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THE SOLITARY HUNTER

The Tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to 3.3 meters (11 ft) and weighing up to 306 kg (670 lb). It is the third largest land carnivore (behind only the Polar bear and the Brown bear). They like to stay alone, not like Lions hunting and staying in packs. I just wonder why the Lion is the ‘King of the Jungle’. Even if we compare the strength between these two creatures, Tiger is sure to win.

CHARACTERISTICS

·         Tigers have muscular bodies with particularly powerful forelimbs and large heads. The pelage coloration varies between shades of orange or brown with white ventral areas and distinctive black stripes. The face has long whiskers, which are especially long in males.

·         The pattern of stripes is unique to each animal, these unique markings can be used by researchers to identify individuals (both in the wild and captivity), much in the same way that fingerprints are used to identify humans. It seems likely that the function of stripes is camouflage, serving to help tigers conceal themselves amongst the dappled shadows and long grass of their environment as they stalk their prey. The stripe pattern is also found on the skin of the tiger. If a tiger were to be shaved, its distinctive camouflage pattern would be preserved.

·         It returns the same way it goes. Tiger’s paws are soft so it likes to move near the banks of river. male tigers have wider forepaw pads than females. Biologists use this difference to determine gender based on tiger tracks.

·        Tigresses are smaller than the males in each subspecies, although the size difference between male and female tigers tends to be more pronounced in the larger tiger subspecies, with males weighing up to 1.7 times more than the females.

·         Over much of the tiger's broad geographic range, wild pig, wild cattle and several species of deer are its major prey. All prey are forest or grassland ungulates that range in size from 65 to 2,000 pounds (30-900 kg). Tigers are ambush hunters, stalking their prey, approaching as closely as possible, and then charging the animal from behind. They usually bite the neck or throat of their prey. The neck-bite, which severs the spinal cord, is typically used on small or medium sized prey, while the throat bite, which causes suffocation, is used on larger animals. After killing their prey, tigers drag the animal to a safe place, consuming it over the course of several days. Typically, wild tigers gorge themselves on fresh kills, and can eat as much as 40 pounds (18 kg) of meat at one time. Several days may pass before they are hungry enough to hunt again.