Siberian tiger

The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is the largest felid in the world. They live in eastern Russia's birch forests, and there are some in China and North Korea. It is estimated that there are around 400 to 500 Siberian tigers left in the wild.

Siberian tiger
Male
Female
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Genus:	Panthera
Species:	P. tigris
Subspecies:	P. t. tigris
Trinomial name
Panthera tigris tigris (Linnaeus, 1758)
Distribution of the Siberian tiger (in red)

In 2017, the Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and now recognizes all the tiger populations in mainland Asia as P. t. tigris.

Description

Siberian tigers are the largest of all tigers, as well as the largest of all the big cats. They can grow up to the length of 6–9 ft (1.8–2.7 meters), but some can be as long as 11 feet (3.4 m). They usually weigh around 300–600 pounds, but can weigh as much as 700 pounds or more. To keep themselves from becoming cold in the winters, Siberian tigers have thicker fur coats than tigers which live in southern Asia. They also have a thick layer of fat which helps keep them warm. Like all other tigers, Siberian tigers have orange fur with black stripes. Siberian tigers have extra fur around their necks and paws which helps them keep warm. Siberian tigers have less orange in their coats, and have fewer stripes.

Where they live

Siberian tigers are located in northeast China, the Russian Far East and parts of North Korea. This region is called the "Amur Region", which is named after the Amur River. This region is covered with mountainous areas and coniferous forests. In the summer, the temperature is between mild and hot. In the winter, it may be very cold, especially at higher altitudes.

Behaviour

Like other tigers, the Siberian tiger likes to live on its own. Each Siberian tiger has its own large amount of territory. Male tigers' territories will usually cross those of several females' territories, but will usually not cross the territories of other males. In their territories, Siberian tigers usually have a lair in a cave or another area.

Feeding

Since Siberian tigers live in such cold regions, an adult needs to eat at least 9 kilograms (20 lb) of food every day to survive, but adults can eat as much as 50 kilograms of meat. Siberian tigers are carnivores. Siberian tigers are apex predators. Siberian tigers feed mainly on wild boar, moose and deer. If regular prey is unavailable they will eat fish, rodents, rabbits, wolves, asian black bears, and even small brown bears. During normal conditions, around 50 percent of the tiger's diet will be of wild boar.

Hunting

While hunting, a Siberian tiger can run faster than 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), but running at this speed takes a lot of energy, so the Siberian tiger will only run short distances. The Siberian tiger has good night vision and likes to hunt during the night, when it can more easily surprise its prey. It also has excellent hearing and sense of smell which it uses to find and attack prey.

Reproduction

Cub

Siberian tigers live alone and only come together in mating season. The mating season usually begins in December, and lasts through January. Females are pregnant for around three to three and a half months before giving birth to their cubs in early spring. Females usually give birth to around 3–4 cubs at a time. When born, the Siberian tiger cub is blind and toothless and is no larger than a normal house cat. It stays blind for around two weeks. The mother starts teaching the cubs how to hunt when the cubs are around 1 year old. The cubs then stay with their mother until they are 3–5 years old.

Siberian Tiger Media

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  Tigre Siberiano

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  Phylogenetic relationship of tiger populations Note the close relationship between the Caspian (PTV or P. t. virgata) and Siberian (ALT or P. t. altaica) tigers.

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  Captive Siberian tiger at Münster Zoo

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  A Siberian tiger cub at the Pittsburgh Zoo

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  A Siberian tiger photographed by a camera trap

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  A diorama at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano shows a tiger chasing a sika deer

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  Siberian tiger. Frame from a camera trap

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  Taxidermy exhibit portraying a tiger fighting a brown bear, Vladivostok Museum

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  Sibirischer Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), fotografiert im Zoo Landau (Rheinland-Pfalz, Deutschland)

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  Comparison of the distribution of all tiger subspecies (1900 vs. 1990)

Other websites

• "The Amur tiger in the 20th century" Archived 2006-01-17 at the Wayback Machine article from the Tigris Foundation website
• Siberian Tiger at the AMUR website Archived 2005-11-25 at the Wayback Machine