TIGER BODY

Though similar to a lion's, the lower jaw structure is a reliable indicator of t

he species.
Tigers have muscular bodies with powerful forelimbs, large heads and long tails.
The pelage is dense and heavy; colouration varies between shades of orange and
brown with white ventral areas and distinctive vertical black stripes, whose pat
terns are unique to each individual.[22][57] Their function is likely for camouf
lage in vegetation such as long grass with strong vertical patterns of light and
shade.[57][58] The tiger is one of only a few striped cat species; it is not kn
own why spotted patterns and rosettes are the more common camouflage pattern amo
ng felids.[59] The tiger's stripes are also found on the skin, so that if it wer
e to be shaved, its distinctive coat pattern would still be visible. They have a
mane-like heavy growth of fur around the neck and jaws and long whiskers, espec
ially in males. The pupils are circular with yellow irises. The small, rounded e
ars have a prominent white spot on the back, surrounded by black.[22] These fals
e "eyespots", called ocelli, apparently play an important role in intraspecies c
ommunication.[60]
The skull is similar to that of the lion, though the frontal region is usually n
ot as depressed or flattened, with a slightly longer postorbital region. The sku
ll of a lion has broader nasal openings. However, due to variation in skulls of
the two species, the structure of the lower jaw is a more reliable indicator of
species.[61] The tiger also has fairly stout teeth; the somewhat curved canines
are the longest among living felids with a crown height of up to 90mm (3.5in).[22]
The oldest recorded captive tiger lived for 26 years. A wild specimen, having no
natural predators, could in theory live to a comparable age.[62]
Size
A Siberian tiger, one of the tallest subspecies, together with the Bengal tigera
re considered the largest living felids.
Tigers are the most variable in size of all big cats, much more so than lions.[6
3] The Bengal and Siberian subspecies are the tallest at the shoulder and thus c
onsidered the largest living felids, ranking with the extinct Caspian tiger amon
g the biggest that ever existed.[64] An average adult male tiger from Northern I
ndia or Siberia outweighs an average adult male lion by around 45.5kg (100lb).[63]
Males vary in total length from 250 to 390cm (98 to 154in) and weigh between 90 t
o 306kg (198 to 675lb) with skull length ranging from 316 to 383mm (12.4 to 15.1in).
Females vary in total length from 200 to 275cm (79 to 108in), weigh 65 to 167kg (1
43 to 368lb) with skull length ranging from 268 to 318mm (10.6 to 12.5in).[65] The
largest wild tiger ever reported had a total body length of 3.38m (11.1ft) over cu
rves and weighed 388.7kg (857lb).[citation needed] In either sex, the tail represe
nts about 0.6 to 1.1m (24 to 43in) of total length.[22]
Body size of different populations seems to be correlated with climateBergmann's
ruleand can be explained by thermoregulation.[22] Large male Siberian tigers can
reach a total length of more than 3.5m (11.5ft) over curves and 3.3m (10.8ft) betwee
n pegs, and can weigh up to 306kg (675lb). This is considerably larger than the we
ight of 75 to 140kg (165 to 309lb) reached by the smallest living subspecies, the
Sumatran tiger. At the shoulder, tigers may variously stand 0.7 to 1.22m (2.3 to
4.0ft) tall.[44] The current record weight in the wild was 389kg (858lb) for a Beng
al tiger shot in 1967.[64][66]
They are a notably sexually dimorphic species, females being consistently smalle
r than males. The size difference between males and females is proportionally gr
eater in the larger tiger subspecies, with males weighing up to 1.7 times more t
han females.[67] Males also have wider forepaw pads than females, enabling gende
r to be told from tracks.[67]
Colour variations
White tigers, this recessivecolour variant is found only in the Bengal subspecie

s and with regular stripes and blue eyes. It is not albinism.

A golden tiger, another colour variant, results in thicker light-gold fur, pale
legs and faint orange stripes
A well-known allele found only in the Bengal subspecies produces the white tiger
, a colour variant first recorded in the early 19th century and found in an esti
mated one in 10,000 natural births. Genetically, whiteness is recessive: a cub i
s white only when both parents carry the allele for whiteness.[68] It is not alb
inism, pigment being evident in the white tiger's stripes and in their blue eyes
.[57] The causative mutation changes a single amino acid in the transporter prot
ein SLC45A2.[69]
White tigers are more frequently bred in captivity, where the comparatively smal
l gene pool can lead to inbreeding. This has given white tigers a greater likeli
hood of being born with physical defects, such as cleft palate, scoliosis (curva
ture of the spine), and strabismus (squint).[68] Even apparently healthy white t
igers generally do not live as long as their orange counterparts. Attempts have
been made to cross white and orange tigers to remedy this, often mixing with oth
er subspecies in the process.[70]
Another recessive gene creates the "golden" or "golden tabby" colour variation,
sometimes known as "strawberry". Golden tigers have thicker than usual light-gol
d fur, pale legs, and faint orange stripes. Few golden tigers are kept in captiv
ity; they are invariably at least part Bengal. Some golden tigers carry the whit
e tiger gene,[71] and when two such tigers are mated, they can produce some stri
peless white offspring. Although a "pseudo-melanistic" effectwide stripes that pa
rtially obscure the orange backgroundhas been seen in some pelts, no true black t
igers have been authenticated, with the possible exception of one dead specimen
examined in Chittagong in 1846. These wholly or partially melanistic tigers, if
they exist, are assumed to be intermittent mutations rather than a distinct spec
ies.[72][73] There are further unconfirmed reports of a "blue" or slate-coloured
variant, the Maltese tiger. However, while some felids do exhibit this colourat
ion as a solid coat, there is no known genetic configuration that would result i
n black stripes on a blue-gray background.[72]
Distribution and habitat
Historical distribution
In the past, tigers were found throughout Asia, from the Caucasus and the Caspia
n Sea to Siberia and the Indonesian islands of Java, Bali and Sumatra. Fossil re
mains indicate tigers were also present in Borneo and Palawan in thePhilippines
during the late Pleistocene and Holocene.[74][75]
During the 20th century, tigers became extinct in western Asia and were restrict
ed to isolated pockets in the remaining parts of their range. They were extirpat
ed on the island of Bali in the 1940s, around the Caspian Sea in the 1970s, and
on Java in the 1980s. This was the result of habitat loss and the ongoing killin
g of tigers and tiger prey. Today, their fragmented and partly degraded range ex
tends from India in the west to China and Southeast Asia. The northern limit of
their range is close to the Amur River in southeastern Siberia. The only large i
sland they still inhabit is Sumatra.[1] Since the beginning of the 20th century,
tigers' historical range has shrunk by 93%. In the decade from 1997 to 2007, th
e estimated area known to be occupied by tigers has declined by 41%.[2][76]
Tigers can occupy a wide range of habitat types, but will usually require suffic
ient cover, proximity to water, and an abundance of prey. Compared to the lion,
the tiger prefers denser vegetation, for which its camouflage colouring is ideal
ly suited, and where a single predator is not at a disadvantage compared with th
e multiple felines in a pride.[57] A further habitat requirement is the placemen
t of suitably secluded den locations, which may consist of caves, large hollow t
rees, or dense vegetation.[62] Bengal tigers in particular live in many types of
forests, including wet, evergreen, and the semievergreen of Assam and eastern B
engal; the swampy mangrove forest of the Ganges Delta; the deciduous forest of N

epal, and the thorn forests of theWestern Ghats. In various parts of their range
they inhabit or have inhabited additionally partially open grassland and savann
a as well as taiga forests and rocky habitats.
Biology and behaviour
Tigers are comfortable in water and frequently bathe.
Social activity
Adult tigers lead largely solitary lives. They establish and maintain territorie
s but have much wider home ranges within which they roam. Resident adults of eit
her sex generally confine their movements to their home ranges, within which the
y satisfy their needs and those of their growing cubs. Individuals sharing the s
ame area are aware of each other's movements and activities.[73] The size of the
home range mainly depends on prey abundance, and, in the case of males, on acce
ss to females. A tigress may have a territory of 20km2 (7.7sqmi), while the territo
ries of males are much larger, covering 60 to 100km2 (23 to 39sqmi). The range of a
male tends to overlap those of several females, providing him with a large fiel
d of prospective mating partners.[77]
Unlike many felids, tigers are strong swimmers and often deliberately bathe in p
onds, lakes and rivers as a means of keeping cool in the heat of the day. Among
the big cats, only the jaguar shares a similar fondness for water.[78] They may
cross rivers up to 7km (4.3mi) across and can swim up to 29km (18mi) in a day.[62] T
hey are able to carry prey through or capture it in the water.
