Why are lions and tigers not afraid to swim, but cats are afraid? The Amur tiger is our beast. Tigers are swimming.

Ask who the largest predator is, and most people will tell you the lion, which is generally considered the king of beasts. Meanwhile, this is just a widespread mistake. The tiger's body length reaches three meters, and its weight reaches 320 kilograms. The lion weighs almost a hundredweight less.
Tiger (lat. Panthera tigris) is a species of predatory mammal of the cat family, one of the four large cats of the genus Panther (lat. Panthera).

Among the representatives of this species there are the largest animals of the cat family. The tiger is also one of the largest land predators, second in mass only to the polar and brown bears.

Nine subspecies of tiger have been identified, of which beginning of XXI Only six centuries have survived (the total population is about 4000-6500 individuals). Located under international security(listed in the IUCN Red List).

One of their strongest external signs is a skin with black or brown bold vertical stripes on a reddish-yellow or reddish-orange background.

The lower part of the body of tigers is usually white or slightly cream.

The tiger species is absolutely exclusively Asian. It appeared somewhere in northern China about 2 million years ago. Also at the end of the last century, tigers could be seen in eastern Turkey and from northern Iran to the East Indies and even in southeastern Siberia.

The advance of civilization into forests and their wild inhabitants has forced tigers in India to attack herds of livestock. As a result, they acquired a reputation as bloodthirsty and vicious creatures, and they were hunted with such zeal that they were almost completely exterminated.

In fact, tigers kill to live, and nothing more.

The main conditions necessary for the survival of tigers in a given territory are the presence of dense vegetation cover, a high number of ungulates, which are the main object of hunting, and access to water bodies.

In most of their range, tigers live in forests various types: from dense tropical jungles to taiga forests of the Russian Far East.

They hunt alone deer, wild boars, even gaur bulls weighing up to one ton, and sometimes, in hungry years, they attack bears in dens.

Tigers hypnotize prey with their voice. Scientists have discovered that tigers use infrasound to scare their prey. It turned out that these striped predators are capable of producing very low frequency sounds that put the prey into a trance state.

A tiger's roar can instantly put another animal, and even a person, into a state of temporary catalepsy.

A tiger's roar can be so low in frequency that the human ear is unable to hear it.

However, at the same time, the animal emits infrasound, which affects the psyche of the victim.

And as a result, the victim falls into a state similar to paralysis. And although the effect lasts only a few seconds, the predator manages to pounce on the prey and kill it.
The predator overtakes the pursued animal with several huge jumps - this is the fastest way of running for a tiger. Being an excellent walker, the tiger will not pursue its prey for long. If the animal leaves, the tiger stops chasing.
A number of factors prevent a tiger from successfully attacking. These are sensitive paw pads that do not allow the predator to run over hot stones and rough terrain without getting burns and wounds. A successful hunt is also hampered by the tiger's inability to continue the chase. While a cheetah can run a greater distance and at greater speed, a tiger takes two, or at most three, leaps before giving up.

A tiger, when he is hungry, is ready to devour almost everything that gets in his way.

A study of Bengal tigers alone revealed a menu of three species of deer, wild bulls, domestic cows, buffalo, monkeys, wild boars, bears, lynxes, badgers, wolves, lizards, snakes, frogs, crabs, fish, locusts, termites, carrion, grass, and in rare cases, and soil.
There are known cases of tiger attacks on crocodiles, pythons, leopards, and even, if he has been starving for a long time, on other tigers.

Of course, the diet of the Amur and Indian tigers is very different, but for all, the main prey is various ungulates. Animals, if not disturbed, spend several days near the killed victim until they eat the entire carcass.

Some animals, mostly those that have received some kind of injury, become cannibals.
Described by Jim Corbett, a famous tiger hunter, such cases show how dramatic and bloody encounters this predator can have with people. Indeed, when one mentions cannibals, it is the tiger that first comes to mind. These words - man-eater and tiger in Asia have become almost synonymous. The problem of man-eating tigers is still relevant today for the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Sundarbans (in the latter, about a hundred people die from man-eating tigers every year).
True, it seems that after studying the behavior of killer tigers, scientists succeeded in last years find a way to fight cannibals. The thing is. that tigers that have become “professional” cannibals, that is, specially tracking down people, almost always attack the victim from an ambush from behind, from the back. The simplest and most effective means of protecting people in such a situation turned out to be a mask with a person’s face painted on it. Worn on the back of the head, this simple “toy” helps to significantly reduce the likelihood that an animal will attack a person.

Tiger is the only cat that loves to swim.

All cats can swim, although the vast majority prefer to stay away from water and only approach it to drink. Some - particularly the jaguar and jaguarundi - do not hesitate to dive into the water to grab a capybara or fish.

But only a tiger bathes for pleasure.

When tigers crossed the Himalayas and settled in the tropics many thousands of years ago, they discovered that water was an excellent coolant.

In the stuffy and hot jungles of India, tigers sit or lie for hours, immersed up to their necks in the water of a lake or river, and enjoy the coolness.

Amur tiger(Panthera tiger altaica), also known as the Ussuri, Siberian, Manchurian or North Chinese, mainly lives in the territory of Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territory Russia, and in very small quantities in northeastern China and North Korea.

The Amur tiger is considered the largest subspecies of the tiger: a tiger cub at the age of six months is comparable in size and weight to an adult leopard. This subspecies is distinguished by thick, long (compared to other subspecies) and fluffy fur, with a duller red background and fewer stripes than other subspecies.

