It often happens that the most defenseless are not small and inconspicuous, but the largest and most powerful. They are always in sight and attract attention. A hundred years ago in Central Asia hunted for Amur tigers. Now there are only five hundred left. And the task of man is to correct his mistakes before a noble predator and restore the population of such a handsome man as the Amur tiger. Interesting facts about his lifestyle help to draw people's attention to these problems.
Habitat
Ten years ago, the formidable predator was on the verge of extinction. Only very recently has it been possible to restore sufficient numbers to maintain the population. Now only in the taiga of the Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories is the Amur tiger hosted.
Interesting facts about this predator can be found in the archival documents of the Turkestan Governor General. One hundred years ago it was possible to hunt the Amur tiger and in the Ferghana Valley. A noble cat hosted the vast expanses of Eastern Eurasia all the way to Alaska.
Outside of Russia, the Amur tiger lives only in some areas of China.
From claws to tip of tail
Interesting facts about the Amur tiger can be called, starting with its appearance. For the inhabitants of the East, he was almost a deity, inspiring fear. The growth of an adult predator reaches 120 cm, a body 3 m long in males and approximately 2.7 m in females. A magnificent tail can be 1 m. The weight of the Amur tiger is 300 kg.
The Amur tiger lives in cold areas, it needs a warm coat. In winter, its fur grows up to 5 cm on the chest and up to 10 cm on the stomach.
For the Amur tiger stripes serve as a kind of passport. Their number, location, thickness help specialists to distinguish which subspecies the predator belongs to.
Life among their own kind
Like any cat, the Amur tiger loves to walk on its own. Interesting facts are hidden in his behavior and relations with his brothers. The Amur tiger is a loner by nature. Pairs are formed only for procreation.
Since there are several times more females than males, the newly-born striped dad immediately goes in search of other tigers. After 4-5 months, newborn cubs appear. There are usually four or five in the brood. The female Amur tiger is a good mother. For several years, she has been caring for helpless cubs who are born blind and toothless.
For up to six months, the tigress feeds them, then she teaches herself to get food. By the age of two, the Amur tiger is already a skilled hunter, able to cope with the largest prey. Despite this, for a couple of years, children live next to their mother, leaving her with the achievement of puberty.
Interesting facts about the Amur tiger are also the relations of females. Like people, the daughters are closer to the mother and even after leaving her custody, the parent constantly visits.
For independent life, the tiger needs a vast territory, the size of which exceeds 100 km 2. They mark the boundaries of their possessions with secretions, and the meeting of two predators may become an occasion for clarification of relations. Nevertheless, a bloody fight does not come often.
The Amur tiger does not live very long. In natural conditions - an average of 15 years, in comfortable conditions of zoos - up to 25 years.
Fast and efficient hunter
To protect against the cold, nature rewarded the predator with a layer of subcutaneous fat 5 cm thick. Despite this, the Amur tiger flies rapidly in the snow, chasing prey. Interesting facts - its speed indicators. At a speed of 80 km / h, a striped sprinter is able to catch up with any beast.
Is that the cheetah is superior to him in this indicator. A strong and hardy, striped predator is able to drag a prey weighing five hundred kilograms over a long distance. And this with a dead weight of 300 kg.
Avoid getting into the diet of the Amur tiger are able to few animals of Primorye. But since he needs a lot of meat - 9-10 kg per day, a taiga storm prefers to take large prey. The basis for its menu are wild boars, deer. Moose, Manchurian deer also cannot escape the claws of the Amur tiger. Up to 50 large hoofed animals per year are required for him. He does not disdain and small prey (hares, rabbits). Like any cat, the tiger loves to feast on fish. Salmon is quite capable of diversifying its meat diet.
The predator is not able to distinguish colors, but he sees the Amur tiger very well in the dark. Photos of his hunting exploits were shot mainly at night. This is the period of his activity.
In the most difficult times, when it is not possible to get food, the Amur tiger approaches the possessions of people and preys on livestock.
Enemies
Such an effective killing machine, by definition, cannot have many enemies in its natural environment. On the contrary, many predators themselves become victims of Amur tigers. For example, wolves have a similar diet, thus they are direct competitors to big cats. Therefore, the Amur tiger ruthlessly expels them from its territory.
Interesting facts can be learned from the relationships of these big cats and bears. Taiga giants are comparable in strength to striped predators, but a particularly hungry tiger can cope with a brown beast.
The only and worst enemy is man. The point is not only that hunters exterminated the animals. Changing nature, a person deprives tigers of their natural habitat. People drive them out of the valleys, and they leave for the mountain spruce thickets, where there is still prey.
The man and the Amur tiger: interesting facts. Red book warns
Paradoxically, it is precisely the size and strength of the predator that has become its weak point. The Amur tiger was one of the most desirable trophies for hunters; it was ruthlessly destroyed. In the eastern countries they attached mystical significance to him. His liver and other organs were actively used in various medications. This also became the reason for the active hunt for the Amur tiger.
Man, mastering nature, displaces a predator from its natural environment. The number of animals on which the Amur tiger hunts for food is also reduced.
Interesting facts about the life of a noble predator are trying to convey to people numerous conservation societies.
Drawing attention to this problem, they try to help the beautiful beast survive. It has long been listed in the Red Book and is still on the verge of extinction.
