Доклад: Mammals

TIGERS

TIGER, NO LAUGHING JOKE

How is a tiger's face like your thumb?

ANSWER: The stripes on the tiger's face are like your thumbprint. No two

people have exactly the same thumbprint. And no two tigers have exactly the

same stripe pattern.

It takes a lot of muscle to move a 400-pound body (180 kilograms). And a

tiger's body is packed with muscle. So it can leap 10 yards (9 meters) over

level ground, or jump 15 feet (4.5 meters) in the air. Yet it can move so

gracefully that it doesn't make a sound.

Tigers are big-game hunters. They hunt water buffalo, wild pigs, deer, and

other large animals. Water buffalo weigh more than a ton (900 kilograms). It

would take 13 men to move such an enormous weight.

Tigers are also big eaters. In a single year, one tiger must eat about 70

deer or other large animals. That is one reason why tigers hunt alone. If

they lived in big groups, they could never find enough prey to feed them all.

Many people think that a big, dangerous tiger could easily kill all the prey

it wants. But that's not true. In fact, the life of this big game hunter

isn't easy. Most of the animals it tries to attack get away. It sometimes

goes weeks without eating. And then it may hunt animals that can be

dangerous, even for a tiger.

To get enough food, tigers have to hunt day and night. They often hunt at

night, because that's when deer and antelope are most active. Tigers also

hunt at night because they are safe from humans then.

When it hunts, a tiger usually sneaks close to its prey by hiding behind

trees, bushes and rocks.

Tigers cannot run fast for long distances. So they must get close to their

prey before attacking. On their huge, padded feet, they can creep silently to

within 20 feet (6 meters) of another animal without being heard. Its rear

legs press beneath it, like a pair of giant springs about to be released.

Then, in a series of explosive leaps, it attacks from behind.

Next, the tiger grabs its prey with its claws and pulls it to the ground. It

bites the animal on the throat or on the back of the neck

The tiger has had a long history; the name tiger itself comes from the Roman

word "Tigris", named after the mighty Mesopotamian Tigris River. The tiger's

closest living relative is the lion, and believe it or not, they can even be

interbred. The male tiger can reach sizes of up to 8-10 feet in length, with

three feet for the tail, the male Siberian tiger can reach lengths of up to

13 feet with weights up to 750 pounds. Tigers can be found in a fairly

diverse area, from north China and Siberia, to the jungles of Indonesia, even

as far west as Iran and the Caucasus Mountains.

The tiger is a solitary animal, hunting mainly at night. The tiger's vision

and sense of smell are relatively poor; the tiger will rely strongly on its

sense of hearing, moving silently through the brush waiting to ambush its

prey. The tiger's main diet consists of deer, antelope, wild pigs, and

cattle. The man-eaters are all too often the sick and injured, too weak to

hunt and capture wild animals. The tiger would much rather flee rather than

stick around and put up a fight.

Tigers are excellent swimmers and will often rest in pools of water just to

escape the heat, or, will swim from island to island such as in the Sumatran

islands. Tigers are poor tree climbers, often only doing so in emergencies or

when they are young, (and on occasion, just out of curiosity). The Bengal,

or, Indian Tiger is the

SIBERIAN TIGER

The largest of all living tigers lives in the coldest climate; but has thick

fur to keep it warm. Its pale color makes it difficult to spot in the bleak,

snowy landscape of Siberia and also makes it easier to get close to its prey.

There are no more than 200 Siberian tigers living in the wild.

INDIAN TIGER

The Indian tiger is the most common tiger in the world today. In all, there

are about 2,500 left, and most of them live in India.

Hunting tigers used to be a sport for the rich people of India. But it

wasn't really a sport, because the tigers had little chance of escape. The

hunters rode on elephants, while their servants drove the tigers toward their

guns. Over the years, thousands and thousands of tigers were killed this

way.

SUMATRAN TIGER

Their stripes hide them as they stalk prey in the jungle. How? Their

stripes look like the shadows of tall blades of grass, or like shadows and

light playing across trees.

For a fierce hunter, you'd think that food would be plentiful. Not true as

most attacks fail. There may be weeks without eating.

Some Sumatran villagers believe that the tiger holds magical powers and that

it's very bad luck to kill them.

SUMATRAN TIGER

Tigers are among the most admired and most feared animals in the world. When

we think of tigers, we think of danger. We think of powerful beasts hiding in

the dark jungle. We think of the strong jaws, big teeth, massive feet, and

long, sharp claws of the tiger.

But we also think of beauty. We picture a tiger running swiftly through a

jungle, or plowing through snowdrifts. Its muscles ripple. Its brilliantly

striped orange and black coat gleams like satin. Its steely eyes glare into

the distance as it looks for prey.

This animal is a hunter. In fact, tigers are probably better than any other

land animal at capturing large prey single-handedly. Even so, the life of a

tiger is not easy. Finding food can be difficult, especially for a tiger that

is old or weak.

When they are desperate, some of them may even attack humans. But tigers also

get blamed unfairly for many deaths. Very few people are really killed by

tigers each year. Most tigers run away when they see people. And with good

reason.

What tigers have done to people is nothing compared to what people have done

to tigers. Over the last 200 years, we have almost eliminated them in the

wild. Today, they are one of the most endangered animals on earth.

