Siberian tigers are mainly distributed in northeast China, Siberia and northern Korea. The body color is brownish yellow in summer and pale yellow in winter. There are many rows of narrow black stripes on the back and side of the body, usually two of which are willow-shaped. The head is big and round, and several black stripes on the forehead are often hooked in the middle, which is very similar to the word "king", so it has the reputation of "king of the jungle" (another way of saying it: the word "king" is a hieroglyph based on the shape of the stripes on the tiger's head). The ears are short and round, the back is black, and there are 1 white spots in the center. Living in forests, shrubs and weeds. Living alone, not settling down, territorial behavior, nocturnal. Keen senses, intense sex, quick action and good swimming. Predate large and medium-sized mammals and occasionally eat small mammals and birds. According to statistics, there are currently about 500 wild tigers. The government of China has stipulated strict protection measures to compensate farmers whose cattle and sheep are preyed by tigers, and banned the production and sale of traditional Chinese medicines with tigers as raw materials, such as tiger bone paste and tiger bone wine, which blocked the application market, but wild Siberian tigers are still very rare.
Siberian tiger (scientific name: Panthera tigris altaica), also known as Siberian tiger, Amur tiger (Russian name of Heilongjiang is amur river), Ussuri tiger, Siberian tiger and Korean tiger, lives in Siberia and the Far East of Russia. It is the largest subspecies and feline of tigers, and its fur is the most precious, so it is well-deserved to be called "king of the jungle". Male weight 220 ~ 260. The weight record of the largest individual in the wild Siberian tiger is 384 kg, which is listed in the book Mammals of the Soviet Union and is considered as the Guinness World Record for the largest wild cat. In addition, there are some individual examples such as 400kg (questioned), 390kg, 360kg and 350kg (quoted by Madzak, an authoritative feline scholar), which are all included in various zoological monographs, but modern western and Russian academic circles have raised many questions about these data. Although these huge individuals always exist as historical records, they are only in historical records and are not recognized by modern scientists; In addition, some hunting records are even more exaggerated, including 700 kilograms mentioned in many websites, but there is no measurement source. It may be that 700 kg is mistaken for kg, and the unit is wrong. The Guinness record of the weight of captive male tigers is 1.025 lbs (465 kg), which was actually measured in 1.986. In the past 20 years, many captive tigers have surpassed this record, including some animal breeding centers and zoos. Examples of 400 kg and 409 kg are reported in detail, and even the weight of a hybrid tiger is recorded as 440 kg. The authenticity of these data has not been confirmed. The Siberian tiger is light yellow and thick, and is not afraid of cold. According to statistics, there are currently about 500 wild tigers. The government of China has stipulated strict protection measures to compensate farmers whose cattle and sheep are preyed by tigers, and banned the production and sale of traditional Chinese medicines with tigers as raw materials, such as tiger bone paste and tiger bone wine, which blocked the application market, but wild Siberian tigers are still very rare.
Pregnancy 100- 105 days, a fetus gives birth to 2-4 babies, once every two years. Cubs are independent at the age of 2, sexually mature at the age of 4, and have a life span of 15-20 years.
Strong physique, quick action, shoulder height 1 m or more, body length of 3.4 meters, tail length of about 1 m, and average weight of about 240 kilograms, it is the largest cat at present! Has the title of "king of the jungle". The fur of the Northeast Tiger is bright. Tiger Claw and canine teeth are as sharp as steel knives, with lengths of 9 cm and 15 cm respectively. They are indispensable "knives" for shredding prey and powerful weapons for prey to survive. It also has a tail like a steel pipe. When the Northeast Tiger catches its prey, it often takes the method of ambush and lurks quietly in the bushes. Once the target approaches, it swoops out and throws its prey down, or grabs the opponent's neck with sharp claws and kisses it, wringing its head hard; Or bite each other's throats with sharp teeth; It is usually sealed with a tooth, or the other person's cervical vertebra is broken by violent hand. When dealing with large herbivores such as cattle, it is used to attacking from behind, pouncing on the back of bison, fixing its balance with its claws, then biting its back neck or cervical vertebra with its claws until it dies, and then slowly enjoying it.
Siberian tigers generally live in mountain coniferous forests or coniferous and broadleaved mixed forests at an altitude of 500- 1200m, and mainly catch wild boar, red deer and roe deer for a living. It often sleeps in the Woods during the day and likes to go out for food in the evening or before dawn. Its activity range can reach 100 square kilometers.
As the saying goes, "anticlimactic talk about the tiger's color change" and "scare the tiger's head" In people's minds, tigers have always been dangerous and fierce animals, and they are the most powerful cats. But under normal circumstances, Siberian tigers generally do not easily hurt people and animals. On the contrary, it is a god hunter who catches wild boar and roe deer that destroy the forest, and it is also the sworn enemy of the evil wolf. In order to compete for food, Siberian tigers always drive wolves out of their active areas. Northeasters are not afraid to meet Siberian tigers when they go out, but they are afraid to meet wolves that eat people. People praised the Northeast Tiger as "the protector of the forest".
