Bali. A powerful hunter with sharp teeth, strong jaws, and an agile body, the tiger is the largest member of the cat family (Felidae). It is also the largest land-living mammal whose diet consists entirely of meat. The tiger's closest relative is the lion. Without the fur, it is difficult to distinguish a tiger from a lion, but the tiger is the only cat with striped fur.
The tiger is an endangered species, with the majority of the world's tigers now living in captivity. Several subspecies are extinct and others critically endangered. Tigers have featured in ancient mythologies and folklore, and continue to be depicted in modern films and literature, as well as appearing on flags, coats of arms and as mascots for sporting teams. It is the national animal of India among other countries. Sadly, this magnificent animal has been hunted by humans and has lost much of its habitat. Three of the eight subspecies have already become extinct, and other populations are also at high risk.

II. The Evolution, Nomenclature & Taxonomy:

The Tiger is uncommon in the fossil record, which is why its evolution remains partly unclear. The oldest remains of a tiger like cat, called Panthera palaeosinensis have been found in China and Java. This species occurred about 2 million years ago at the beginning of the pleistocene and was smaller than a tiger. Early true tiger fossils stem from Java and are between 1.6 and 1.8 million years old. Distinct fossils from the early and middle Pleistocene were discovered in deposits from China, Sumatra and Java. A subspecies called Trinil tiger (Panthera tigris trinilensis) occurred about 1.2 million years ago and was found at the locality of Trinil, Java, Indonesia. In India, and northern Asia the tiger appears for the first time in the late pleistocene. Fossil tigers were also found in eastern Beringia (but not on the American Continent) and Sachalin island. Tiger fossils of the late Pleistocene have also turned up in Japan. These fossils indicate that the Japanese tiger was not bigger than the island subspecies of tigers of recent ages. This may be due to the phenomenon in which body size is related to environmental space (see island dwarfism), or in the case of a large predator like a tiger, availability of prey. Until the Holocene tigers occurred also in Borneo, where it is not present today.

The word "tiger" is taken from the Greek word "TIGRIS", which itself is derived "possibly from an Iranian source." In American English, "TIGRESS" was first recorded in 1611. "Tiger's-Eye" is a name for a golden-brown striped, chatoyant, fibrous variety of quartz used as a semi-precious gemstone. It was one of the many species originally described, as Felis tigris, by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae. The generic component of its scientific designation, Panthera tigris, is often presumed to derive from Greek pan- ("all") and ther ("beast"), but this may be a folk etymology. Although it came into English through the classical languages, panthera is probably of East Asian origin, meaning "the yellowish animal," or "whitish-yellow".

III. The Classification:

Classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List 2002 and listed on Appendix I on CITES. Subspecies: Siberian tiger (P. t. altaica) classified as Critically Endangered (CR) and listed on Appendix I of CITES; Amoy tiger (P. t. amoyensis) classified as Critically Endangered (CR) and listed on Appendix I of CITES; Sumatran tiger (P. t. sumatrae) classified as Critically Endangered (CR); Indochinese tiger (P. t. corbetti) and the Bengal tiger (P. t. tigris) are not entered on the IUCN Red List; The Bali (P. t. balica), Javan (P. t. sondaica) and Caspian tigers (P. t. virgata) are now extinct. These subspecies' classifications are taken from the 2002 Red List – they are not listed on the 2004 Red List as they are under review. Here’s a scientific classification of Tigers:

A. Class--Mammalia.

B. Order--Carnivora.

The scientific order Carnivora includes cats, dogs, bears, raccoons, hyenas, otters, weasels, badgers, mongooses, and civets. All typical carnivores have well developed claws and a pair of specialized cheek teeth (carnassials) for slicing flesh.

C. Family--Felidae.

The cat family includes the small cats (genus Felis), the clouded leopard (genus Neofelis), the cheetah (genus Acinonyx), and the big cats (genus Panthera).

D. Genus, species--Panthera tigris.

There are five species in the genus Panthera: tigers (P. tigris), snow leopards (P. uncia), leopards (P. pardus), jaguars (P. onca), and lions (P. leo).

The table shows the Tiger’s scientific and common name and the most recent estimates of their numbers:

IV. Subspecies:

Nine Subspecies of tiger have been identified, though 3 of those subspecies have been extinct since the 1950s. The extinct subspecies include the Caspian, Javan, and Bali tigers. The Six subspecies alive today are all endangered. These include the Bengal, Indo-Chinese, Malayan, Sumatran, Amur and South China, tigers.

At one time, the tigers could be found as far west as eastern Turkey. Now tigers are confined to isolated areas of eastern and southern Asia. Their historical range (severely diminished today) ran through Russia, Siberia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, China and south-east Asia, including the Indonesian islands. These are the surviving subspecies, in descending order of wild population:

1. Bengal tiger: The Bengal tiger or the Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is found in parts of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. It lives in varied habitats: grasslands, subtropical and tropical rainforests, scrub forests, wet and dry deciduous forests and mangroves. The Indian government's estimated population figure for these tigers is between 3,100 and 4,500, some 3,000 of which are found in India alone. However, many Indian tiger conservationists doubt this number, seeing it as overly optimistic. The number of Bengal tigers in India may be fewer than 2,000, as most of the collected statistics are based on pugmark identification, which often gives a biased result. Even though this is the most 'common' tiger, these tigers are under severe pressure from both habitat destruction and poaching. In 1972, India launched a massive wildlife conservation project, known as Project Tiger, to protect the depleting numbers of tigers in India. The project helped increase the population of these tigers from 1,200 in the 1970s to 3,000 in the 1990s and is considered as one of the most successful wildlife conservation programs. At least one Tiger Reserve (Sariska) has lost its entire tiger population to poaching. Males in the wild usually weigh 205 to 227 kg (450–500 lb), while the average female will weigh about 141 kg. However, the northern Indian and the Nepalese Bengal tigers are supposed to be somewhat bulkier than those found in the south of the Indian Subcontinent, with males averaging around 520 lbs (236 kg).

2. Indochinese Tiger: The Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti), also called Corbett's tiger, is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, preferring to exist in forests in mountainous or hilly regions. Estimates of its population vary between 1,200 to 1,800, with only several hundred left in the wild, but it seems likely that the number is in the lower part of the range; it is considered Endangered. The largest current population is in Malaysia, where illegal poaching is strictly controlled, but all existing populations are at extreme risk from habitat fragmentation and inbreeding. In Vietnam, almost three-quarters of the tigers killed provide stock for Chinese pharmacies. Also, the tigers are seen by poor natives as a resource through which they can ease poverty. Indochinese tigers are smaller and darker than Bengal tigers. Males weigh from 150–190 kg (330–420 lb) on average while females are smaller at 110–140 kg (242–308 lb). Their diet consists of wild pigs, cattle and deer; The Indochinese tiger is a carnivore.

3. The Malayan tiger: (Panthera tigris jacksoni), exclusively found in the southern (Malaysian) part of the Malay Peninsula, was not considered a subspecies in its own right until 2004. The new classification came about after a study by Luo et al. from the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity Study, part of the National Cancer Institute of the United States. Recent counts showed there are 600–800 tigers in the wild, making it the third largest tiger population behind the Bengal tiger and the Indochinese tiger. The Malayan tiger is a national icon in Malaysia, appearing on its coat of arms and in logos of Malaysian institutions, such as Maybank.

4. Sumatran tiger: The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The wild population is estimated at between 400 and 500, seen chiefly in the island's national parks. Recent genetic testing has revealed the presence of unique genetic markers, indicating that it may develop into a separate species, if it is not made extinct. This has led to suggestions that Sumatran tigers should have greater priority for conservation than any other subspecies. Habitat destruction is the main threat to the existing tiger population (logging continues even in the supposedly protected national parks), but 66 tigers were recorded as being shot and killed between 1998 and 2000, or nearly 20% of the total population. The Sumatran tiger is the smallest of all living tiger subspecies. Adult males weigh between 100–130 kg (220–286 lb), females 70–90 kg (154–198 lb). Their small size is an adaptation to the thick, dense forests of the Sumatra Island where they reside, as well as the smaller-sized prey. On February 3, 2007 a pregnant Sumatran Tiger was caught by people from Rokan Hilir village at Riau province. Indonesian fauna conservation officials are planning to transfer her to the Bogor Safari Park in Java.

5. Amur tiger: The Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), also known as the Siberian, Manchurian or North China tiger, is confined completely to the Amur region in far eastern Siberia, where it is now protected. The last two censuses (1996 and 2005) found 450–500 Amur tigers within their single and more or less continuous range making it one of the largest undivided tiger populations in the world. Considered the largest subspecies, with an average weight of around 227 kg (500 lb) for males.[22] The Amur tiger is also noted for its thick coat, distinguished by a paler golden hue and a smaller number of stripes. The Amur tiger is the largest and heaviest of all naturally-occurring felines. A six-month old Amur tiger can be as big as a fully grown leopard.

