The 'Big Cats' family

Tigers are one of the biggest among the 37 species' of cats in the world today. The Cats range from the domestic tabby that stretches contentedly in front of you and occasionally gives in to its primitive hunting instincts, dropping a half dead bird at your feet, to the mighty lions of Africa and Asia which depend on their hunting instincts and skills for survival. Strictly speaking, only five of these species are 'Big Cats'.

They all belong to the Panthera family The Jaguar is found in the American continent while the others are found in the jungles of Africa and Asia. The Jaguar (Panthera onca) is found in the dense forests of America. The coat of the Jaguar is yellow with black spots arranged in rosettes of four or five around a central spot. The Jaguar weighs around 130kg. to 140kg.The other four big Cats are the Lion (Panthera Leo), the Tiger (Panthera Tigris), the Snow Leopard, also known as the Ounce, (Panthera Uncia), and the Leopard (Panthera Pardus).All these mighty predators are found in Africa and Asia.

Tiger: The magnificent animal

Tigers are the most magnificent of all the cats. It is one of the five 'big cats'. A large male tiger averages about 9 feet (3mt.) in length (from head to the end of the tail).The average height is about 3 feet (1mt.) at the shoulder and it can weighs up to 250kgs.(500-550 lb) A female tiger is slightly smaller, being about a foot shorter and about 25 to 30 kgs. less in weight. The coloring of the tiger's coat ranges from fawn to red, and is overlaid with blackish-brown transverse stripes, providing excellent camouflage in forest regions. Till only about a century back, the tiger was widespread and was found from Turkey to China, but now it faces the danger of extension. It is now found in some parts of India, south-west Asia, Iran, Manchuria, Sumatra, Bali and Java. The total number of tigers living in the wild in these areas is now believed to be much less than 5000.The second part of the eighteenth till the end of the twentieth century witnessed the ever increasing decline of the tiger population. First by the wealthy hunters, who ruthlessly hunted down the tigers for sport and by the natives, out of fear. Later as civilization spread vast areas of forests were cleared to make place for humans and robbing the tigers of their natural habitat, resulting in great decline of the tiger population. As a result of the steady decline of the tiger count, in 1972, the World Wildlife Fund launched a campaign to protect the tiger. Soon countries like India and the Soviet Union banned the hunting and killing of tigers. Even the export of tiger skin and tiger bones and other ports of the tiger were banned. In the west, countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom among others put an embargo on the import of the tiger skin.

The Tiger is a solitary animal. Each tiger has its own territory which the tiger defends very furiously. The tiger marks its territory by spraying their own urine, also claw marks on trees and buses announces the intruders of the tigers territory. The territory is open only at the time of mating and that to for its partner. The urine of the female tiger has a peculiar smell during oestrus, which she sprays on trees and bushes to attract neighboring male tigers. The actual act of coupling generally lasts for 15-30 seconds only, but is repeated several times in a day during oestrus. The gestation time is 105 days and normally about three to four cubs are born in each litter. The infant mortality is very high, only about two on an average survive to adulthood. Generally the tiger leaves soon after the courtship, but many stay back until the birth. The cubs are born blind and weigh about 1.5 kgs. at birth. They have their distinct tiger stripes right from the time of birth. The eyes of the cubs open by the end of the second week and they are weaned at the sixth week. The cub usually stays with their mothers till they are two years old, during this time it learns most of arts of survival. They can however kill for themselves as early as when they are 6-7 months old. A tiger attains full maturity by the time they are three years old. The Tiger usually hunts at night, like most of the cats. Their coat being a superb camouflage makes the tiger stalk their prey from within yards and then make a surprise attack. The tiger, being strong usually fell their prey with one big leap and bite its preys throat or neck. They than drag their kill to a quit and cool place to enjoy the meal. It than hides its kill in a safe place only to return when hungry again. The deer, antelope, rabbits, porcupines, buffalo and monkey are the most common animals a tiger feeds on.