The Siberian tiger spends most of the year wandering around, living alone and having no fixed residence. Only in the estrus of late winter and early spring will the male tiger nest to meet the female tiger. Soon, most male tigers left without saying goodbye, and the tasks of bearing, breastfeeding and rearing were pushed to the female tiger.
The tigress is pregnant for about 3 months, and usually gives birth at the turn of spring and summer or in summer, with 2-4 cubs per fetus. After giving birth, the tigress is particularly fierce and alert. When it goes out for food, it always hides its cubs carefully to avoid being found. When I go back to my nest, I often sneak back along the rocks without leaving a trace. Tiger cubs are slightly older. The tigress will take them with her when she goes out and teach them hunting skills. After a year or two, tigers can move independently. The life span of the Siberian tiger is generally around 28 years.
The Siberian tiger, like the legendary mountain god, has the same vision as fire. Its body is thick and perfect,
The strong muscles of the back and forelimbs fluctuate during exercise, and the huge limbs move forward, which is so smooth and quiet. It looks like sliding in the jungle. It has relatively hard serrated claws and five very sharp Tiger Claw, which extend out when in use and retract the claw sheath when not in use to avoid rubbing the ground when walking.
It is introverted, lonely, suspicious, fierce, strong and agile, and it is difficult for ordinary people to witness the wild Siberian tiger with their own eyes. Traditionally, other tiger species spread and differentiated from the Northeast Tiger to other parts of the earth. It is also at the top of the ecological environment.
When dissecting the Northeast Tiger, scientists in China found that its muscles were even more beautiful and stronger than those of the best bodybuilders. Muscle fibers are extremely thick, and little excess fat is found, and almost no fat is seen. Strong bones are accompanied by strong muscles, which proves that this animal has strong explosive power. The explosive power of the tiger has been shown. There is a crack on the concrete floor of the Lion Tiger Mountain Animal Hall in Beijing Zoo that was scratched by the Northeast Tiger.
The economic value of Siberian tiger is extremely high. Traditionally, the meat and viscera of tigers can be used as medicine to treat many chronic diseases. The value of an adult tiger is equivalent to more than 30 minks, and it is precisely because of this that the Northeast Tiger has been ruthlessly killed. The reproductive rate of tigers is also low, with a life span of about 25 years, sexual maturity at the age of three or four, estrus from 65438+February to February of the following year, and the pregnancy period is about105 ~10/0 days, and each fetus generally gives birth to three or four offspring. The cubs grew up sucking their mother's milk. They have to live with the tigress for a year or two before they can live independently. Think about it, the killing rate of the Siberian tiger greatly exceeds its reproductive rate, which is the direct reason why the Siberian tiger is on the verge of extinction.
Deforestation of forests and indiscriminate hunting of wild animals have seriously damaged the ecological balance, which is another important indirect reason for the endangered Amur tiger. As we know, the forest is the living environment of the tiger, and in this environment, it also contains the prey of the tiger-wild boar, deer and so on. In recent years, due to the large number of poachers, the carnivore tiger has also been greatly reduced. Therefore, it is very important to maintain the ecological balance between ungulates such as wild boar and deer and tigers. According to the investigation, there should be no less than 150 ~ 160 wild boar and 180 ~ 190 deer in the territory of a Siberian tiger. As long as the tiger is full, it will not take the initiative to attack people and animals. The living area has decreased, and the food sources have also decreased. Can the Northeast Tiger not be endangered?
Fortunately, according to 1987, there are 623 Siberian tigers in zoos all over the world (excluding China). Now most zoos in China have raised Siberian tigers. In other words, this tiger subspecies still has a chance. If we don't take advantage of the fact that a few breeding tigers still have reproductive ability and try to get several tiger species from the wild in time to renew the existing blood relationship and continue its roots of life, then. This world-famous rare tiger subspecies will be completely extinct, and the Northeast will truly become a tiger-free land.
As for the conflict between the Northeast Tiger and the Northeast Brown Bear, the Northeast Tiger occasionally preys on bears, and bears occupy a certain position in the tiger's diet. In Soviet zoology, there are many examples of Siberian tigers killing polar bears. However, only the Northeast Tiger, which can't eat enough food in winter, sometimes attacks polar bears. 1959 In the winter, a Siberian tiger killed an adult female polar bear with her cubs and ate them. 1956 3-year-old male tiger killed and ate a brown bear; 196 1, a brown bear was killed and eaten by a tiger; 1957 This tigress killed a brown bear and its three-year-old cub. Adult tigers have no natural enemies, but in rare cases, they will be attacked and killed by bison. 19 13 An adult male tiger killed the big brown bear. 198 1 year, a big brown bear followed a male tiger, but it was finally killed and eaten by the male tiger. The opposite example happened in Alin area of 1960. The brown bear successfully killed the tigress and ate it. The lack of food staged such a tragedy. Therefore, it is our unshirkable responsibility and obligation to protect wild animals, Siberian tigers and their living environment.
