Siberian Tigers

Amur tigers are the largest of the big cats. Their bodies are heavily muscledand extremely powerful. Their average weight is close to 600pounds, with weights of up to 800 pounds(males slightly larger than the females). Males can reach lengths of eight to ten feet, icluding a three foot tail.

Their claws are retractabl, kept in while resting or walking. They are able to unsheathe their massive claws when hunting. Their coat has a stripe, yellow-orange appearance and is lighter in colorthan a Bengal tiger's coat. Their undersides, back legs, and tail are more whitish. When alert to sounds, their ears perk up and efficiently funnel sounds to the inner ear. They have excellent binocular and color vision. Their night vision is five times better than humans.

The "Amur" tigers are often falsely called "Siberian " tigers. These tigers are not found in Siberia, as the name would indicate. The name "Siberian" was given to this species by Americans as a more exotic description. The propername is "Amur", indicating their native range in the Amur region in Russia.

Amur tigers have many adaptations that allow for more successful hunting:

Amur tigers are native to the Amur-Ussuri region of Russia, with few remaining tigers found across the border in northern China. They live mixed decidous-coniferous forests thatresemble jungles in thesummer and are snowbound in the winter. They also prefer areas with tall grass, allowing them to maintain cover while stalking prey. Amur tigers occupy veruy large territories, with ranges of more than 400 square miles recorded. Their average territory size is between 10 and 30 square miles. Their territories are much larger than those of other tiger species because their prey is more spread out. If food is plentiful, tigers will stay within their territories. If food is scarce, they may be forced to travel hundreds of miles outside their territories. Scientists have estimated that it could take an area the size of Italy to support a population of several hundred tigers ( depending on prey).

These tigers catch and kill large prey in the wild. These prey species include: wildboar, elk, and red deer. Some reports say that tigers are capable of eating a fully grown brown bear and killing them. During winter months, these tigers will patrol the beaches for deer. This may bring them into contact with humans more often. This is very unfortunate for this tiger, as they are often poached[ killed illegally] when seen. Amur tigers are not known to attack humans, unless out of self defense. During times of low prey availability, tigers are often driven to the edges of towns in search of eay meals such as : dogs, cats, ect. This is almost always a death sentence for a tiger.

Males and females scent - mark their territory by urinating, scratchingtrees. They also use fecal droppings to mark areas. Only males will defend their territories against other males, especially when females or food resources are present. Male tigers are solitary, rarely, tolerating the presence of another male. Hunting is also a solitary activity, as their efficiency in stalking and ambusing prey is higher when they are alone. Out of 10 attempts, tigers are usually only sccesful at capturing prey once.

Amur tigers are crically endangered species. with fewer than 400 remaining in the wild. Of the original eight tiger subspecies, only5 still remain in the wild. There are twice as many of these tigers in zoos than there are in the wild. Through captive breeding and a carefully controlled Species Survival Plan[SSP] tiger genes may one day be used to increase genetic diversity in the wild.