Sub Species of Tiger

There are eight sub-species of tiger. These are

• Panthera tigris tigris, commonly known as the Bengal tiger• Panthera tigris corbetti, known as the Indo-Chinese tiger• Panthera tigris sondaica, known as the Javanese tiger• Panthera tigris virgata, known as the Caspian tiger• Panthera tigris altacia, known as the Siberian tiger• Panthera tigiris amoyensis, known as the Chinese tiger • Panthera tigris sondaica, known as the Sumatran tiger

The Bengal tiger is the most majestic of all the species of tiger. It has a uniform orange coat, white paws and lower parts and dark transverse stripes. The Indo-Chinese is slightly smaller and its coat too is slightly darker than the Bengal tiger. The Indo- Chinese tiger has shorter stripes and narrower too. The Javanese and the Sumatran are very similar to the Indo-Chinese tiger, they are however smaller in size and their stripes are much less well-defined. The Sumatran has the darkest fur of all the tigers. The Caspian tiger has the longest fur of all the tigers. The Siberian tiger has long furs too which is a great help for its survival in the extreme cold climate.

Tiger population of India

The total Tiger population of India is estimated at 3846. State wise statistics of Tiger population:

Tiger Statistics - An Update• Tiger extinct in 61% of its habitat in Rajasthan• Tiger extinct in 52% of its habitat in Jharkhand• Tiger extinct in 53% of its habitat in Uttar Pradesh• Tiger extinct in 30% of its habitat in Shivaliks

Andhra Pradesh 171 Arunachal Pradesh 180Assam 458 Bihar 103Goa, Daman & Diu 6 Gujrat 1Karnataka 350 Kerala 57Madhya Pradesh 927 Maharastra 257Manipur 31 Meghalaya 53Mizoram 12 Nagaland 83Orissa 194 Rajasthan 58Sikkim 2 Tamil Nadu 62Tripura 5 Uttar Pradesh 475West Bengal 361

Why Save the Tiger?

Tigers occupy the pinnacle of the food chain and a healthy tiger population is an indicator of the well-being of the whole forest. Throughout evolution predators have had a regulatory influence on the population sizes of other species; it is thanks to carnivores such as tigers that the number of herbivores is kept in check. In turn the number of predators is constrained by the quantity of prey. The populations can therefore only fluctuate between certain limits because of this feedback mechanism.

With the number of herbivores under control but not depleted the forest vegetation is likely to thrive-provided humans do not over -exploit it. Seeds will be dispersed but new growth will not be prevented by excessive grazing pressure. Healthy vegetation protects and nourishes the soil, preventing erosion. The soil filters and purifies the rainwater and safe-guards the water table. Many forests are important catchments areas for rivers, upon which many species including human beings depend.

Species at the top of the food chain are generally larger and require more space than other animals particularly if they are territorial. Conserving such species in the wild protects the habitat of many other animals as well as safeguarding the essential ecological processes such as water and nutrient cycling. Thus the tiger acts as the guardian of many other creatures.

Tiger Reserves of India

Here are some of the most important Tiger Reserves in India. We will update you with more on the Tiger reserves of India in coming days. India's Tiger reserves are popular tourist destinations and tourist pour in from all over the world to catch a glimpse of the magnificent tigers of India.

• Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary• Nagarhole National Park• Periyar Tiger Reserve• Buxa National Park• Corbett National Park• Dudhwa National Park• Kanha National Park• Manas National Park• Melghat Tiger Reserve• Pench National Park• Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve• Simlipal Tiger Reserve• Sunderbans Tiger Reserve• Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve• Bandipur-Mudumalai National Park

• Namdapha National Park• Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve• Panna Tiger Reserve• Kaziranga National Park• Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary• Hazaribagh Wild Life Sanctuary• Kalakkadu Wildlife Sanctuary• Palamau Tiger Reserve• Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary• Rajaji National Park• Silent Valley National Park• Nandankanan Biological Park• Madhav National Park• B.R Hills

State wise Tiger Reserves in India

Tiger Reserves Indian StatesNagarjunsagar Andhra PradeshNamdapha Arunachal PradeshBuxa AssamManas AssamValmiki BiharPalamau JharkhandBandipur KarnatakaBhadra KartakanaPeriyar KeralaBhandhavgarh Madhya PradeshIndravati Madhya PradeshKanha Madhya PradeshPanna Madhya PradeshPench Madhya PradeshMelghat MaharastraPench MaharastraTadoba-Andheri MaharastraDampha MizoramSimlipal OrissaRanthanbhore RajasthanSariska RajasthanKalakad-Mundanthurai Tamil NaduCorbett Uttar PradeshDudhwa Uttar PradeshSunderbans West Bengal