Young female tigers establish their first territories close to their mother's. T
he overlap between the female and her mother's territory reduces with time. Male
s, however, migrate further than their female counterparts and set out at a youn
ger age to mark out their own area. A young male acquires territory either by se
eking out an area devoid of other male tigers, or by living as a transient in an
other male's territory until he is older and strong enough to challenge the resi
dent male. Young males seeking to establish themselves thereby comprise the high
est mortality rate (3035% per year) amongst adult tigers.[79]
Male tiger marking his territory
To identify his territory, the male marks trees by spraying urine[80][81] and an
al gland secretions, as well as marking trails with scat and marking trees or th
e ground with their claws. Females also use these "scrapes", as well as urine an
d scat markings. Scent markings of this type allow an individual to pick up info
rmation on another's identity, sex and reproductive status. Females in oestrus w
ill signal their availability by scent marking more frequently and increasing th
eir vocalisations.[82]
Although for the most part avoiding each other, tigers are not always territoria
l and relationships between individuals can be complex. An adult of either sex w
ill sometimes share its kill with others, even those who may not be related to t
hem. George Schaller observed a male share a kill with two females and four cubs
. Unlike male lions, male tigers allow females and cubs to feed on the kill befo
re the male is finished with it; all involved generally seem to behave amicably,
in contrast to the competitive behaviour shown by a lion pride.[60] This quotat
ion is from Stephen Mills' book Tiger, describing an event witnessed by Valmik T
hapar and Fateh Singh Rathore in Ranthambhore National Park:[79]
A dominant tigress they called Padmini killed a 250kg (550lb) male nilgai a very l
arge antelope. They found her at the kill just after dawn with her three 14-mont
h-old cubs and they watched uninterrupted for the next ten hours. During this pe
riod the family was joined by two adult females and one adult male, all offsprin
g from Padmini's previous litters, and by two unrelated tigers, one female the o
ther unidentified. By three o'clock there were no fewer than nine tigers round t
he kill.
Occasionally, male tigers participate in raising cubs, usually their own, but th
is is extremely rare and not always well understood. In May 2015, Amur tigers we
re photographed by camera traps in the Sikhote-Alin Bioshpere Reserve. The photo

s show a male Amur tiger pass by, followed by a female and three cubs within the
span of about two minutes.[83] In Ranthambore, a male Bengal tiger raised and d
efended two orphaned female cubs after their mother had died of illness. The cub
s remained under his care, he supplied them with food, protected them from his r
ival and sister, and apparently also trained them.[84][85]
Male tigers are generally more intolerant of other males within their territorie
s than females are of other females. Territory disputes are usually solved by di
splays of intimidation rather than outright aggression. Several such incidents h
ave been observed in which the subordinate tiger yielded defeat by rolling onto
its back and showing its belly in a submissive posture.[86] Once dominance has b
een established, a male may tolerate a subordinate within his range, as long as
they do not live in too close quarters.[79] The most aggressive disputes tend to
occur between two males when a female is in oestrus, and may rarely result in t
he death of one of the males.[79][86]
Young male showingflehmen response while sniffing urine marking
Facial expressions include the "defense threat", where an individual bares its t
eeth, flattens its ears and its pupils enlarge. Both males and females show a fl
ehmen response, a characteristic grimace, when sniffing urine markings but flehm
en is more often associated with males detecting the markings made by tigresses
in oestrus. Like other Panthera, tigers roar, particularly in aggressive situati
ons, during the mating season or when making a kill. There are two different roa
rs: the "true" roar is made using the hyoid apparatus and forced through an open
mouth as it progressively closes, and the shorter, harsher "coughing" roar is m
ade with the mouth open and teeth exposed. The "true" roar can be heard at up to
3km (1.9mi) away and is sometimes emitted three or four times in succession. When
tense, tigers will moan, a sound similar to a roar but more subdued and made wh
en the mouth is partially or completely closed. Moaning can be heard 400m (1,300ft
) away.[22] Chuffing, soft, low-frequency snorting similar to purring in smaller
cats, is heard in more friendly situations.[87] Other vocal communications incl
ude grunts, woofs, snarls, miaows, hisses and growls.[22]
Tigers have been studied in the wild using a variety of techniques. The populati
ons of tigers have been estimated using plaster casts of their pugmarks, althoug
h this method was criticised as being inaccurate.[88] More recent attempts have
been made using camera trapping and studies on DNA from their scat, while radio
collaring has been used to track tigers in the wild.[89] Tiger spray has been fo
und to be just as good, or better, as a source of DNA as scat.[90]
Hunting and diet
A sub-adult tiger showing incisors, canines and part of the premolars and molars
, while yawning.
