Siberian Tigers
|
|
| Siberian Tiger Conservation status: Critical | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missing image Siberian-Tiger.jpg Siberian Tiger | ||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| Trinomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Panthera tigris altaica Temminck, 1844 |
The Siberian Tiger (also known as the Amur, Manchurian, or North China Tiger) is currently the largest species of naturally occurring feline. The tiger is almost totally confined to a very restricted part of eastern Russia, the Amur-Ussuri region of Primorski and Khabarovski, [1] (http://www.amur.org.uk/tigers.shtml) a location it shares with the Siberian leopard, [2] (http://www.amur-leopard.org/distribution.html) where they are now being actively protected.
Tiger population in the aforementioned Siberian reserve was 250 in 1992, increasing to 350 as of 2004, despite significant losses of cubs due to car accidents on the single road that crosses their territory. Illegal poaching has been brought under control thanks to frequent road inspections. It is said that there are still around 20 of these tigers in the Mount Changbai area of China.
As the total population of these tigers is about 250 in the wild today, many subpopulations are likely no longer genetically viable, subject to potentially catastrophic inbreeding.
The Siberian tiger can weigh as much as 650lb (300 kg). In years past, scientists believed that these cats could weigh up to 800lb (350 kg), but that earlier range, which was based largely on the estimates of hunters, is not now generally accepted. Apart from the size, Siberian tigers are differentiated from other tigers by their paler fur and dark brown, rather than black, stripes.
External links
- All About Tigers at 5tigers.org (http://www.5tigers.org/AllAboutTigers/Subspecies/amur.htm)
- Siberians at tigerhomes.org (http://www.tigerhomes.org/animal/siberian_info.cfm)
- Amur at lairweb.org.nz (http://www.lairweb.org.nz/tiger/amur.html)