Siberian tiger habitat

Siberian tigers once populated the whole Siberia, Western and Central Asia even existed, and the west Siberian tiger subspecies, who inhabited the area around the Caspian lake. Today, most of the population inhabit the Far East Siberia, in Amur area, and minorities living in Central Asia.

They live in forest areas, and areas where a lot of cane, in the lowlands, flatlands and gentle hills. Since they are large animals, they hunt from ambush, that’s way forests and reeds are of vital importance for their survival.

In the southeast Trans-Caucasus, the Siberian tiger was mostly confined to the forests of the Talysh lowlands in areas where streams and reed thickets along marine lagoons were adjacent. In Turkmenia, Uzbekistan and Tadzhikistan, the tiger favoured river and lake basins, densely grown reeds, plume grass or tugai forests consisting of poplar, oleaster and willow. The Siberian tiger was sometimes encountered in montane belts, in summer ascending up to the permanent snowling in Kazakhstan and Kirgizia. Tigers were captured in fir and juniper groves at heights of 2,500-3,000 meters above sea level in Kirgiz, Trans-Ili and Dzhunarsk Alatau. Generally, the western Siberian tiger populations thrived in areas with an abundance of wild boar and Bactrian deer, large water supplies, dense thickets and low snow cover.

The Siberian tiger in the Far East is mostly confined to low mountains, having been displaced by humans from lower areas. Its most common habitats are mountain river valleys and pads overgrown with pine and oak, as well as among mountains teaming with deciduous shrubs or in oak or nut-tree groves. It travels only through dense spruce forests, and is attracted to rocky areas and forests abundant with wild boar, wapiti and moose. In times of food scarcity, it can travel through village outskirts and hay fields. In areas of heavy snowfall such as the Primor'e region, the tiger avoids areas of deep snow due to the scarcity of game in such areas, as well as the frost causing the tiger's presence to be more conspicuous.

Siberian tiger facts

This is a larger list of the most interesting facts about the Siberian tigers on the internet.

-Male Siberian tiger can weigh up to 320 kilograms (850 pounds), and they are the biggest cats in the world.

-They are length from 3 to 3.5 meters (10 to 12 feet).

-On an average, only 1 out of their 10 hunting attempts are successful.

-As per records, a tiger is known to have traveled more than 600 miles in search of food.

-Their height measures 3 to 3½ feet till the shoulders when in a standing position.

-Siberian tiger can jump as far as 23 feet.

-Siberian tigers need 20 pounds of meat for their daily diet.

-A full grown tiger can eat even 200 pounds of meat in a single day, and as much as 100 pounds at one sitting.

-They need to come within 30 to 80 feet distance of their prey in order to launch an attack.

-In case of a fight, they warn the intruders beforehand by rattling their tail.

-According to the National Geographic Website, Siberian Tigers are currently endangered, having a total of 300 to 400 individuals that form the stable, wild population.

-Some Siberian tigers live on areas being greater than 4000 square miles.

-Siberian tigers that live in the wild survive for as long as 15 years, but those in captivity have a smaller life span.

-During winter months, the fur can measure 21 inches long and 3,000 hairs per centimeter.

-A further unconfirmed report tells of a male tiger shot in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in 1950 weighing 384.8 kg (846.6 lb) and measuring 3.48 m (11.5 ft).

-Depending on the type of tooth, the size can vary from > 1 inch to 3 inches (canine teeth are typically the longest).

-Like all other animals, a tiger's whiskers are senstive and are used in sensory perseption. A tiger's whiskers average around 6 inches (15 cm), and are around 1/8 inches (3.0 mm) thick at the base. Male whiskers are typically longer than female's.

-After a gestation period of three to three and a half months, three or four blind cubs are vorn is a sheltered den. they are nursed by their mother, who rarely leaves them. At about two weeks old their eyes open and their first teeth begin to grow.

-The cubs are less than a year old when they start to hunt for themselves. At two years old they can kill large prey, but they will not leave their mother until they are three to five years old.

Siberian tiger weight

The maximum known weight for females was 240 kg. Although tigers from Turkestan never reached the size of Far Eastern tigers, there are records of very large individuals of the former population.Weights of up to 318 kg (700 lb) have been recorded and exceptionally large males weighing up to 384 kg (847 lb) are mentioned in the literature but, according to Mazak, none of these cases can be confirmed via reliable sources. A further unconfirmed report tells of a male tiger shot in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in 1950 weighing 384.8 kg (846.6 lb).