This is the average width of the paw of a young Amur tiger.

In the south of the Russian Far East there is a northern. border of the tiger's range. The Sikhote-Alin Mountains currently contain the world's only viable population of Amur tigers.

Currently, the range consists of three relatively isolated and unequally important areas: the large Sikhote-Alin, located in the west. and east macroslopes of the Sikhote-Alin south of the river. Gur (Hungari) and r. Koppi, respectively (95% of tigers are concentrated in it), and two small ones - southwest, located in the south of the Khasansky district of the Primorsky Territory and stretching from the Shufan (Borisov) plateau along the spurs of the ridge. Black Mountains to Bass. R. Close (Cherukhe), and west, located in the basin. upper reaches of the river Komissarovka (Sintuha). In the latter, tigers appeared again relatively recently - in the late 80s, having been absent here since the early 70s. At present, tigers are practically not found on the left bank of the Amur, with the exception of rare visits of individual individuals below the mouth of the Ussuri. A small group of tigers that lived in the Bass. R. Bidzhan (the southeastern part of the Bureya Range) ceased to exist until the early 70s.

In recent decades, poaching has become widespread and has become commercial in nature in recent years. Tiger products are sold in most countries of East Asia as valuable medicinal raw materials. In Russia, the tiger was taken under protection in 1947, when a complete ban on hunting it was introduced.

Every year on the fourth Sunday of September, Vladivostok celebrates one of the largest environmental holidays- Day of the Tiger. The purpose of the holiday is to remind people of the unique nature of the Primorsky Territory and the need to preserve the Amur tiger not only on flags and coats of arms, but also in real life for our future generation, as well as to attract the attention of the world community to the problems of tiger conservation.

The last two censuses (1996 and 2005) showed the presence of 480-520 individuals of Amur tigers in the wild, living in a single habitat, which makes this population the largest in the world.

The Bengal tiger (lat. Panthera tigris tigris or lat. Panthera tigris bengalensis) is a subspecies of tiger that lives in Northern and Central India, Nepal and Burma, as well as in the vicinity of the mouth of the Ganges River and in Bangladesh. It is smaller than its northern cousin and more brightly colored.

The Bengal tiger living in India also falls into the rare category. There are currently approximately 3,500 individuals living in the country. The reasons for the disappearance are still the same - hunting and reduction of forest area.

On average, the weight of males ranges from 180 to 275 kg. The length of the body without a tail can reach three meters. And the height at the withers is 0.6 to 1.1 m.

In general, the tiger's tail is worthy of mention - the well-furred, striped appendage can grow a whole meter!

Although in a zoo or circus the bright stripes attract all eyes to the tiger, they make it completely invisible in the thickets of elephant grass and bushes where it usually hunts. The orange and black colors are deeper and darker in tropical tigers, which are smaller in stature than their more northern cousins.

Among the Bengal tigers there is a real miracle - white tigers. Brownish or black stripes are visible on the white background of the skin. And the eyes of such individuals are blue!

Experienced hunters also talk about the existence of melanistic tigers (they have black fur, it is difficult to judge the presence of stripes against such a background).

Tiger twins were born at the Tianjin Zoo in China. They have completely different colors - yellow and white. The mother was a mixed tiger, so her offspring inherited each of her different colors.

Since it is difficult for the white Bengal tiger to hunt in the jungle world due to white, a new subspecies is already being bred in nurseries. The white Bengal is crossed with the Siberian species.

The white tiger is by no means a mistake of nature and not an albino.

According to experts, this not very large population was bred to decorate zoos by foreign scientists in the mid-70s.

Professionals explain the rare color by the low content of melanin - that is, the enzyme responsible for the color of the skin.

However, the tiger's black stripes were not damaged at all.

White tigers also differ from their red-skinned counterparts in eye color.

Their eyes are blue, and, according to zookeepers, they are freezing.

True albino tigers are white with pink stripes and pink eyes, but such amazing animals are very rare.

The zoo in Vallejo, California, has a local favorite - a unique white tiger named Odin.

Literally everyone adores the animal, because in addition to being a very rare animal, it loves to swim in the water.

One can bask in the water all day long. For this purpose, he was even given a separate pool.

The tiger's trainer states that his charge is very smart.

And that all its severity is just a first impression, in fact, “it’s just a big domestic cat”...

This type of tiger was seen only on the island of Sumatra, now about 400-500 individuals of Sumaran tigers are in wildlife and about 235 individuals in zoos; various types of activities were organized for the Sumatran tiger National parks and zoos, this subspecies of tigers is the smallest surviving one: for example, the weight of such an adult male is small, only about 100-140 kg.

The Sumatran tiger is not very similar to its relatives from the Amur region, India, etc.

These tigers are not as big as, for example, Indian (Bengal) or Amur tigers.

Sumatran tigers are quite aggressive: maybe because he had an unpleasant experience meeting people.

The nearly extinct Indonesian subspecies of tigers are even smaller and darker than their mainland relatives.

The Malayan tiger is found exclusively in the southern (Malaysian) part of the Malay Peninsula. The Malayan tiger is the smallest of the tiger subspecies. Its coloring and stripes are very similar to the Indochinese tiger, but its size is closer to the Sumatran tiger. The weight of males is 120 kg, females - up to 100 kg. The length of males is up to 237 cm, and females - up to 200 cm.