6. South China tiger: The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis), also known as the Amoy or Xiamen tiger, is the most critically endangered subspecies of tiger and will almost certainly become extinct. It is one of the smaller tiger subspecies. The length of the South China tiger ranges from 2.2–2.6 m (87–104 in) for both males and females. Males weigh between 127 and 177 kg (280–390 lb) while females weigh between 100 and 118 kg (220–260 lb). It seems likely that the last known wild South China tiger was shot and killed in 1994, and no live tigers have been seen in their natural habitat for the last 20 years. In 1977, the Chinese government passed a law banning the killing of wild tigers, but this appears to have been too late to save the subspecies. There are currently 59 known captive South China tigers, all within China, but these are known to be descended from only six animals. Thus, the genetic diversity required to maintain the subspecies may no longer exist, making extinction a possibility. Currently, there are breeding efforts to reintroduce these tigers to the wild by 2008.

Extinct subspecies:-

7. A hunted down Balinese Tiger: The Balinese tiger (Panthera tigris balica) has always been limited to the island of Bali. These tigers were hunted to extinction—the last Balinese tiger is thought to have been killed at Sumbar Kima, West Bali on 27 September 1937; this was an adult female. No Balinese tiger was ever held in captivity. The tiger still plays an important role in Balinese Hindu religion.

8. The Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) was limited to the Indonesian island of Java. It now seems likely that this subspecies became extinct in the 1980s, as a result of hunting and habitat destruction, but the extinction of this subspecies was extremely probable from the 1950s onwards (when it is thought that fewer than 25 tigers remained in the wild). The last specimen was sighted in 1979.

9. The Caspian tiger or Persian Tiger (Panthera tigris virgata) appears to have become extinct in the late 1960s, with the last reliable sighting in 1968, though it is thought that such a tiger was last shot dead in the south-eastern-most part of Turkey in 1970. Historically it ranged through Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, the former Soviet Union, and Turkey. The Caspian tiger was a large subspecies and reached nearly the dimensions of the Bengal Tiger. The heaviest confirmed weight of a male was 240 kg. The ground color was comparable to that of the Indian subspecies, but differed especially in the tight, narrow striping pattern. The stripes were rather dark grey or brown than black. Especially during the winter, the fur was relatively long. The Caspian tiger was one of two subspecies of tiger (along with the Bengal) that was used by the Romans to battle gladiators and other animals, including the Barbary Lion. The Romans traveled far to capture exotic beasts for the arena.

V. Physical Discription:

Tigers are the largest of the cat family, with the Siberian tiger being the largest of the species. They are easily recognizable, with thick black vertical stripes covering an orange body. The belly and throat are a creamy white. Male tigers have a ruff around the back of the head, which is especially pronounced in the Sumatran male. No two tigers have the same stripe pattern - each is unique, like human fingerprints. Tiger stripe patterns commonly differ between the two sides of an individual's body. The last recorded wild white tiger was documented in 1951. This male cub later became the progenitor of most white tigers in captivity. The stripes of white tigers are brown.

Mortality and Longevity:

Tigers can live to 20 years of age in zoos but only 15 years in the wild. And most wild tigers do not live that long. Only half of all cubs survive to independence from their mother at about two years of age. Only 40 percent of these survivors live to establish a territory and begin to produce young. The risk of mortality continues to be high even for territorial adults, especially for males, which must defend their territories from other males.

Height, Length and Weight:

Tigers are the largest of a group of cats known as the great cats (tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars) Great cats are distinguished from the other cats by their ability to roar. Tigers are the largest living cat species. Their size differs for each subspecies, but on average their length from 47-114 in. (119-290 cm) plus an additional 21-47 in. (53-119 cm) for the length of the tail, stands 48 inches (105 cm) at the shoulder, and can weigh from 300-600 pounds (136 - 272 kg). According to the Guinness book of world records, the largest tiger was a male Siberian tiger, who weighed 1025 lb (465 kg).

Fur coloration:

Tigers have a ground coloration ranging from a rusty orange to yellow orange color, with its underbody and face being creamy to white, and are flanked by large vertical stripes. The color of the tiger's body can vary depending on where it lives. Siberian tigers tend to have lighter ground coloration, less vivid stripes, and less contrast between the white areas and the orange areas. Bengal tigers, on the other hand, tend to have much contrast in its coloration, with dark orange ground coloration, dark black stripes, and vivid, clearly defined white areas.
It is believed that the Siberian tiger originated from other tigers that lived further south, because the Siberian tiger has stripes, which is useless to camouflage it, since there is very little grass in the Siberian tundra. Tigers can be white as well, and the white ones can have stripes or not. White tigers without stripes are known as "snow-whites". Only the Bengal tiger subspecies carry the gene to be white. White tigers, like other white animals such as lions, are not albinos because they have stripes and their eyes have color: being blue and not pink or red. White tigers, as well as white lions, are the result of a genetic mutation known as leucism. There also exist "golden" tigers, where their base coloration is rusty yellow, but their stripes are a lighter dark brown rather than black. This color form is very rare and again only seen in captivity.
The existence of a melanistic, or black, tiger is poorly documented, and no living specimen has been seen. They are reportedly solid black with lighter colored stripes on their flanks. Only one specimen has been caught: a skin taken from a poacher in Delhi in October 1992. It is debated whether or not this is really a melanistic tiger or if the skin has been tampered with. No photographic evidence for solid black tigers exists. There are, however, tigers that have exceptionally broad and dense stripes, with very little ground coloration showing through. These tigers may be what people believe are black tigers. Tigers have not displayed true melanism that is so common among many species of cat. Also sporadically recorded is the mysterious "blue tiger", or "Maltese tiger". This tiger is supposed to have bluish background coloration with dark grey stripes. Most of the reports of blue tigers have come from the Fujian Provence of China.

Fur length and types:

Tigers generally have very short, dense fur, with long tufts of fur on the sides of the face. The exception is the Siberian, which has long hair all over its body to keep it warm in the cold Siberian tundras. Tigers from warmer climates have shorter and less dense hair than tigers from colder climates. Also, tigers in more temperate climates, as well as the Siberian tiger, have fur length that varies with the seasons. The fur is longer in the winter.The hair is typically shorter on the back, legs and face, and is longer and thicker on the belly, sides of the head, and the back of the neck. Tropical tiger's fur length ranges from 0.35 - 0.9 inches (7 - 20 mm) on the back and 0.68 - 1.6 inches (15 - 35 mm) on the stomach, while the Siberian tiger's fur ranges from 1.8 - 2.7 in (40 - 60 mm) on the back and 3.2 - 4.8 in (70 - 105 mm) on the stomach. The fur of colder-climate tigers like the Siberian tiger is also much denser than a tropical tiger. The density of a Siberian tiger's fur is approximately 3,000 hairs per square cm, while tropical tigers like the Sumatran have a density of 1,700 hairs per square cm. That would be approximately 6600 hairs per square inch, and 3740 hairs per square inch.

Tigers also have numerous thick, white whiskers, also known as vibrasse. These sensitive hairs helps the tiger to navigate around in the dark, or when it cannot see very well. The longest whiskers are on its upper lip, called the mystacial whiskers. The whiskers above the eyes are called the supercilliary whiskers. There are also whiskers on either cheek, called genial whiskers. Other whiskers can occur not only on the face, but on the back of the paws as well. These whiskers are called carpel hairs. These whiskers are present on all cats, and most carnivores to some degree, but are most well-developed in the cats.

Markings:

Most tigers have stripes that are solid bars as well as double stripes that are two bars "fused together" at the ends. The solid bars appear on the face, legs and tail, while the double bars most often occur on the back and sides of the animal. Many biologists believe that tigers' stripes evolved from spots, most likely rosette spots that had stretched out to form stripes, which explains the "holes" in the middle of the stripes. The stripes on the tigers are believed to help camouflage it from its prey. It actually helps to break up the tiger's outline in tall grass, because the black stripes look like the shadows of grass blades on the ground. Each tiger's stripes are unique; no two tigers have the same pattern.

Tigers, like many cat species, also have "eyespots" on the backs of their ears. Their ears are solid black on the backs with a large white circle in the center. These "eyespots" serve to communicate their moods: if you can see their eyespots (the ears would be laying flat against their head, a sign of anger in cats) you know from a distance to avoid the tiger.

Other Physical Attributes:

Tigers generally have amber yellow eyes with round pupils. The exception is the white bengal tiger, which has blue eyes. Tigers, like all cats, have a special layer on the back of the eyes called the tapetum lucidum, which reflects light back to the retina and allows them to see much better in poor light conditions. They can see about 6 times better than a human. Tiger's ears are small and rounded, and filled with hair. Tigers, like most cats, have an excellent sense of hearing. Tiger's have large, retractable claws, that are about 4.5 in (10 cm) long. Their feet are 5.5 inches (14 cm) long and 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) wide. Tigers have 5 toes on their front feet and four on their back feet. Adult tigers have 30 teeth. The canine teeth are about 2.5 - 3 in (5.5 - 6.6 cm) long.