Tiger dentition (above) and Asian black bear (below). The large canines make the
killing bite; the carnassials tear flesh.
In the wild, tigers mostly feed on large and medium-sized animals, preferring na
tive ungulates weighing at least 90kg (200lb).[91][92] They typically have little
or no deleterious effect on their prey populations.[62] Sambar deer, chital, bar
asingha, wild boar, gaur, nilgai and both water buffalo and domestic buffalo, in
descending order of preference, are the tiger's favoured prey in Tamil Nadu, In
dia,[91]while gaur and sambar are the preferred prey and constitute the main die
t of tigers in other parts of India.[93][94] They also prey on other predators,
including dogs, leopards, pythons, sloth bears, and crocodiles. In Siberia, the
main prey species are Manchurian wapiti and wild boar (the two species comprisin
g nearly 80% of the prey selected) followed by sika deer, moose, roe deer, and m
usk deer.[95]Asiatic black bears and Ussuri brown bears may also fall prey to ti
gers,[44][96][97] and they constitute up to 40.7% of the diet of Siberian tigers
depending on local conditions and the bear populations.[98] In Sumatra, prey in

clude sambar deer, muntjac, wild boar, Malayan tapir and orangutan.[99][100] In
the former Caspian tiger's range, prey included saiga antelope, camels, Caucasia
n wisent, yak, and wild horses. Like many predators, tigers are opportunistic an
d may eat much smaller prey, such as monkeys, peafowl and other ground-based bir
ds, hares, porcupines, and fish.[91]
Tiger subduing an Indian boar
Bengal tiger devouring apangolin
Tigers generally do not prey on fully grown adult Asian elephants and Indian rhi
noceros but incidents have been reported.[101][102] More often, it is the more v
ulnerable small calves that are taken.[103] Tigers have been reported attacking
and killing elephants ridden by humans during tiger hunts in the 19th century.[1
04] When in close proximity to humans, tigers will also sometimes prey on such d
omestic livestock as cattle, horses, and donkeys.[105] Old or wounded tigers, un
able to catch wild prey, can become man-eaters; this pattern has recurred freque
ntly across India. An exception is in the Sundarbans, where healthy tigers prey
upon fishermen and villagers in search of forest produce, humans thereby forming
a minor part of the tiger's diet.[106] Although almost exclusively carnivorous,
tigers will occasionally eat vegetation for dietary fibresuch as fruit of the s
low match tree.[105]
Tigers are thought to be mainly nocturnal predators,[107] but in areas where hum
ans are typically absent, they have been observed via remote-controlled, hidden
cameras, hunting in daylight.[108] They generally hunt alone and ambush their pr
ey as most other cats do, overpowering them from any angle, using their body siz
e and strength to knock the prey off balance. Successful hunts usually require t
he tiger to almost simultaneously leap onto its quarry, knock it over, and grab
the throat or nape with its teeth.[62] Despite their large size, tigers can reac
h speeds of about 4965km/h (3040mph) but only in short bursts; consequently, tigers
must be close to their prey before they break cover. If the prey catches wind of
the tiger's presence before this, the tiger usually abandons the hunt rather th
an chase prey or battle it head-on. Horizontal leaps of up to 10m (33ft) have been
reported, although leaps of around half this distance are more typical. One in
2 to 20 hunts, including stalking near potential prey, ends in a successful kill
.[62][109][110]
When hunting larger animals, tigers prefer to bite the throat and use their powe
rful forelimbs to hold onto the prey, often simultaneously wrestling it to the g
round. The tiger remains latched onto the neck until its target dies ofstrangula
tion.[60] By this method, gaurs and water buffaloes weighing over a ton have bee