The "Siberian Tiger Project", which has operated from Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik since 1992, found that 206 kg (454.2 lb) seemed to be the largest that they were able to verify, albeit from a limited number of specimens. According to modern research of wild Siberian tigers in Sikhote-Alin, an average adult male tiger (>35 months) weighs 176.4 kg (the average asymptotic limit, computed by use of the Michaelis-Menten formula, gives 222.3 kg for male tigers) and an adult tigress 117.9 kg. The mean weight of historical Siberian tigers is supposed to be higher: 215.3 kg for male tigers and 137.5 kg fore females. At least one authority suspects that this is the difference between real weights and hunter's estimates.

Siberian tiger size

The Siberian tiger is typically 5–10 cm (2-4 inches) taller at the shoulders than the Bengal tiger, which is about 107–110 cm (42–43 in) tall. Males measure 270 to 330 cm long, females measure 240 to 265 cm long. The largest male, with largely assured references, measured 350 cm (138 in) "over curves" (330 cm/130 in. between pegs) in total length.The tail length in fully grown males is about 1 m (39 in).

The bodies of the now extinct western populations were generally less massive than that of their Far Eastern cousins, and their average size was slightly less. In Turkestan, male tigers exceeded 200 cm in length, though an estimated body length of 270 cm was recorded. Females were smaller in size, normally ranging between 160–180 cm. The body measurements, taken by the scientist of the Siberian Tiger Project in Sikhote-Alin, states that the average head and body length, measured in straight line, is of 195 cm (range 178-208) for the males and 174 cm (range 167-182 cm) for the females. The average tail measure 99 cm in the males and 91 cm in the females. The longest male (“Maurice”) measured 309 cm in total length (tail of 101 cm) and had a chest girth of 127 cm. The longest female (“Maria Ivanovna”) measured 270 cm in total length (tail of 88 cm) and had a chest girth of 108 cm. These measurements show that the present Amur tiger is longer than the Bengal tiger and the African lion. The skull of the Siberian tiger is distinguished by its larger overall size, as well as the great development of its sagittal crest, whose height and strength exceeds that of other tigers and the lion.

Maximum skull length in Amur male tigers is 361.8–383 mm, while the females range from 279.7-310.2 mm. The skull length of the males of Turkestan had a maximum length of 297.0-365.8 mm, while that of females was 195.7-255.5 mm. On January 10, 1954, a tiger killed on the Sumbar in Kopet-Dag had a skull greatest length of 385 mm, which is considerably more than the known maximum for this population and slightly exceeds that of most Far Eastern tigers. However, it condylobasal length was of only 305 mm, smaller than those of the Amur tigers, with a maximum recorded condylobasal length of 342 mm. Based on skull measurements, it appears that the biggest Siberian tigers came from Manchuria, where today the cats are reduced to a handful of individuals. The largest Manchurian skull on record measures 406 mm in length, which is about 20–30 mm more than the maximum skull lengths achieved by tigers from the Amur region and northern India.

This text is borrowed from Wikipedia.

Siberian Tiger Fur

Siberian tiger fur is moderately thick, rough and sparse in comparison with other animals that live in the former Soviet Union. Compared to, summer and winter coat of tigers from the Far East Siberia is drastically different from other subspecies. Generally, western population fur is lighter and more uniform than far eastern population. Summer fur is harsh, short and rare, while winter is longer, thicker, softer and silkier ( this is the main reason why they hunted mostly in the winter). Winter fur looks pretty shaggy at the back, and evidently longer at the front end, almost covers the ears. Whiskers and hair on the occipital and top of the neck are very elongated, and looks like a mane, as in lions. Color of winter coat in the background is less bright and rusty compared to summer fur, and tends to be more orange. As winter fur is long, patterns appear broader with less defined outline.
Summer fur on the back is 15-17 mm long, 30-50 mm along the top of the neck, 25-35 mm in the stomach, and 14-16 mm in the tail. Winter coat on the back is 40-50 mm long, 70-110 mm along the top of the neck, on the throat is 70-95 mm, 60-100 mm on the chest and on abdomen is 65-105 mm long. Whiskers are 90-115 mm long.