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Eddy Egan May 17, 2007

Tuliszewski Period

The Siberian TigerThe Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaicais) is

believed to be the largest animal in the cat, Felidae, family.

These cats, although they are very large, are becoming

more and more endangered everyday, reaching a point where it has been critical to save

them. Aside from its rather large body structure these tigers can be differentiated from

other species by its fur. The Siberian tiger has paler fur and darker stripes than most other

tigers, as well as having longer and thicker hair and a layer of fat along its belly help it

adapt to the temperatures ranging below - 46 Celsius of Siberia and places nearby. A

tigers stripes act as camouflage within long grass and dense vegetation as they help

distort its body outline, however, as the land here is covered in snow for most of the year

the Siberian Tiger has developed stripes

much paler than that of other tiger

subspecies (YPTENC) .In addition, just as

snow shoes work well in snow so do the

very large feet of this species creating a

difference between them and other species which do not have to be accustomed to these

conditions. Around 80% of Siberian tigers live within the coniferous, scrub oak and

birch woodlands of the Primorski Krai region of Russia (eastern Russia), with low

numbers also being found in northeast China and northern North Korea(YPTENC) . In

these habitats the tiger is of course a carnivorous creature and to supply him of his food

he relies on: wild boar, roe deer, and sika deer while also relying on smaller prey like

hares, rabbits and even the occasional fish like salmon. They hunt mainly at night time

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due to their excellent night vision and highly developed senses of hearing and smell.

Unlike the Bengal Tiger, the Siberian Tiger rarely attacks humans. The mating season is

usually from December to January and the normal conception period is three to three and

a half months.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_Tigerhttp://www.yptenc.org.uk/docs/factsheets/animal_facts/siberian_tiger.html

Bengal Tigers

The Bengal Tiger is another member

of the Felidae family and one of the

less endangered species, even though

all of the 8 tiger subspecies are

endangered if not extinct. The Bengal

tiger is believed to have may rivaled

the Siberian tiger in size at one point.

For hunting the Bengal tiger feeds on wild boar, deer, gaurs and water buffalo. They also

prey on smaller animals like hares, monkeys, langurs and peacocks. While maintaining

this they prefer to hunt at night, but due to very tall grasses and their excellent

camouflage from their stripes they hunt in the daytime as well. As adaptations, Bengal

tigers can climb trees effectively and are great, strong swimmers. Swimming allows the

tigers to ambush drinking or swimming prey and chase them into water leaving them to

be easily caught. In reproduction they are similar to Siberian tigers and have a conception

period of about 3 and half months but are born between February and May.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_tiger

http://www.yptenc.org.uk/docs/factsheets/animal_facts/tiger.html

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