The Bali tiger is an extinct subspecies of tigers that lived only on the island of Bali.

The Javan tiger is an extinct subspecies of tigers native to the Indonesian island of Java. The subspecies presumably became extinct in the 1980s due to hunting and habitat destruction.

The Turanian tiger (also Mazandaran or Caspian) is an extinct subspecies of tigers that lived in Central Asia.

I would not like tigers and other animals to remain only on paintings, such as in Rubens’s painting “The Hunt for Tigers and Lions.”

Many nurseries are working on programs to maintain the population and breed these animals in zoos in order to one day release them into the wild into their habitat.

Fights occur between males for the right to mate with a female.

The tigress is capable of fertilization only a few days a year, during which mating occurs several times a day and is accompanied by loud sounds.

The tigress makes her lair in the most inaccessible places: in crevices among stones, in caves, among windbreaks, and reed supports.

The tigress brings offspring - usually two to four cubs, occasionally six - once every two years. Tiger cubs live with their mother for two to three years, sometimes up to five years. It should be noted that all of them do not have time to grow up; some, for various reasons, die very young.

The cubs grow up under the supervision of their mother, who does not allow the male to approach the offspring, since wandering males can kill the cubs.

For the first two months, the tigress feeds the cubs with milk, but then gradually begins to accustom them to meat. And when the cubs become strong enough, the mother begins to take them hunting with her and teach them how to master the prey.

At the age of 8 weeks, tiger cubs become able to follow their mother and leave the den.

In the wild, a tiger lives no more than twenty years, but now, when the pressure is rapidly increasing, only a superbly physically developed tiger with very fast reactions can live up to this period.

This is not a photo montage. It’s just that one day a tigress was fed by a pig. All this confusion occurred in a Thai zoo located near Bangkok.

A Bengal tigress born in captivity was raised by a common pig.

Over the course of four years, she became attached to both “mommy” herself and her own children.

For four months the wild cat did not tear itself away from the pig's chest.

In gratitude for the patience of her “mother,” the tigress took upon herself the voluntary protection of her foster brothers and sisters.

And in caftans from faux fur They were dressed by zookeepers.

A hunting dog nursed three white tiger cubs born at a zoo in southern Kansas who were left without care after their mother abandoned them.

If a person picks up a cub, the animal may reject it, sensing foreign odors. In addition, some animals suffer mental damage in captivity. Any stress can lead to failure, especially in very cautious animals. To save the newborns, who represent the rarest breed in the world, zoo staff had to be smart.

The coming Year of the Tiger 2010 will officially begin on 02/14/2010 according to the change of dates in Eastern lunar calendar. Therefore European New Year It is not at all necessary to celebrate in striped suits a la the Year of the Tiger.
The tiger, as one of the oldest and largest predators, has always been a dual, incomprehensibly mysterious image for humans, arousing the horror of the beast and admiration for its wild power and grace. Therefore, he ended up in the pantheon of animal deities among shamanists, Hindus, Taoists, Buddhists and even Shintoists (although in the entire history of Japan no one has seen a tiger there in a single year!).
When the East discovered 12-year bio-lunar cycles, it defined the 3rd year as the Year of the Tiger, because large groups people began to behave extremely emotionally at this time, overwhelmed by a thirst for activity and a thirst for power, which increased the number of accidents and conflicts between people.
Therefore, the Year of the Tiger 2010 is seen as a year of “deep reform”, or rather, the collapse of the economy. But perhaps you will be saved by the feng shui souvenirs offered for the Year of the Tiger 2010 by our great “yellow neighbor”: White Tiger 2010 figurines, drawings and calendars with the symbols of the Year of the Tiger.
Depending on the “element of the year,” a person in the Year of the Tiger acquires different colors of emotions. For example, the Year of the Tiger 2010 has the element Metal, which means coldness and stubbornness in achieving goals. On the other hand, Tiger 2010 carries Yang energy, which implies activity and positive goal settings.

Tiger

The tiger is a species of predatory mammal of the cat family, one of the four representatives of the panther genus, which belongs to the subfamily of big cats.

The tiger is an exclusively Asian species. It appeared somewhere in northern China about two million years ago. The historical range of the tiger is located in the Far East of Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, China, India and the countries of Southeast Asia, the island of Indonesia.

Tigers live in a wide range of landscapes: wet rainforests, mangrove swamps and bamboo thickets in the tropics, dry savannas, semi-deserts, bare rocky hills and taiga in the north. In the mountains, tigers rise to heights of up to 3000 m above sea level.

The tiger is one of the largest land predators, second in mass only to the white and brown bears.

The tiger is the largest and heaviest of the wild cats, but its various subspecies vary greatly in size and body weight.

The largest tigers are the Amur (Ussuri, Siberian) and Indian (Bengali) subspecies.

The body length (without tail) of large tigers is up to 3.5 meters. And the tail is 1 meter long!
Height at withers up to 1.15 meters.
Average weight A male tiger weighs about 180-200 kg, a female - 120-140 kg.

The tiger's head is round. The ears are small, rounded. On the sides of the head the hair is longer - something like a beard.

The basic color tone of tigers ranges from rusty red to rusty brown. The belly, chest and inner surface of the paws are light. There are also light markings on the back of the ears.

There are light (“golden”) and white tigers.

The tiger's body is covered with stripes, the color of which varies from brown to completely black. The tiger's striped skin serves to camouflage it when hunting in forests and bushes. The tiger's coloring allows it to remain undetected in the thickets. It is interesting that the striped pattern is present not only on the skin, but also on the skin of the tiger, and if the fur is shaved, dark fur grows on the dark stripes, and the pattern is completely restored.
The shape and spacing of the stripes varies among different subspecies, but most tigers have more than 100 stripes.

The arrangement of stripes is unique to each individual animal, and thus can be used to identify individuals, similar to fingerprints in humans. This feature sometimes used by researchers to identify individuals being monitored in the wild.

Sounds a tiger makes:

The tiger, thanks to the structure of the larynx and vocal cords, is capable of roaring.
- a tiger growls during a fight or makes a victorious growl after a successful hunt.
- when meeting a person or rival, the tiger hisses or purrs threateningly.
- when attacked, the tiger snorts like a domestic cat.
- caressing the tiger gently purrs, sometimes turning to meowing.

The tiger is a very strong cat, with a powerful, muscular, flexible body, which allows it to successfully cope with even large prey.
The tiger is active both at night and during daylight hours. Tigers have well-developed night vision.

The tiger moves with large steps and almost silently, thanks to the soft pads on its paws. The front feet have 5 toes, the hind feet have four, all with retractable claws.

Adult tigers do not climb trees, although cubs and young tigers can play and rest in trees.

Hind legs The tiger's legs are longer than the front ones, due to this it easily jumps on its prey.
Large claws and a powerful, muscular shoulder girdle allow the tiger to grab prey so that it has no chance of escape.

An adult tiger, like most other cats, has 30 teeth. On the top and lower jaw 6 incisors, 2 canines. Well-developed fangs, which can reach 8 cm in length, help the tiger kill prey.

The long and mobile tongue is equipped on the sides with special tubercles, which are covered with keratinized epithelium and allow the meat to be separated from the skeleton of the victim. These bumps also help with "washing".

Tiger is the only cat that loves to swim!

All cats can swim, although the vast majority prefer to stay away from water and only approach it to drink. Tigers live in dense forests and often settle near water. Neither a river nor a lake is an obstacle for a tiger, which has no fear of deep or flowing water. Tigers swim well and, without hesitation, rush into the water for prey.

During lunch, tigers often stay near water bodies, as they drink a lot while eating. And in During hot weather, tigers regularly take baths and readily swim.

In the stuffy and hot jungles of India, tigers sit or lie for hours, immersed up to their necks in the water of a lake or river, and enjoy the coolness.

In the wild, a tiger lives 16-18 years. In zoos, tigers live on average 20-25 years.

Adult tigers are territorial animals, leading a solitary lifestyle and fiercely defending their territory. Tigers mark their personal territories in various ways.

As a rule, tigers prefer to remain within the boundaries of their territories. The size of a tiger's territory depends on the habitat and the abundance of prey.

Maintaining and preserving the territory within its boundaries is essential for the survival of tigers. While the tiger is walking around its territory, it can learn about good places for hunting, breeding.

The Amur tiger hunts sika deer. Museum reconstruction.

Tigers hunt exclusively alone, using two hunting techniques: sneaking up on prey and waiting for it in ambush. The first technique is used more often by tigers in winter, the second in summer.

Tigers usually stalk and wait for prey on trails and near watering holes.

Having tracked the animal, the tiger sneaks up on it from the leeward side. At the same time, he moves in short, careful steps, often crouching to the ground.

Having approached the prey as close as possible, it overtakes it with several huge jumps - the fastest way of movement.

When waiting in ambush, the tiger usually waits, lying in the wind, and when approaching, they make a quick dash over a short distance.

Despite its large body weight, a tiger can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h on almost any terrain. During a hunt, a tiger can jump up to 5 m in height and 10 m in length.

A tiger can carry killed prey by holding it in its teeth or throwing it on its back: thus, it can run with prey weighing 100 kg.

A tiger, when he is hungry, is ready to eat almost everything that comes in his way. A study of one Bengal population revealed a menu of three species of deer, wild bulls, domestic cows, buffalo, monkeys, wild boars, bears, lynx, badgers, wolves, lizards, snakes, frogs, crabs, fish, locusts, termites, carrion, and even fruit , nuts and herbs!

Tigers pair up only for a short period of time.

A tigress usually gives birth every 2 to 3 years. Over the course of her entire life, a female gives birth to 10 - 20 tiger cubs, of which approximately half die at a young age.

The tiger cubs are raised by one female.
The cubs spend the first two months in a shelter that the mother finds before they are born. The den is made in the most inaccessible places: in crevices among stones, in caves, among windbreaks, and reed supports. A female tiger can occupy the same den for several years in a row.

For the first 2 months, tiger cubs grow only on milk. They feed on mother's milk for up to 5-6 months. Then the kids begin to gradually switch to the prey brought by the tigress and at the same time show interest in the world around them.

The ability to track game, get close to it and kill it is not an innate form of behavior, but the result of teaching tiger cubs by their mother the ways and techniques of hunting.

The tigress is a caring mother. While the cubs are very young, the mother does not let the father get close to them. But later, perhaps, the tiger comes to his family from time to time.
The American zoologist J. Schaller once saw an adult tiger, two tigresses and four cubs, who quite amicably, without quarrels, ate one bull. Another time, a tigress and four cubs were having lunch when an adult tiger appeared. He was clearly hungry and eyed his prey greedily. However, he waited patiently on the sidelines until the kids were full. And only then did he begin to eat.

