AMUR TIGER

Panthera tigris

  • Name: SIBERIAN TIGER

    Common namePanthera tigris altaica

    Class: Mammals

    Order: Carnivora

    Family: Felidae

    Origin: Far East of Russia

    Diet: noble deer, boar, roe and sika deer

    Habitat: mountain region covered with forests

    Reproduction: gestation of about 103 days,1-4 cubs per birth

  • The Amur tiger or Siberian tiger is one of the tiger subspecies; a solitary mammal that inhabits the far east of Russia, a mountainous region covered with forests, with very low temperatures and snow during the winter and mild summers. The weight of male specimens can exceed 280 kg, while in females it varies between 100 and 180 kg. They can exceed 3 m in length, the height at the withers is about 1-1.5 m. The coat has lighter shades than the other subspecies with dark brown stripes instead of black ones; in winter the hair appears lighter, longer, thicker than in the summer in order to guarantee camouflage and protection against the cold. It is a carnivorous predator.

    Its typical prey are the red deer, wild boar, roe deer and sika deer. it hunts at sunrise and sunset by attacking the prey at the back by the technique of ambush and consequent chocking of the throat. The age of the first reproduction is around 3-4 years and the reproductive period covers the whole year. After a gestation period of about 103 days the female gives birth to 1-4 puppies in a repaired den.

    Since the mid-nineteenth century, the subspecies has undergone a drastic decrease in the range and consequently a numerical reduction. The future of this species of which about 500 individuals remain, it depends on the conservation of the forest habitat where the tiger hunts and reproduces and on the ability to coexist with human communities. The legal and illegal logging of forests is reducing the territory the tiger needs to hunt prey. The decrease in prey due to competition with hunting and poaching for illegal trade in body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine are threats that put the future of this feline at risk.

Lista Rossa dell’IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) fornisce informazioni sullo stato di conservazione di animali e piante. ( www.iucnredlist.org )