Siberian tiger

The **Siberian tiger** or **Amur tiger** (_Panthera tigris altaica_) is considered as the largest felid in the world, although this claim is questionable. They live in eastern Russia's birch forests, and there are some in China and North Korea. It is estimated that there are around 400 to 500 Siberian tigers left in the wild.

In 2017, the Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and now recognizes all the tiger populations in mainland Asia as P. t. tigris.

The average historical wild male Siberian tiger weighed 215.3 kg (475 lb) and the female 137.5 kg (303 lb); the contemporary wild male Siberian tiger weighs 176.4 kg (389 lb) on average including only healthy adults with an asymptotic limit being 222.3 kg (490 lb); a wild female weighs 117.9 kg (260 lb) on average. Shoulder height for males are 94 cm (37 in.) and females 80 cm (32 in.) on average. Historical records indicate that Siberian tigers included some of the largest individuals ever recorded among tiger populations. However, estimates of historical body mass are largely derived from dispersed hunting records with non-standardized measurement methods and a bias toward large adult males, limiting their reliability for estimating average body size.

To keep themselves from becoming cold in the winters, Siberian tigers have thicker fur coats than tigers which live in southern Asia.  They also have a thick layer of fat which helps keep them warm. Like all other tigers, Siberian tigers have orange fur with black stripes. Siberian tigers have extra fur around their necks and paws which helps them keep warm. Siberian tigers have less orange in their coats, and have fewer stripes.

## Where they live

Siberian tigers are located in northeast China, the Russian Far East and parts of North Korea. This region is called the "Amur Region", which is named after the Amur River. This region is covered with mountainous areas and coniferous forests. In the summer, the temperature is between mild and hot. In the winter, it may be very cold, especially at higher altitudes.

## Behaviour

Like other tigers, the Siberian tiger likes to live on its own. Each Siberian tiger has its own large amount of territory. Male tigers' territories will usually cross those of several females' territories, but will usually not cross the territories of other males. In their territories, Siberian tigers usually have a lair in a cave or another area.

### Feeding

Since Siberian tigers live in such cold regions, an adult needs to eat at least  of food every day to survive, but adults can eat as much as 50 kilograms of meat. Siberian tigers are carnivores. Siberian tigers are apex predators. Siberian tigers feed mainly on wild boar, deer, and ox. If regular prey is unavailable they will eat asian black bears. During normal conditions, around 50 percent of the tiger's diet will be of wild boar.

### Hunting

While hunting, a Siberian tiger can run up to speeds of  , but running at this speed takes a lot of energy, so the Siberian tiger will only run short distances. The Siberian tiger has good night vision and likes to hunt during the night, when it can more easily surprise its prey. It also has excellent hearing and sense of smell which it uses to find and attack prey.

## Reproduction

Siberian tigers live alone and only come together in mating season. The mating season usually begins in December, and lasts through January. Females are pregnant for around three to three and a half months before giving birth to their cubs in early spring. Females usually give birth to around 3–4 cubs at a time. When born, the Siberian tiger cub is blind and toothless and is no larger than a normal house cat. It stays blind for around two weeks. The mother starts teaching the cubs how to hunt when the cubs are around 1 year old. The cubs then stay with their mother until they are 3–5 years old.

## Other websites

- "The Amur tiger in the 20th century"  article from the Tigris Foundation website
- Siberian Tiger at the AMUR website