More recently, there were still 9 subspecies of tigers, of which three species (Caspian, Bali, Javan) have already been destroyed by humans.

Today there are only six subspecies of tigers left:

Coat of arms of Malaysia

Due to constant persecution by humans and changes in habitat conditions, the number of tigers is continuously falling and their habitat is shrinking. According to some estimates, the number of these animals has decreased by 95% compared to the century before last. The total population of the species in nature is now estimated at 4000-6500 individuals.

Myth 1: Cats hate swimming

Unlike most cat species, tigers thrive in water. These rare animals love to swim and sometimes even engage in “cat diving” - diving under water. However, they do not neglect the traditional cat method of washing - licking the fur.
In hotter climates, tigers lie in the water to escape the heat and annoying insects. They prefer fresh water, it is believed that salty foods can irritate the liver.

Photo: Photo: Gore Fiendus (Jerry Frausto) /flickr.com

Myth 2: Cats are nocturnal animals

Tigers, unlike the domestic cat, are crepuscular animals. This means that they practically do not hunt at night, and the active phase of their life occurs during dawn and dusk. A consequence of this is the special structure of the eyes of tigers - their pupils are round, not oblong. And although tigers are not particularly adapted to nightlife, their vision is very decent: in the dark, a person sees about 6 times worse than tabby cats.

Myth 3: Cats lap up water.

The process of fluid absorption in tigers is noticeably different not only from other cats, but also from many other animals. Tigers do not curl their tongues and lap up water. Instead, they throw up liquid with their tongue and quickly close their mouth.

Pet tiger Enzo

Myth 4: Leo is the king of beasts

In Chinese culture, it is not lions at all, but tigers that have real royal status. It's all about a specific mark on the tiger's skin. Although the stripes of each member of the species are completely unique, like human fingerprints, each of them has almost the same pattern on their face, which is very similar to the Chinese character for "king". However, despite the important mythological and cultural role in the life of the Chinese, it was there that the animal suffered most from its use in traditional medicine: it was believed that the organs of tigers had a powerful healing effect and could even act as an aphrodisiac.

Myth 5: Big cats hunt herbivores

The tiger's diet is very diverse and includes not only large ungulates, like lions and other big cats, but also a variety of animals of much smaller size. Tigers often hunt other predators, even crocodiles and adult bears! Moreover, “clubfoot” can make up up to 8 percent of a tiger’s diet. As a result, Amur tigers and brown bears pose a serious danger to each other's population.

This is a hug to confuse you :)

Tigers usually have yellow eyes, only white ones have blue eyes. This is due to a mutation in the gene that is responsible for both coat color and eye color. In addition, the same gene is responsible for the presence of strabismus, so blue-eyed tigers usually suffer from strabismus.

To mark their territory, tigers scratch and urinate on tree trunks. The smell of tiger urine is very similar to popcorn. . [If you're in India, don't buy food at movie theaters. You never know...]
An ordinary tiger can determine the age, sex and reproductive capabilities of another tiger by smelling the urine of another tiger.
Male tigers usually mark larger territories than females, and the territories of males never overlap the territories of other males. The same situation applies to females. However, the territories of males often overlap the territories of females, so they have the opportunity to meet and have offspring.

A tiger usually does not growl at another animal; the growl of these striped predators plays the role of speech. If a tiger needs to scare its prey, it usually hisses and snorts.

When a group of tigers shares the kill, the females usually feed first (unlike lions). Tigers rarely fight over prey, preferring to wait.

The stripes on a tiger's skin are unique; they are a kind of “fingerprint.”

As is the case with ordinary cats, tigers have stripes not only on their fur, but also on the surface of their skin, so if a tiger is shaved, it will still be spotted.

Female tigers are most fertile (the ability to give birth) for only 4-5 days a year. During this time, they mate intensively, after which they bear offspring for three months and usually give birth to two or three cubs.

During the first week of life, tigers are completely blind.

No more than half of the cubs survive to adulthood.

Pugs feed tiger cubs abandoned by their mother.

A tiger's penis, unlike a human's, does not harden during mating. It has a special bone (baculum), which serves to maintain the “connection”

The most common method of hunting among tigers is an ambush, so if you suddenly see a tiger in the savannah, then you are lucky - he is in this moment does not hunt, but rests. In some areas of India, when moving through areas where tigers live, aborigines wear special masks on the back of their heads with a face on them. Tigers attack owners of such masks less often - it disappears for them essential element surprise.

Tigers usually do not attack people and do not consider them as prey. They are driven to cannibalism by extreme hunger due to changes in living conditions.
There is a known case when a female tiger, protecting her offspring, killed a man. She liked the taste, and in the subsequent period she killed at least 430 people.

Tigers in a relaxed state do not purr like cats, but close their eyes. For them, reduced visibility is a serious vulnerability that they can only afford in the safest moments.

At short distances, tigers can run at speeds of up to 60 km/h

The tiger is capable of jumping over obstacles up to 6 meters long, as well as jumping up to 5 meters in height. Their paws are so strong that sometimes the tiger remains standing even when dead.

Kitty begs

Only one out of ten attempts to hunt tigers is successful, so they usually have a break between meals of several days. But if the hunt is successful, the tiger eats more than 30 kg of meat in one sitting.

Despite their speed and strength, tigers tire much faster than people. A tiger can live without food for two to three weeks, and average person- 30-40 days.

