Amur tiger Panthera tigris altaica
The Amur tiger is the largest and northernmost of all tiger subspecies (Photos 1 and 2). Winters in northern taiga are severe, and that is why the fur of the Amur tigers is thicker and longer than that of their southern counterparts, and the pelage is paler which helps the animals blend into the snow (Pictures 3 and 4). Only the Amur tiger has five-centimeter thick layer of fat on its belly which protects the animal from icy winds and cold. The ears of the Amur tiger are shorter than the ears of other tiger subspecies – which probably, prevent them from being frostbitten. This beautiful powerful carnivore has a long flexible body, large heavy head, strong legs, and long tail (Picture 5). The Amur tiger is the largest living felid which ranks even over the King of the Animals, the Lion, with a body length of adult Amur tiger measuring 380 cm, the height at the shoulders – 110 cm, and weight ranging from 160 to 270 kg (females are significantly smaller than males).
Tigers are solitary animals, and each of them has a huge home range of over 500 km². When the prey is abundant, resident tiger may not leave its home range for a long time. The tigers mark their home ranges by spraying urine and leaving scratches on the ground and trees, regularly patrolling their territories and checking their own and other tigers’ marks. The tigers are excellent hunters using their physical power and size for hunting large prey, but they could also eat fish, frogs, birds, mice, and sometimes even fruits of some plants. However, the major components of the Amur tigers’ diet are ungulates: red deer, sika deer, roe deer, wild bore, and elk. In spite of their brilliant carnivorous abilities, Amur tigers not always manage to kill their prey: only one attack out of 6 or 7 appears to be successful.
Because of the huge home ranges of the Amur tigers, it is often a female who starts searching for a partner. Gestation lasts from 95 to 112 days, then a female gives birth to a litter of 3 or 4 blind cubs. The eyes of the cubs open on the ninth day, and the teeth start growing at two weeks of age. At two months of age the cubs start leaving the den and learning to eat meat which their mother brings, though she keeps nursing their offspring for another 5 or 6 months. At the age of six months the cubs begin accompany their mother during her hunt. For many months the female helps her cubs learning to find, catch and kill prey. The cubs play a lot which also helps them to learn necessary hunting skills. At the age of one year the cubs start hunting independently, and by the age of two years they usually can kill large prey. However, young tigers stay close to their mother and hunt with her for a few years.
Regular field surveys of the Amur tiger population indicate that there are no more than 400 individuals remain in the wild. This rarest felid is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Main threats to the survival of Amur tigers are presented by habitat destruction, and poaching of Amur tigers and their prey species.
