Is the Lion the Strongest of the Cat Family

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Although the lion is considered the king of animals, it is smaller than the tiger. Yep, the tiger is the biggest predator of the cat family. This "cat" has 3 meters in length with an average weight of 250-300 kg (550-660 pounds). The tiger name meaning came to us from the ancient Western farsi language, which means "precipitous, fast".

Clarification and Characteristics

What does a tiger await similar?Tigers take a flexible and muscular torso with a round head and a convex forehead. A tiger's eyes are able (like people) to distinguish colors and run into in the night (in general, the ability to distinguish colors is very rare in the animate being kingdom). In addition to skillful vision, tigers also have excellent hearing and scent. They can pick upwards the slightest sounds and subtle smells. All this makes the tiger into ane of the most dangerous predators of our planet.

As we wrote at the offset of the article, tigers reach a size of up to 3 meters in length and weigh upwardly to 300 kg (660 pounds). However their size may vary depending on the type of tiger. The Bengal and Amur tigers are the biggest. Female tigers are usually slightly smaller than males.

There is an elastic white mustache on the face of the tiger. Also this, an adult tiger has xxx teeth (with which they survive the food) + four sharp fangs, two from above and beneath – predators bargain with their victims with their help.

The front end legs of the tiger have v toes; the hind legs accept only four. There are extension claws on each of the tiger'south toes (tigers use them for hunting).

A tiger's fur depends on the species and habitat. Then the fur is short and dense in southern tigers; while the fur is fluffier in northern tigers.

The tiger skin is yellow or dark-brown with signature black stripes located throughout the torso. Tiger stripes have characteristic pointed endings, sometimes parted and reunited. There are about 100 stripes on the body of the tiger on boilerplate. A tiger's tail is besides covered with rings of stripes.

Remember that the word "tiger" is translated from the Persian language as "precipitous, fast", so information technology is actually fast, and despite its impressive weight, this predator is capable of speeds up to 60 km per hour.

Tigers have an impressive roar. A tiger'south roar can be heard at a distance of iii km.

Lifespan

How long do tigers live? Tigers live about the same as their relatives, domestic cats – near 16-20 years on boilerplate.

Habitat

Where do tigers live? Tigers live mainly in Asia, from the Siberian taiga to the South Asian jungle of Sumatra. Many tigers live on the territory of such Asian countries as Mainland china, Korea, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia.

Tigers prefer wood terrain, tropical rainforests, bamboo thickets or the harsh Siberian taiga as habitats. They adapt perfectly to the environment. Tigers like to conform their lairs in reed thickets nearly ponds.

Lifestyle

Tiger males mark their territory with special tags (with urine) and protect their territory from the attacks of other tigers.

Under natural atmospheric condition, tigers live either singly or in small families (something in the manner of prides amid lions). The relations of tigers from one family unit are e'er friendly. Sometimes they behave amusingly during communication, touching each other with their faces in contact. But if another tiger accidentally wanders into their territory, then it will non be greeted.

Diet

What exercise tigers consume? Tigers are notorious predators. An adult tiger at a time tin eat 30-40 kg of meat (66-88 pounds). The main source of their food is ungulates and big herbivores: wild boars, tapirs, deer, and roe deer. The tiger is a perfect swimmer and does non mind eating not only meat just also fish. Sometimes even a pocket-sized elephant may get lunch for a tiger, but tigers are afraid of attacking adult elephants (also equally rhinos).

Tigers hunt at different times – when they hungry, then they go hunting, and this can be either day or night, morning and evening. They e'er hunt lonely, while using 2 methods: either they are sitting in ambush, patiently waiting for potential prey, or they advisedly creep up to it.

Enemies

Since the tiger is literally at the meridian of the food chain; it has no enemies in natural conditions. (Including other predators: leopards and even packs of wolves are afraid of tigers and adopt to featherbed them).

Nonetheless, of grade, human became the main enemy of the tiger, moreover, the extermination of tigers past hunters led to the fact that many species of these striped "cats" were on the verge of extinction. Now tigers are listed in the Red Book of the planet, and hunting for them is strictly prohibited.

Species

There are nine species of tigers. Though three of them: the Balinese tiger, the Caspian tiger, and the Javan tiger, unfortunately, have disappeared from the confront of the Earth forever. We'll describe in detail the remaining species that take been preserved.

Amur Tiger

The another name is the Ussuri tiger. The Amur tiger is i of the largest of the tiger family unit. The Amur tiger has thick fur and a relatively modest number of feature tiger stripes. According to the estimates of zoologists, the population of Amur tigers totals merely 500 individuals that live in the Amur region of Russia. A small number of these tigers also live in North Korea and northeast China. The Amur tiger is entered in the crimson book.

Bengal Tiger

The Bengal tiger is also ane of the largest in the tiger family unit. There are Bengal albino tigers in nature, which are a mutated species. Bengal tigers live in several Asian countries: Bharat, Islamic republic of pakistan, Nepal, Kingdom of bhutan, People's republic of bangladesh.

Indochinese Tiger

The Indochinese tiger has a murky-red color and slightly smaller sizes than their Bengal and Amur relatives. They are upward to 2.85 cm in length and weighs 150-195 kg (330-430 pounds). These tigers live in southern China, every bit well every bit in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma.

