Morphology of tigers
Tigers are the largest wild cat, with an average Amur or Bengal tiger measuring about 3 metres from nose to tail tip and 1 metre at the shoulder when standing. Adult males weigh between 180 and 260 kgs, adult females being slightly smaller and weighing between 100 and 160 kgs.
- Tigers from the Indian subcontinent and Russia are the largest.
- Tigers from southern tropical areas such as Sumatra tend to be considerably smaller with body weights between 100 and 140 kgs for males and 75 to 110 kgs for females.
- The smaller body size of tigers from southern areas is likely to be an adaptation to higher temperatures in which heat dissipation is more important, as well as a way to reduce energy needs in habitats where large ungulate prey may be less available.
The background coat colour of tigers varies from reddish-orange to pale yellow, with white or cream underparts and medial aspects of legs. The pattern of characteristic black stripes varies widely.
- The general trend is for tigers from tropical south-east Asia to have a darker background coat colour and more stripes, while tigers from northern areas are paler and more lightly striped.
- Sumatran tigers tend to have the darkest background colouration and narrowest stripes.
- The distinctive coat pattern provides excellent camouflage, serving to break up the body’s contours in forest habitats.
- All tigers have a central white spot in a black background on the back of each ear .
- No two tigers have the same markings.
- Amur tigers develop a long dense winter coat, whereas in other areas the fur is generally short.
- The fur on the face forms a facial ruff that is most developed in males of Amur tigers and Sumatran tigers.
Tigers are very powerful animals and are able to catch prey up to five times their own weight. They are superbly adapted to catch and kill large prey single-handed. Possessing heavily muscled forelimbs and shoulders, and a short thick neck, they have evolved to hunt by stealth followed by a short, explosive, accelerating attack on their prey. Tigers are not distance runners, and rarely pursue prey for more than 150 metres.
