Clearly,
tigers are members of the cat family, and everyone knows that tigers
are the ones with the stripes. Beyond that, however, things are not
so clear.
In order
to study animals clearly and completely, scientists need to identify
them specifically according to genetic makeup. With tigers, that's
been difficult to achieve, because while the animals indeed exhibit
some differences depending on where they live, all of them demonstrate
many similarities too - and all of them can interbreed readily with
one another to produce fertile offspring. As a consequence, scientists
have long struggled with the details of exactly how to classify
the animal.
The
standard that has now been agreed upon separates all tigers into
eight subspecies, known according to their common names based on
the regions in which they can be - or once could be - found (in
alphabetical order): Bali, Bengal,
Caspian, Indo-Chinese,
Javan, Siberian,
South China, Sumatran.
The technical name for each of these subspecies is included on each
one's individual page.
Two interesting
genetic sidelights are worth noting here. First, from history we
often hear the term "saber-toothed tiger." Today, however, scientists
agree that there never was a member of the tiger species with saber
teeth. So, these historical beasts - which roamed through many areas
in which wild tigers never have been found (North America, for example)
are now referred to more commonly and correctly simply as saber-toothed
"cats." Second, white tigers are often mistakenly identified as
albinos, or as the tigers that inhabit snowy regions, or even as
an entirely separate subspecies. But none of those classifications
is correct. White tigers are known to have occurred naturally only
among the Bengal subspecies, and only when a genetic anomaly occurs
in such a way that the orange pigmentation in the animal's skin
and fur fails to appear. Other than that, white tigers were originally
nothing more than a set of special individuals within the Bengal
subspecies - no more genetically unique than, say, people who have
blond hair. These days, it is important to note, white tigers have
been raised in captivity and interbred with other subspecies of
tigers to a point where they can no longer be identified specifically
as members of only the Bengal subspecies.
There
are many behavioral traits that all tigers share, regardless of
which subspecies they belong to. All tigers are largely solitary
and independent creatures. They do not form large groups the way
lions are known to do. Occasionally tigers will form small family
units, especially when a mother is raising her cubs. But aside from
that, adult tigers of all the subspecies prefer to spend most of
their time alone. All tigers are also carnivorous predators. In
other words, they all hunt live prey and eat mostly meat - usually
an average of between 4 and 7 kilograms per day. But the subspecies
do differ a great deal in size, and therefore, have different requirements
in terms of both territory and food.
After
a gestation period of approximately 105 days, female tigers of all
subspecies typically bear a small litter of between one and five
cubs every few years, and they then spend between one-and-a-half
and two years raising the cubs to maturity.
Wild
tigers have a life span of around 15 years in the wild. Captive
tigers have been known to live for 20 years or more. This is mostly
due to the fact that life is much harder for a tiger that has to
hunt to survive as opposed to one that is regularly fed a balanced
diet.
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