There are only over 400 wild Siberian tigers, most of which are distributed in Russian, and the number in China is less than 20. There is no trace of the Siberian tiger on the Korean peninsula. Northeast Tiger has been listed as the first-class protected animal and endangered wildlife species in China.
In 1970s and 1980s, the government of China established Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve and Qixinglazi Northeast Tiger Reserve in Heilongjiang Province to protect the habitat of the Northeast Tiger. As a remote protection, it was mainly a domestic zoo at that time. There are at least 24 nature reserves of various types in China, such as Qixinglazi Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang Province, South China Tiger Reserve in northern Guangdong Province and Yihuang South China Tiger Reserve in Jiangxi Province, but some of them exist in name only, such as Qixinglazi Nature Reserve, where tigers have not been seen for many years. There is little research work on Siberian tiger in China, and the research on remote protection is limited to the primary and original research in zoos. Only the wild population of Amur tiger was investigated scientifically in China, which was completed by Northeast Forestry University in 1987, and the research in other fields was blank.
Investigation, distribution and population number of Amur tiger: Since 1970s, China has conducted five large-scale surveys on Amur tiger population, 1974- 1976, and the survey result is151; 1984- 1985, the result is 20-30; 1988- 199 1 year is 16-22, in which Heilongjiang province 10- 14, Jilin province 6-8; The last two surveys were conducted in1March 1998, and it was found that there were only 4-6 tigers in Jilin Province, and only 5-0 tigers in Heilongjiang Province, respectively.
The latest investigation in Heilongjiang Province is as follows: The results of this investigation show that the distribution area of Northeast Tiger in Heilongjiang Province has obviously retreated to the Sino-Russian border area, forming three isolated distribution areas: the south of Laoyeling, the east of Wandashan and the south of Zhangguangcailing. There may be no tigers in the west of Wandashan and the north of Zhangguangcailing, and whether there are tigers in the north of Laoyeling needs to be investigated. In the above three isolated distribution areas, it is found that two individuals living in the south of Laoyeling may be male, and there are at least 1 female tigers in the east of Wandashan, and the other two are uncertain and may be female tigers. The activity is in the south of Zhangguang Cailing 1, and only the gender can't be determined.
At present, there are less than 20 wild Siberian tigers in China and only about 400 in the world. As early as 1950s, China listed the Siberian tiger as a national first-class protected animal, and hunting was strictly prohibited. According to the data provided by the world's largest artificial breeding base of Amur tiger, in order to provide a good living environment for wild Amur tiger, China established the first LAM Raymond Korean pine primitive nature reserve, 65438-0958, in Heilongjiang Province, the hometown of Amur tiger. 1962, the State Council listed the Siberian tiger in the wildlife protection list and established a nature reserve. From 65438 to 0977, the Siberian tiger was listed as a rare and endangered protected species by the relevant departments of China. On August 9th, 2005, the Northeast Tiger Living Area in Hunchun, Jilin Province was approved as a national nature reserve by the State Council.
Since 1986 established the artificial breeding base of Northeast Tiger, it has been devoted to studying the breeding technology of Northeast Tiger. Recently, the Siberian tiger provenance with international origin was introduced in 10, and the number of Siberian tigers in the base has increased from the initial 8 to more than 620 now.
The importance of protection
1. Siberian tiger has its unique ecological value. In an ecosystem, the higher the biodiversity, the richer the species and the more stable the system; On the contrary, the more fragile the system is, the more prone it is to catastrophic changes. Therefore, not only the Siberian tiger, but also any species in this ecosystem has its own function of regulating and regulating ecological balance and species balance.
Second, many animals have excellent genes in some ways. If this species disappears, its excellent genes will disappear, which is a great loss for mankind.
Third, the Northeast Tiger has a unique aesthetic value. In China, there are many descriptions of tigers in literature, painting and other works of art. If this animal is extinct, it will be a defect for the inheritance and development of China culture. In addition, the Siberian tiger is the largest and most beautiful of the existing tigers, which has high ornamental value.
According to reports, there are currently two ways to protect the Northeast Tiger, one is habitat protection, and the other is off-site protection. In 1970s and 1980s, the government of China established Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve and Qixinglazi Northeast Tiger Reserve in Heilongjiang Province to protect their habitats. Mainly protected zoos in different places. The World Wildlife Fund lists the Northeast Tiger as one of the top ten endangered animals in the world. So we need to protect them.