Tigers can imitate the voices of their victims to lure them. [Personally, I have great doubts about this fact. Or shock.]
Bears sometimes become victims of tigers, as they overlap with them in their habitats and food preferences. Tigers imitate the roar of a bear and lie in wait for unwary bears, waiting until one of them wanders far enough into the thickets.

The most common way a tiger kills its victims is by strangulation or cutting through an artery. If it is not immediately possible to reach a large blood vessel, the tiger hangs on the victim, clutching its neck, causing it to die from suffocation.
The tiger's most deadly weapon is its 10-centimeter teeth, and less commonly, its paws. One blow from a tiger's paw is enough to cut off a bear's head or break its spine.
The tiger can freely bite through the bone of the prey with the help of its sharp teeth and strong jaws. He damages the cervical vertebrae simply by biting them.
Tigers are very inventive in their methods of killing if the usual method does not bring success. When hunting a crocodile, a tiger rarely tries to bite through its powerful neck; instead, with blows of its paws, it blinds the reptile, after which it turns it over and gets to the vulnerable skin on its stomach.

A tiger's saliva has antiseptic properties, so he literally licks his wounds for speedy healing.

Like other cats, the tiger's tongue is covered with special hard tubercles, with which it “combs out” matted areas of fur.

Over the past 80 years, at least three species of tigers have disappeared - the Balinese (it was exterminated by the aborigines, believing that it was the devil), the Javan (exterminated due to hunting for it and changing conditions environment) and Caspian (extinct due to lack of food and excess of hunters).
Research has shown that cats, on average, have much more tenacious memory than people. Tigers' short-term memory is thirty times longer than that of humans.

The mass of a tiger's brain is 300 grams, which is almost a record among predators, second only to the polar bear.

There are about 3,500 tigers left in the wild, and a little more in zoos.

Tigers are individualistic animals; they group together only for hunting or as children.

Tigers have color vision, just like humans. [I never understood this moment. how can you check what color animals see?]

In captivity, tigers can mate with other felines, such as lions or leopards.

Tigers can't stand the smell of cinnamon and love the smell of pepper. [So if you're afraid of tigers, sprinkle some cinnamon on your threshold. No pie, threshold! :)].

It’s not that all cats are afraid, they just don’t like water to begin with. And if they accidentally step into the water, they immediately begin to shake their paws in disgust, even tigers, even lions, even domestic cats - everyone has the same reaction. But, I say again, they all have no fear of water, they just don’t like it. Therefore, if necessary, they can use it. Tigers and lions are children of nature, and their struggle for survival can force them, for example, to move to the other side of the river. Both the tiger and the lion can cross the river if necessary, but you will never see them swimming for pleasure, as other animals can do. A domestic cat can also be trained to drink water. I remember my friends had a cat that they trained to take a bath every evening. And if, for example, the next evening they forgot to give him a bath, he would start yelling angrily, throwing himself at everyone and...

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Only cats can answer this question, but, unfortunately, they do not speak. It is known that some species of large cats are not at all afraid of water. Lions, tigers, jaguars, ocelots enjoy swimming. Cats in cold climates would prefer to avoid getting wet, and this makes perfect sense. A cat's fur serves as an insulating layer, retaining body heat; getting the fur wet reduces the thermal insulation effect.

Probably, the type of prey of a domestic cat also plays a role in this. The cat eats mice and small land animals, so there is no need for it to enter the water.

Cats are very clean animals and spend several hours a day grooming their fur. Unlike other species of animals (humans, for example), which keep their bodies clean with water, cats do not need to bathe. A tongue is all a cat needs to keep its fur clean.

This is just speculation on the topic....

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Most people, without thinking, will answer the question: “What are cats most afraid of?” Of course, water! Can they answer why cats are afraid of water? Genetics, evolution, personal dislike, phobia? What is the reason for the seemingly irrational fear inherent in these brave creatures?

Zoologists at one time paid close attention to this issue. Probably just out of curiosity, but it was worth it: it turned out that the mustachioed hunters are not afraid of water at all, and do not want to get wet for completely rational reasons.

Risk of hypothermia

Between the top layer of fur and the cat’s skin there is a “layer” of air - the so-called air cushion. This is a protective layer that is heated by the warmth of the cat's body and prevents the pet from freezing. When wet, wool loses its insulating properties. But why are cats afraid of water and dogs are not? To understand, you need to remember the lifestyle of these two animals.

A dog is a pack animal; if it gets cold, it will cling to...

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Can cats swim? Of course they can! Any animal can swim and in extreme situations swims out with ease. Another question is whether they like this activity. Most domestic cats do not like water, and when they find themselves near a body of water, they become noticeably nervous and try with all their might to avoid an unpleasant bath.

Do cats swim?

Start small - taking a bath. I often hear from friends that even the most harmless bathing of a clawed friend causes a lot of trouble. The whole secret is in the water temperature. The water must be equal to the cat's body temperature. Too cold or too hot water causes the cat unimaginable discomfort.

Measure the cat's temperature and pour the same water into the basin. From the very first time, you will notice how much less problems there will be with bathing. Then, pour a larger container for bathing so that the animal has room to turn around. Afterwards, you can move on to bathing in a full bath. Gradually, having accustomed the animal to such water procedures...

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Cats have a fairly strong instinct of self-preservation, so although they know how to swim, they never do this in order not to get their fur wet.