Malay Tiger

The Malay tiger inhabiting the Malacca Peninsula is notable for existence the smallest among tigers. Its length is only 237 cm with a weight of up to 120 kg (260 pounds). Besides this, this tiger is listed in the Red Book and is on the verge of extinction. There are just well-nigh 600-800 individuals of the Malay tiger in nature.

Sumatran Tiger

The Sumatran tiger living on the island of Sumatra and several other islands in Indonesia is as well one of the endangered species of the majestic striped predator. The Sumatran tiger likewise does not large (in comparison with its large relatives, of course), simply it is slightly larger than the Malay tiger, its length is 220-225 cm and weighs upward to 140 kg (308 pounds).

Hybrids

Tiger hybrids are chosen tigers built-in from crossing tigers themselves with other representatives of the panther genus. Among them are:

Liger

This is a hybrid of a panthera leo and a female person tiger. It has a huge size.

Tigon (Tiglon)

Tigon is simply like a liger, just the opposite, its dad is a tiger, and its mother is a lioness. Information technology is smaller in size than its parents and has the features of both: the stripes of the begetter and the spots of the mother, and males have a mane, though it is several times smaller than that of existent lions.

These hybrids of a lion and a tiger are born merely in captivity, in zoos, in natural weather they are not found.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity in tigers occurs in 3-5 years. At the aforementioned time, females mature faster.

The mating season in tigers falls in December-January. The male is actively courting the female at this fourth dimension. Sometimes it happens that two males pretend for one femaleThen a fight occurs between them, and the strongest gets the female person.

Pregnancy in a tigress lasts about 100 days; childbirth takes identify in a tiger den. 2-4 kids are born at a time, in rare cases, there may be half-dozen. Baby tigers are born blind and simply a week later they brainstorm to run across. At first, small tigers feed on their mother's milk.

At this time, they abound very chop-chop. The mother tigress leaves her den for the commencement time with her children in 2 months afterward nativity. Upon reaching one and a half years, the cubs plough into quite developed and large tigers. Usually, many young tigers live next to their mother earlier iii-five years old.

Who is Stronger: a Lion or a Tiger?

For some reason, many are interested in this question. It is not possible to give an verbal answer to information technology since there are very few recorded and documented fights between lions and tigers, which does not let usa to justifiably talk about the superiority of this or that animate being. Yet information technology is possible to compare a lion and a tiger by some external parameters:

• The tiger wins in the weight category. Although information technology is not much, the tiger still heavier than a king of beasts. (This applies to large species of tigers; small species here will lose to the "king of animals").
• According to the forcefulness of pinch of the jaws during a bite, both the tiger and the lion are approximately the aforementioned.
• The principle of hunting and killing a prey amongst lions and tigers is also the same.
• Tigers and lions differ in lifestyle, if lions withal prefer to alive in prides – modest families, then tigers choose a alone lifestyle, like solitary hunting (lions often hunt collectively). Although tigers sometimes form small-scale families, which could also be chosen prides, only in such prides they are much less likely to gather than lions.
• According to endurance, it is likewise impossible to say who is stronger – tigers and lions run very quickly, they tin cover significant distances.

In any case, both the tiger and the lion are potent, powerful, and of course very dangerous predators, including dangerous ones for humans.

Interesting Facts

• Since ancient times, the tiger is the hero of numerous tales, myths, and legends. For example, one legend tells united states well-nigh the saber-toothed tiger, as the progenitor of all predators on Globe.
• Unlike other representatives of the cat family unit, tigers are non agape of h2o and love to swim in it, particularly in hot weather.

References and Further Reading

• Goodrich, J.; Lynam, A.; Miquelle, D.; Wibisono, H.; Kawanishi, Grand.; Pattanavibool, A.; Htun, S.; Tempa, T.; Karki, J.; Jhala, Y. & Karanth, U. (2015). "Panthera tigris". IUCN Crimson List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2015: e.T15955A50659951.
• Linnaeus, C. (1758). "Felis tigris". Caroli Linn?i Systema natur? per regna tria natur?, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Tomus I (decima, reformata ed.). Holmiae: Laurentius Salvius. p. 41.
• Dinerstein, E.; Loucks, C.; Wikramanayake, Due east.; Ginsberg, J.; Sanderson, East.; Seidensticker, J.; Forrest, J.; Bryja, Yard.; Heydlauff, A. (2007). "The Fate of Wild Tigers" (PDF). BioScience. 57 (half-dozen): 508–514. doi:10.1641/B570608.
• Liddell, H. Thou. & Scott, R. (1940). "??????". A Greek-English Lexicon, revised and augmented. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Harper, D. (2001–2011). "Tiger". Online Etymology Lexicon. Etymonline.com. Retrieved 6 April 2014.

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Author: Pavlo Chaika, Editor-in-Main of the journal Poznavayka

When writing this article, I tried to make it as interesting and useful every bit possible. I would be grateful for any feedback and constructive criticism in the grade of comments to the article. Yous can also write your wish/question/proffer to my mail pavelchaika1983@gmail.com or to Facebook.

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Source: https://www.poznavayka.org/en/zoology/tiger/

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