BENGAL TIGER “THE SILENT KILLER”

Gabriela SympsonMs. ConferBiologyJuly 8,2011

HABITAT

Part of the Animalia Kingdom 2nd Largest and heaviest cat in the cat

family Lives in the forest of India Solitary animals Males cover 20 square miles of land Women cover 17 square miles of land Has many dens and use which ever is

most convenient at the time

LET’S TAKE A LOOK

The Bengal tiger is the classic orange and black but some are black and white Althought tigers are black and white they are not

albino they have blue eyes No other tiger has the same stripe pattern

Height from head to body is 6-8 ft. tall, tail 2-3 ft. Weight 240-500 pounds Loves to be in water This picture show the detail of the tiger and it’s

stripes

ADAPTATION

The tigers have stripes to help them blend into their surroundings

The tigers hearing is very sharp they can hear sound waves below the range of normal sound

This picture shows how well the tigers can blend into the grass using their stripes to get prey

FEMALE TIGERS

A female tiger’s gestation period is three and a half months

It’s difficult to see a pregnant tiger because the don’t show until their last 10- 12 days

Spends last few days of pregnancy looking for a safe place to birth her cubs and a place that has and adequate amount of prey

DEVELOPMENT

Females give birth to litters about 2-6 cubs Self raised by the mom.

By one year the babies go out with their mother to hunt.

Babies stay with their mom until their 2 years old and then go out on their own to find their own territory.

By age five the tigers gave reach full maturity Have white spots on the back of their head to

identify each other

CUBS

Tiger cubs are normally born blind And average cub weighs 785 pounds at

birth After six to twelve days the cubs eyes

start to open but they don’t have their full vision for after a few weeks

FOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!

Bengal tiger are carnivores( they eat meat) Such as

Buffalo Deer & wild pigs

The average Bengal tiger can eat up to to 60 pounds of food in one night

Usually get sick when prey is low in an area

LIFE SPAN

Tigers can live to about 15 years in the wild and about 16-18 years in a controlled environment

Most tigers from lack of food

EXTINCTION

Tigers are rapidly becoming extinct due to humans

Humans use tigers for medicine to cure ulcers, bites, and burns

Humans also use the tiger for food Wild dogs are always on the hunt for

tigers

IT’S TIME TO HUNT

Hunt mostly at dusk and dawn to help them hide.

When done with prey or full they leave the pray for other mammals to eat

After the kill their prey they eat it by the water

HOW DO TIGERS SEE AT NIGHT?

Have long horizontal nerves near the eye which allows them to have a better peripheral vision

They have structure behind the eye called the tapetum lucidum it allows them to have better night vision

Have large lenses and pupils to increase the amount the of light let in. This is what gives them night vision.

ACTION

here is a video that I found that show a Bengal Tiger in it’s habitat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oer57tcW0D4&feature=player_detailpage

THIS IS MY TERRITORY

Aggressiveness between tigers depends on how many tigers are in the area

Female tigers have smaller territories but are safer for raising children

Female tigers normally have territories next to or take over their mothers territory

This picture shows the tiger marking it’s territory using scent and by scraping the tree

EVERYDAY LIVING Tigers or mostly active at night this

pattern may change due to seasons or prey activity.

Tigers constantly groom themselves to keep their coats in tip top shape and to moisturize using the oils that are given of by their glands.

They spend most of their day in water They constantly patrol their territory

SCENT & VISUAL COMMUNICATION

Male and female tigers communicate through marking territories

Define boundaries by using urine because of the smell and sometimes feces

All tigers have a signature scent to mark territories, for cubs to find their mother, and to identify each other. This scent is located in the toes

Tigers communicate by using their tales. If the tail is loosely hanging the tiger is relaxed; if the tail is moving from side to side rapidly it is showing aggression

DID YOU KNOW…….

The Bengal tigers roar can be heard from 2 miles away

Tigers purr only when they breathe out while domestic cats purr when breathing in or out

After killing it’s prey it starts eating from the hind area first

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Emanoil, Mary. Encyclopedia of Endangered Species , Detroit: Gale Research Co. 1994

Worrall, Mary. Oxford Children's Encyclopedia volume 5. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1991

"The Tiger Page",http://www.mtsu.edu/~jpurcell/Walker/Wildlife/tigers.html, (October, 2000)