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Thursday, January 07, 2010

Thirteen Things About Tigers!

Since it's the year of the metal tiger, for Thursday 13, let me share with your some 13  interesting facts about TIGERS!

  1. Tigers are the largest of the big cats.
  2. Wild tigers are at the very top of the food chain.
  3. There were originally eight subspecies of tiger, the Javan, the Bali, the Caspian, the Indochinese, the Sumatran, the Bengal, the Siberian, and the South China tiger.
  4. Unbelievably three of the eight subspecies are now extinct. The Bali tiger met its demise in the 1940s, the Caspian in the 1970s and the Javan in the 1980s. (Yes you read that right--the 1980s!)
  5. The latin names for the subspecies are:
               
              pantheris tigris amoyensis - The South China tiger
              pantheris tigris altaicia - The Amur (Siberian) tiger
              pantheris tigris sumatrae - The Sumatran tiger
              pantheris tigris corbetti - The Indochinese tiger
              pantheris tigris tigris - The Bengal tiger
              pantheris tigris balica - The Bali tiger
              pantheris tigris virgata - The Caspina tiger
              pantheris tigris sondaica - The Javan tiger

  6. A captive tiger can live up to twenty years, while a wild tiger can expect to live ten to fifteen years.
  7. Tigers are an umbrella species, which means to save the wild tiger we must also commit to saving its habitat and prey.
  8. The tigers saliva is antiseptic and comes in handy for cleaning their wounds.
  9. An adult wild tiger is a solitary, territorial animal. A single tiger's territory can cover over 160 square kilometres (100 square miles).
  10. A tiger marks its territory by spraying surrounding trees and bushes with urine, dropping prominently placed scat, and leaving deep scratch marks on tree trunks
  11. In the scent of the tigers urine and scat is a code which can only be deciphered by other wild tigers. The message not only acts as a warning to trespasses, but will also supply all the information needed for a  would  be mate.
  12. Tiger stripes are individually as unique as the human finger print and if you were to shave the fur from a tiger it would still have stripes.
  13. Tigers reach maturity and are ready for mating at the age of three and the male tiger can copulate up to six times an hour. (Please don't ever think of marrying a tiger because of this fact!) LOL

Happy Thursday everyone!

    16 comments:

    Forgetfulone said...

    Very interesting! Tigers are beautiful animals. Love those Latin names!

    Mia Celeste said...

    Good post. I'll have to share it with my friend. He loves tigers.

    Journeywoman said...

    Fascinating post.

    Happy TT.

    Americanising Desi said...

    and u made me fall in love with tigers all over again :)

    10 years ago

    i beati said...

    I certainly did not know 8 were extinct

    Unknown said...

    Kewl facts. Happy T13!

    Hootin Anni said...

    #14!!!!-----Hootin' Anni's favorite large CAT.


    My list of 13 is posted now. It's "If you are from Colorado you know....". It's HERE But, if you wish to stop by to visit you'll find the 13 below my newest pencil sketch, scroll down a bit.

    Have a super Thursday.

    Norma said...

    Great information! Sounds a lot like feral house cats--which return to their wild nature if not socialized by humans.

    http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2010/01/thursday-thirteen-rerun-edition.html

    Anonymous said...

    Great list!
    Here's my 13 favorite comedies!

    jillconyers said...

    Interesting. My son will love this.

    storyteller said...

    Nifty topic filled with interesting facts about tigers ... thanks for sharing and for dropping by Small Reflections ;-)
    Hugs and blessings,

    Grandma said...

    Very informative. Interesting fact about the stripes, but I think I'll pass on shaving a tiger to check it out. LOL

    13 Cats Who Have Owned Me

    Alice Audrey said...

    I thought by the '80s they were a protected species. What a shame that the Javan didn't make it.

    Pamela M. Kramer - A Renaissance Woman said...

    Pretty cool! Thanks for all the Tiger facts. Happy TT.

    Shelley Munro said...

    Tigers are such beautiful animals. It's one of the few animals I haven't managed to see in the wild yet.

    Julia Phillips Smith said...

    Top of the food chain...definitely not 'here, kitty, kitty' material!