[Animals] Tiger - Life Style

[𝐌𝐑-𝐀𝐇𝐌𝐄𝐃 体]

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera. It is most recognisable for its black stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ungulates, such as deer and wild boar. It is territorial and generally a solitary but social predator, requiring large contiguous areas of habitat to support its requirements for prey and rearing of its offspring. Tiger cubs stay with their mother for about two years and then become independent, leaving their mother's home range to establish their own. The tiger was first scientifically described in 1758. It once ranged widely from the Eastern Anatolia Region in the west to the Amur River basin in the east, and in the south from the foothills of the Himalayas to Bali in the Sunda Islands. Since the early 20th century, tiger po[CENSORED]tions have lost at least 93% of their historic range and have been extirpated from Western and Central Asia, the islands of Java and Bali, and in large areas of Southeast and South Asia and China. What remains of the range where tigers still roam free is fragmented, stretching in spots from Siberian temperate forests to subtropical and tropical forests on the Indian subcontinent, Indochina and a single Indonesian island,

Sumatra. The tiger is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. India hosts the largest tiger po[CENSORED]tion. Major reasons for po[CENSORED]tion decline are habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and poaching. Tigers are also victims of human–wildlife conflict, due to encroachment in countries with a high human po[CENSORED]tion density. The tiger is among the most recognisable and po[CENSORED]r of the world's charismatic megafauna. It featured prominently in the ancient mythology and folklore of cultures throughout its historic range and continues to be depicted in modern films and literature, appearing on many flags, coats of arms and as mascots for sporting teams. The tiger is the national animal of India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and South Korea.The Old English tigras derives from Old French tigre, from Latin tigris. This was a borrowing of Classical Greek τίγρις 'tigris'.[4][5] The ultimate origin of the word is uncertain.[6] Ancient Greek geographer Strabo suggested an Armenian origin.[7] One po[CENSORED]r idea, believed in the 16th and 17th centuries, is tiger was a transliteration of the Middle Persian tigr, meaning 'arrow', from which the name of the river Tigris may also have been derived. Thus, the animal and the river may have both been associated with speed. The connection between the two words is doubted in modern times, and they are likely to be Latin homonyms.[6] Taxonomy In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the tiger in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis tigris.[2] In 1929, the British taxonomist Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated the species under the genus Panthera using the scientific name Panthera tigris.[8][9] Subspecies Following Linnaeus's first descriptions of the species, several tiger zoological specimens were described and proposed as subspecies.[10] The validity of several tiger subspecies was questioned in 1999. Most putative subspecies described in the 19th and 20th centuries were distinguished on the basis of fur length and colouration, striping patterns and body size,

hence characteristics that vary widely within po[CENSORED]tions. Morphologically, tigers from different regions vary little, and gene flow between po[CENSORED]tions in those regions is considered to have been possible during the Pleistocene. Therefore, it was proposed to recognize only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely P. t. tigris in mainland Asia, and P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands. Mainland tigers are described as being larger in size with generally lighter fur and fewer stripes, while island tigers are smaller due to insular dwarfism, with darker coats and more numerous stripes.[11] The stripes of island tigers may break up into spotted patterns.[12] This two-subspecies proposal was reaffirmed in 2015 by a comprehensive analysis of morphological, ecological and molecular traits of all putative tiger subspecies using a combined approach. The authors proposed recognition of only two subspecies, namely P. t. tigris comprising the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South Chinese, Siberian and Caspian tiger po[CENSORED]tions of continental Asia, and P. t. sondaica comprising the Javan, Bali and Sumatran tiger po[CENSORED]tions of the Sunda Islands. The continental nominate subspecies P. t. tigris constitutes two clades: a northern clade composed of the Siberian and Caspian tiger po[CENSORED]tions, and a southern clade composed of all other mainland po[CENSORED]tions. The authors noted that this two-subspecies reclassification will impact tiger conservation management.[13] It would make captive breeding programs and future re-wilding of zoo-born tigers easier, as one tiger po[CENSORED]tion could then be used to reinforce another. However, there is the risk that the loss of subspecies uniqueness could lead to less protection efforts for specific po[CENSORED]tions.[14] In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy in accordance with the two-subspecies proposal of the comprehensive 2015 study, and recognized the tiger po[CENSORED]tions in continental Asia as P. t. tigris, and those in the Sunda Islands as P. t. sondaica.[15] This two-subspecies view is still disputed by researchers, since the currently recognized six living subspecies can be distinguished genetically.[14] Results of a 2018 whole-genome sequencing of 32 samples support six monophyletic tiger clades corresponding with the six living proposed subspecies and indicate they descended from a common ancestor around 110,000 years ago.[16] Studies in 2021 and 2023 also affirmed the genetic distinctiveness and separation of these tigers.[17][18] The following tables are based on the classification of the species Panthera tigris provided in Mammal Species of the World,[10] and also reflect the classification used by the Cat Classification Task Force in 2017:[15]


Topic Source :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger