ANIMAL WORLD
Turtles
Panthera tigris
Bengal tiger
Evolution:
The earliest found come from China and they are dated at more than 2 million years old. The fossil indicate that tiger was much smaller then than it is today. They believe that the tigers are related to the Saber Tooth from about 35 million years ago. It is believed that the South China Tiger is one that the various subspecies have all evolved from. This information is based upon scientific research and DNA testing.
Geographic Location:
The range of tigers extended across Asia, form Turkey and tha Caspian Sea South of the Tibetan plateau eastward to Manchuria and the Sea of Okhotsk. The Bengal or “Royal Bengal” tiger is found primarily in India, as well as in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, and Nepal.
Habitad:
Tigers live in a wide variety of habitats, including tropical lowland evergreen forest, monsoonal forest, dry thorn forest, scrub oak and birch woodlands, tall grass jungles, and mangrove swamps. Tigers have been found at elevations of 3,960 meters. In general, tigers require only some vegetative cover, a source of water, and sufficient prey.
Diet:
They are Carnivores. Primarily wild deer and wild cattle called gaur, also buffalo, young elephants, monkeys, birds, frogs, and porcupines.
STATUS: Endangered
The tiger has few enemies; besides humans, they are large buffaloes, elephants and bears. Its defence against other animals that may attack are its large claws and very powerful teeth. The main predator of the tiger is humankind. They have been trapped, poisoned and hunted heavily by humans not only to eliminate threats to livestock, but also for sport, trophies, skins, and sources of traditional medical products. Humans have also altered the natural habitats of tigers by their destruction and encroachment on the tigers' feeding range; humans are destroying their habitats by cutting down trees, moving into their preferred locations, polluting the water and air, and hunting their prey.The tiger population of the Indian subcontinent has suffered a serious decline in the last 50 years.
Ecology:
Tigers, as with all top-of-the-food-chain predators help balance populations by keeping prey populations in check. When a tiger has eaten its fill, the abandoned prey becomes food for a variety of mammals, birds, and reptiles. Some cultures believe that powdered tiger bones have medicinal values. Unfortunately, tigers are in high demand to supply this market. The Bengal tiger is the most numerous subspecies, with around 1,850 individuals surviving in the wild.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Panthera_tigris/
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Behavior:
Tigers are territorial and usually solitary in nature. Males have larger territories than females. Male Bengal tigers fiercely defend their territory from other tigers, often engaging in serious fighting. Bengal tigers can climb trees effectively. Bengal tigers are also strong and frequent swimmers, often ambushing drinking or swimming prey or chasing prey that has retreated into water. The tiger is a very cautious animal; it doesn't like to hunt elephants or larger animals than itself, unless it is very hungry, or if its cubs or itself were attacked.
Isolation Mechanism and speciation:
The Sumatran Tiger is very different from the other species out there. The theory is that they were isolated from other tigers more than 12 million years ago due to a rise in the sea level. As a result their genetic profile as a species is more unique that that of others.
Hybrid Sterility- Maltese tigers (sometimes referred to as P. t. melitensis, although they are not a true subspecies) are a variety of tiger that results from inbreeding. Maltese tigers have white fur with grey hues, making them look blue from a distance. So called 'white tigers' result when a cub is born with two recessive forms of a gene, also the result of inbreeding. White tigers suffer from many problems including eye weakness, sway backs, and twisted necks. (Mazak, 1981; Sunquist and Sunquist, 2002; Ullasa, 2001)