n killed by tigers weighing about a sixth as much.[111] Although they can kill h
ealthy adults, tigers often select the calves or infirm of very large species.[1
12] Healthy adult prey of this type can be dangerous to tackle, as long, strong
horns, legs and tusks are all potentially fatal to the tiger. No other extant la
nd predator routinely takes on prey this large on their own.[113][114]Whilst hun
ting sambars, which comprise up to 60% of their prey in India, tigers have repor
tedly made a passable impersonation of the male sambar's rutting call to attract
them.[91][105] With smaller prey, such as monkeys and hares, the tiger bites th
e nape, often breaking the spinal cord, piercing the windpipe, or severing the j
ugular vein or common carotid artery.[115] Though rarely observed, some tigers h
ave been recorded to kill prey by swiping with their paws, which are powerful en
ough to smash the skulls of domestic cattle,[105] and break the backs of sloth b
ears.[116]
During the 1980s, a tiger named "Genghis" in Ranthambhore National Park was obse
rved frequently hunting prey through deep lake water, a pattern of behaviour tha
t had not previously been witnessed in over 200 years of observations. Moreover,
he appeared to be unusually successful, with 20% of hunts ending in a kill.[117
]
After killing their prey, tigers sometimes drag it to conceal it in vegetative c

over, usually pulling it by grasping with their mouths at the site of the killin
g bite. This, too, can require great physical strength. In one case, after it ha
d killed an adult gaur, a tiger was observed to drag the massive carcass over a
distance of 12m (39ft). When 13 men simultaneously tried to drag the same carcass
later, they were unable to move it.[62] An adult tiger can go for up to two week
s without eating, then gorge on 34kg (75lb) of flesh at one time. In captivity, ad
ult tigers are fed 3 to 6kg (6.6 to 13.2lb) of meat a day.[62]
Interaction with other predators
Tiger hunted by wild dogs(dholes) as illustrated inSamuel Howett & Edward Orme,
Hand Coloured, Aquatint Engravings, 1807
Tigers usually prefer to eat prey they have caught themselves, but are not above
eating carrion in times of scarcity and may even pirate prey from other large c
arnivores. Although predators typically avoid one another, if a prey item is und
er dispute or a serious competitor is encountered, displays of aggression are co
mmon. If these are not sufficient, the conflicts may turn violent; tigers may ki
ll competitors as leopards, dholes, striped hyenas, wolves, bears,pythons and cr
ocodiles on occasion. Tigers may also prey on these competitors.[44][116][118][1
19][120][121] Attacks on smaller predators, such as badgers, lynxes, and foxes,
are almost certainly predatory.[91] Crocodiles, bears and large packs of dholes
may win conflicts against tigers and in some cases even kill them.[44][122][123]
[124]
The considerably smaller leopard avoids competition from tigers by hunting at di
fferent times of the day and hunting different prey.[125] In India's Nagarhole N
ational Park, most prey selected by leopards were from 30 to 175kg (66 to 386lb) a
gainst a preference for prey weighing over 176kg (388lb) in the tigers. The averag
e prey weight in the two respective big cats in India was 37.6kg (83lb) against 91
.5kg (202lb).[126] With relatively abundant prey, tigers and leopards were seen to
successfully coexist without competitive exclusion or interspecies dominance hi
erarchies that may be more common to the African savanna (where the leopard may
coexist with the lion).[126] Lone golden jackals expelled from their pack have b
een known to form commensal relationships with tigers. These solitary jackals, k
nown as kol-bahl, will attach themselves to a particular tiger, trailing it at a
safe distance to feed on the big cat's kills.[127]