Our pets are interesting each in their own way, if dogs are best friends people, then cats are creatures that are created for love. They are important participants in our lives and attract even the most avid non-animal lovers. A cat is a cute creature that loves itself and its owners. Cats are unique pets that are very mysterious and interesting at the same time. Although cats are excellent swimmers, they will never get into a body of water on their own for fun. The cat is constantly wary of moisture and she does this not only because she does not like to swim, but because she has an absolutely objective reason for this. The fact is that these creatures have their own coat structure and thanks to this they never freeze or suffer from the heat. A cat's undercoat has an air cushion that retains heat in winter and gives...

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What do cats hate most? Of course, water - you will answer and you won’t be wrong. Our pets are terrified of the bath: you just have to bring them to open door, the animals immediately begin to panic, break free, and sometimes even bite and scratch. Why don't cats like water?

It turns out they have good reasons for this, due to genetic memory. A cat's undercoat contains a special layer of air that protects it from overheating and freezing. When the fur gets wet, the layer is destroyed and the cat begins to freeze. Water procedures are not so scary for dogs, because they run around a lot, chasing prey, and lead a pack lifestyle - they can warm their sides against their fellow tribesmen. But the cat is a loner, with no one to cuddle up to, she motionlessly guards her prey in ambush, her territory is much smaller and the predator rarely runs. Therefore, a wet cat will become a victim of frost very quickly.

Can cats swim? They know how - and how! Little kittens that have just learned to more or less...

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Why are cats afraid of water? Cats have a fairly strong instinct of self-preservation, so although they know how to swim, they never do this in order not to get their fur wet. Our pets are interesting in their own way; if dogs are people’s best friends, then cats are creatures that are created for love. They are important participants in our lives and attract even the most avid non-animal lovers. A cat is a cute creature that loves itself and its owners. Cats are unique pets that are very mysterious and interesting at the same time. Although cats are excellent swimmers, they will never get into a body of water on their own for fun. The cat is constantly wary of moisture and she does this not only because she does not like to swim, but because she has an absolutely objective reason for this. The fact is that these creatures have their own coat structure and thanks to this they never freeze or suffer from the heat. A cat's undercoat has an air cushion that...

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These amazing wild cats

The cat family (Felidae) is already 35 million years old. Wild felines are absent only in Australia and Antarctica. There are 36-35 species in total, grouped into 4 genera.

The largest and the smallest

The largest wild cat is the tiger: its weight reaches 270 kilograms, but this is not the limit. Hunters have killed tigers weighing 320 kg. Lions in the wild rarely weigh more than 200 kg, their weight category is 125-250 kg. The experience of zoos and circuses convinces us: if a lion fights with a tiger, the first remains defeated. If the animals are not separated in time, the tiger will kill the lion.

The largest tiger

...Amur. The smallest is the Sunda, he used to live on the island of Bali and now continues to live in Sumatra.

The biggest teeth

Of all the predatory animals, the tiger has the largest teeth, its jaws are so powerful that...

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Why are ligers called exotic cats?

A liger is a hybrid of a lion and a tigress. This animal is the largest cat in the world, as it reaches a height of three meters. However, such “nuggets” do not appear in the wild often, because the habitats of lions and tigers differ. That is why such hybrids are exotic clean water! They appear relatively infrequently and for the reason that between these representatives various types In the cat family, “love attraction” occurs quite rarely in nature, if at all.

At the moment, there are no more than two dozen ligers in the world.

Ligers, for the most part, appear in those zoos where often both tiger cubs and lion cubs are in the same enclosure. Little liger cubs are adorable and rare creatures that quickly turn into real crowd favorites!

Neither a tiger nor a lion

The appearance of the liger is not so clear. This hybrid incorporates features of both mother and father....

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Why is it believed that cats are afraid of water?

The objective reason for fear of water may be the structure of the coat. Cat fur allows the animal not to become overcooled in cold weather and not to suffer from heat in hot weather. The air layer of the undercoat is an excellent thermoregulatory “device”.
Wet fur loses this layer, so cats instinctively try to avoid getting their fur wet.

On our website you can also read an article about other big cats - about white tigers. There you can see unusual photos cats are white.
Another reason for "hydrophobia" in cats is that wet fur smells much stronger. Big cats (and our beloved pets) hunt by lying in wait for game, and the enhanced smell will certainly scare off the prey.

It becomes clear that the vast majority of cats are afraid not of water, but of the consequences...

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Cats are afraid of water

Can cats swim? Of course, they can, but they never do it so as not to get their fur wet. If a cat finds itself in an extreme situation, it will definitely swim out. However, most domestic cats do not like water, and when they find themselves near a pond or in a bathtub filled with water, they become noticeably nervous and try with all their might to avoid an unpleasant bath. Why are cats afraid to get their fur coat wet? The fact is that cat fur has a special structure thanks to which they never freeze or suffer from the heat. The undercoat of cats, especially developed in British cats, has an air cushion that retains heat in winter and prevents heat from penetrating the animal’s body in summer. If the fur gets wet, then the air cushion disappears, so cats quickly freeze. Cats do an excellent job of cleaning themselves, so they don’t need water treatments.

Of course, a domestic cat has to be bathed sometimes. How to do this correctly, read the article:...

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Domestic cats generally avoid contact with water. Many owners, when trying to bathe their furry pet, are faced, to put it mildly, with a negative reaction from their furry pets. Bathing, as a rule, is unsuccessful, and its result is abrasions and claw marks on the owner’s back, victory and flight of the pet away from this terrible “wet” place. And this despite the fact that cats can swim and catch fish quite deftly. Paradox?

Fear of water or something else?

Since cats are excellent swimmers, their dislike of bathing cannot be explained by a fear of water. What is a cat afraid of? There is a possibility that she is afraid to get her fur, which has a peculiar structure, wet. As you know, these animals are not hot in summer and not cold in winter. Their undercoat has an air cushion that allows them to retain heat and prevent heat or cold from penetrating the body. When it comes into contact with water, the wool becomes wet and the air cushion disappears. As a result, the cat instantly freezes...

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The cat is one of the most popular pets along with dogs. Historians claim that all domesticated cats descend from one of the five representatives of the “steppe cat” subspecies, which in turn appeared approximately 130 thousand years ago. As for the domestication of the animal, this happened around 9500 BC. in the East, where the first human civilizations had just begun to emerge. And not so long ago, a joint burial of a man and a cat was discovered in Cyprus, which dates back to 7000 BC.

Many of us have pets and most often they are cats. Have you ever wondered how long they live? If you ask this question to Wikipedia, we will get the following answer - the average life expectancy of an animal is about 14 years, in some cases these cute animals can live up to 20, or even 25 years. However, in life there are completely surprising cases. So, a cat named Lucy, who lives in one of the British families, V...

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The tiger (lat. Panthera tigris) is a mammal and the largest predator of the cat family. The body of this animal is elongated, flexible and muscular, 1.8 - 3.1 m long and weighing about 270 kg.

The head is round in shape, the ears are small, and the tail is long (about 90 cm). The coat color is red with black transverse stripes.

Thanks to this unusual color, the animal can camouflage itself well in thickets. In addition, the color of the skin depends on the specific geographical location of the “cat,” which makes it possible to distinguish several subspecies of this animal.

Most known species are the Amur, Bengal, and Indochinese tigers. These animals can only be found in Asia (in Southeast Asia, Middle and Far East, in the Primorsky Territory of Russia), they live in a variety of areas (both in forests and in the mountains).

They feed on ungulates, and also do not disdain crocodiles, turtles, crabs, fish and insects. The mating season usually occurs during winter time years, the duration of pregnancy varies between 95 and 112 days.

Usually from two to four tiger cubs are born, in rare cases - one. Young tigers live with their mother for 2-5 years, and reach sexual maturity: females at 3-4 years, males at 4-5 years. Life expectancy is a maximum of 25-26 years.

Tigers always hunt in packs. This statement is far from the truth. Many people confuse the lifestyle of tigers with the lifestyle of lions. Lions - yes, they live and hunt in groups, while tigers are animals accustomed to solitude, and therefore prefer to hunt alone. Although there is an exception to this tiger rule: tigers can hunt in a small group if mating season and when young tiger cubs are not yet able to independently lead a full adult life.

Each tiger can be distinguished from another by the paw prints it leaves. In reality, the track of the same tiger will always look different on different soils, so it is not easy to tell which tiger visited a given place.

Tigers are afraid of water. Unlike other animals of the cat family, tigers and jaguars are not the least bit afraid of watery places and swim there with great pleasure. When it's especially worth it hot weather, these animals literally do not get out of the water; they can lie there for hours, escaping from the scorching sun.

Tigers cannot climb trees. They also belong to the cat family, which means, like an ordinary domestic cat, they can climb a tree. But it’s not a particularly favorite activity for them, and a tiger can climb a tree only if a tasty morsel is “settled” there or if there is a stressful situation. Therefore, when meeting a tiger, there is no point in hiding from the beast in a tree.

Tigers love to feast on humans. As a rule, a healthy young tiger will never specifically hunt a person; ungulates and other animals are quite enough for him. Old or sick (wounded) tigers can actually attack people, since they are no longer able to hunt large prey.

Having obtained food for itself and having eaten heartily, the tiger sets off on a long journey, no longer paying attention to other animals. False statement. The tiger is not a fan of long walks, and therefore rarely makes long journeys. And he can hunt at any opportunity presented to him.

Exists separate species tigers - White tigers. This is an erroneous statement. In fact, white tigers are not classified as a separate breed group. In addition, the birth of a white tiger is quite rare. Such an “ugly duckling” among tigers can be born from a completely normal orange and black tiger family. The thing is that the fur of white tigers can sometimes be devoid of pigmentation, which is responsible for the red color, while the black stripes remain unchanged. So you get a tiger with black stripes on a white coat.

Tigers fight with each other for life and death. Controversial statement. Usually, a fight for tigers is a way to prove which of them is stronger. But, as a rule, the strongest will never “finish off” the weak. As soon as the weaker animal realizes that it is not able to fight the enemy, it tries to retreat as quickly as possible, and the stronger one, in turn, shows generosity and does not pursue its fleeing brother.

Tigers hate dogs. What is true is true. There are several points of view that explain this hatred. One view is that there has been a long-standing feud between dogs and cats. Another is inclined to think that dog meat is very healthy for a tiger and is extremely tasty. In any case, no matter what the dog does and no matter where it is, having noticed it, the tiger strives to “crush” the animal.

These animals live only in Africa. Most researchers believe that all currently known varieties of this predatory cat originated from South Chinese tigers. Gradually they settled Iran and Turkey, but this cannot be said about Africa. Of course, today there are more than enough of them there, but this does not mean that the tigers themselves moved there and took a liking to these places; most likely, people helped them in this.