VI. Range:

Preferred habitat is forest although they can also be found in grassland and swamp margins. They require sufficient cover, a good population of large prey and a constant water supply. The tiger's current distribution is a patchwork across Asia, from India to the Russian Far East. Tigers require large areas with forest cover, water, and suitable large ungulate prey such as deer and swine. With these three essentials, tigers can live from the tropical rainforests of Sumatra and Indochina to the temperate oak forest of the Amur River Valley in the Russian Far East.
Historically, tigers were widespread across Asia, from Turkey eastward. They have been extirpated from most of their former range, and remaining populations are highly fragmented within Southeast Asia. There were 9 subspecies of tiger: the Siberian, Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, South China, Sumatran, Bali, Java, and Caspian tigers, but of these the Caspian, Bali and Javan tigers are extinct. And those remaining sic are quickly becoming extinct due to the hunger for tiger parts in Asia as well as habitat loss. There are about 400 Siberian tigers left in Russia and northern China. There are 500 tigers in Malaysia, 500 in Myanmar, less than 50 in southern China, 500 in Sumatra, less than 200 in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Bhutan and Bangladesh, and between 2,000-3,000 in India and Nepal.
They tend to inhabit areas close to water with adequate cover. Habitats vary, and can include savannas, mangrove, and temperate, coniferous and tropical rainforests.

VII. Habitat:

Tigers are found in a variety of habitats, including both tropical and evergreen forests, woodlands, grasslands, rocky country, swamps, and savannas. The Caspian tiger was also found in steppes and mountainous areas. Compared to the lion, the tiger prefers more dense vegetation, for which its camouflage is ideally suited, and where a single predator is not at a disadvantage compared to a pride. Among the big cats, only the tiger and jaguar are strong swimmers; tigers are often found bathing in ponds, lakes, and rivers. Tigers rely on concealment for stalking and ambushing prey. They seek areas with ample food, water, and moderately dense cover. Tigers travel throughout the year in individual home ranges. Tiger home range sizes differ depending on habitat quality, prey availability, the tiger's sex, and the season. a. In India, where prey densities are relatively high, home ranges vary from 50 to 1,000 square km (19-386 square mi.). In Manchuria and southeastern Siberia, where prey are more widely dispersed, home ranges vary from 500 to 4,000 square km (193-1,544 square mi.).
Because tigers are polygynous (males have more than one female mate at one time), male tigers generally have larger home ranges than females. A study in Nepal showed that males have home ranges of 19 to 151 square km (7-58 square mi.), while females have home ranges of 10 to 51 square km (4-20 square mi.). Home range sizes may also vary seasonally. Female tigers in Nepal studies, have larger ranges in the hot season and smaller ranges in the wet season. Females also had smaller home ranges when caring for young cubs. Since tigers do not migrate, where prey is migratory or widely dispersed, like in the Russian Far East, females tend to have overlapping ranges. Some tigers establish exclusive home ranges, or territories. The home ranges of male tigers are intrasexual territories. Male tigers exclude other males from their range, but not females. A male's home range usually overlaps the home range(s) of one to several females. Female tigers may or may not establish territories. Females living in areas with a seasonally stable prey population, like the Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal, usually establish territories. In Kanha Park, India, female tigers studied in the 1960s had overlapping home ranges. By the 1970s, habitat quality and prey availability had improved, and females were reported establishing non-overlapping home ranges.
Female and male tigers mark their home ranges chemically (through scent) and visually. Most marking is done along home range boundaries. The most common form of scent marking is through urine. A chemically modified urine called marking fluid, which has a strong, long-lasting smell, is sprayed on trees, bushes, and rocks. Scraping (abrading the ground with the hind feet) is a common visual marker, placed in conspicuous areas along pathways. Scraping is often accompanied by deposits of feces or urine. Less common methods of marking include tree trunk clawing, cheek rubbing, and flattening of vegetation (through rolling) next to trails. Daily movement within the home range varies. Individuals will visit all parts of their range over a period of days or weeks. Siberian tigers have been recorded moving up to 60 km (37 mi.) per day, while Bengal tigers in Nepal covered about 10 to 20 km (6-12 mi.) per day. Adult female tigers (tigresses) tend to occupy the same home range for their entire lifetime, while males may shift or change their home range several times. Vacant home ranges in prime habitat are quickly filled by animals living in peripheral habitats, usually young adults.