If humans do not disturb it, a tiger may live 20 years or more. Females

usually live longer than males, because the males live more dangerously. They

often fight among each other. Sometimes one of them is killed this way, or

wounded so badly that it cannot hunt.

It isn't easy for people to tell a male tiger from a female, unless the

female happens to be with her cubs, because only females take care of the

young. Otherwise, the most obvious difference between males and females is

size. Male tigers are much bigger. An adult male Bengal or Indian tiger

usually weighs about 420 pounds (190 kilograms), and from head to rear, it is

roughly seven feet long (2 meters). Females are about a foot shorter (30

centimeters), and they weigh about one hundred pounds less (45 kilograms).

Sumatran tigers are generally smaller than Indian or Bengal tigers. The

biggest tiger ever measured was a male Siberian Tiger. It was over 9 feet

long (2.6 meters) and weighed more than 700 pounds (320 kilograms).

Tigers once roamed over most of Asia. Some trekked over the frozen north,

others climbed the jagged mountains of Central Asia, and many crept through

the steamy jungles of the south. The tigers that lived in these different

places gradually developed into a number of different types, or races.

Although tigers have been able to live in different climates and landscapes,

they have not been able to live alongside people. In fact, people have killed

so many tigers that two races may already by extinct.

The Bengal tiger is the most common tiger in the world today. In all, there

are about 2,500 Bengal tigers, and most of them live in India. The Caspian

tiger is one that you will only see in pictures. This beautiful cat is now

extinct. The Chinese tiger used to live in most parts of China. Today, there

are fewer than a hundred Chinese tigers in the whole country.

The Siberian tiger is the largest of all living tigers. It also lives in the

coldest climate, but it has very thick fur to keep it warm. And its pale

color makes it hard to see in the bleak, snowy landscape of Siberia. This

makes it easier to get close to its prey. There are no more than 200 Siberian

tigers living in the wild.

Sumatran and Javan tigers live on land south of the Asian continent. Their

islands are covered by heavy, tropical jungles. To help them run and hide in

the jungle, these tigers are smaller than other tigers. Today, there are

fewer than 30 Sumatran and Javan tigers left in the wild.

The body of a tiger is like a deadly weapon. It has the quickness and

strength to take down animals twice its size. It has long, razor-sharp claws

for grabbing its prey. And it has enormous teeth, which can easily kill large

animals.

But a tiger is also very quiet. It can sneak up on its prey without being

seen or heard. And its stripes help it do this, because they make it easier

for the tiger to hide. You will also discover another reason why a tiger's

stripes are interesting. You can learn to tell one tiger from another by its

stripes.

Like other cats, tigers usually keel their claws hidden beneath the fur. This

way the claws do not wear down too quickly. And they won't make noise when

the tiger steps on rocks or hard ground. When it wants to use its claws for

grabbing or scratching, the tiger will extend them.

Tigers have longer canine teeth than any other predator. One of these teeth

is at least 10 times longer than the biggest tooth in your mouth. Using its

big canine teeth and its broad, powerful paws, a tiger can kill its prey with

one quick bite.

CUB LIFE

Tigers and other predators play an important role in nature. By killing deer

and other prey, they keep the numbers of these animals under control. And

because of this, the animals that survive are healthier.

If there were no tigers in the wild, the number of prey animals would grow

too fast. At first, they would eat so much that they would destroy many

plants. And then many of these animals would go hungry.

A big, hungry tiger can eat about 100 pounds of meat (45 kilograms) at one

sitting. This is about one fifth of its total weight. That would be like a

10-year-old human eating 40 hamburgers in one meal. Of course, a tiger has to

eat this much because it often goes several days without eating anything.

On occasion, a tiger will attack a baby rhino. This can be dangerous though,

because the mother rhino is probably close by. And even a tiger does not want

to make a four-thousand-pound rhino (1,800 kilograms) angry!

If a tiger is hungry enough, it may even attack a bear. But that may be a big

mistake.

Baby tigers look like cute kittens. At birth, they are about 12 inches long

(30 centimeters), and they weigh less than two pounds (one kilogram). But in

a year's time, these "kittens" will be big enough to hunt deer and buffalo.

A mother tiger usually gives birth to two, three, or four cubs at a time.

This is necessary so that at least one of her cubs will survive. Many

predators attack tiger cubs. To help keep them safe, the mother stays with

her cubs for three or four years. During this time, the young tigers have a

lot to learn from her if they are to hunt and survive on their own.

Animals, unlike man, must either capture prey, or, evade predators. In order

for these animals, such as the tiger, to get close enough to its prey for the

attack, these animals must be able to hide, or blend in with the background.

That way the prey animal does not know that they are there.

The tiger uses what is known as disruptive camouflage, which means that

instead of blending in with it's surroundings, the tiger uses it's stripes to

break it's outline, or familiar shapes into smaller unfamiliar shapes.

Like all young animals, cubs are full of energy. They spend their days

wrestling, chasing each other, and darting after butterflies. All this

exercise helps prepare them for their first real hunt. And they are ready for

this when they are about six months old.

It's hard to believe that in just six months, a playful little cub will be a

ferocious hunter. By then, it will weigh almost 200 pounds (90 kilograms) and

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