EYE TO EYE WITH BIG CATS TIGERS

EYE TO EYE WITH BIG CATS TIGERS

TIGERS EYE TO EYE WITH BIG CATS Jason Cooper

2003 Rourke Publishing LLC All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. www.rourkepublishing.com PHOTO CREDITS: Photo on page 18 by The San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park; all others Lynn M. Stone. Cover Photo: Wild tigers live only in Asia, where they have become highly endangered. Editor: Frank Sloan Cover design by Nicola Stratford Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cooper, Jason, 1942- Tigers / Jason Cooper. p. cm. (Eye to eye with big cats) Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 1-58952-406-3 (hardcover) 1. Tigers Juvenile literature. [1. Tigers. 2. Endangered species.] I. Cooper, Jason, 1942- Eye to eye with big cats. II. Title. QL737.C23 C6749 2002 599.756--dc21 2002003655 Printed in the USA CG/CG

TABLE OF CONTENTS The Tiger 5 The Tiger s Relatives 6 What Tigers Look Like 9 Where Tigers Live 11 How Tigers Live 14 Tiger Cubs 16 Predator and Prey 19 Tigers and People 20 The Future of Tigers 22 Glossary 23 Index 24 Further Reading/Websites to Visit 24

THE TIGER The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a very famous big cat. The tiger is a sleek beauty, but it is strong and dangerous. One type of tiger is the Siberian. It is the largest of all cats. It is also one of the largest meateating animals in the world. The feared tiger is in danger of becoming extinct. This means tigers may be vanishing forever. The Siberian Tiger is the world s largest cat. 5

THE TIGER S RELATIVES Tigers and house cats share some traits. They have the same skull shape, hunting methods, and flexible bodies. They have similar teeth and claws. Tigers, of course, are much bigger. And they roar rather than purr. All tigers belong to the same species, or kind. But tigers are not all the same. Siberian tigers are bigger and have lighter fur than tigers on the island of Sumatra. 6 A Sumatran tiger in tropical Asia cools off in a river.

WHAT TIGERS LOOK LIKE Tigers are yellow-orange with black stripes. They have white bellies. There are some white tigers, but they are rare. Tigers have broad heads with long whiskers and small, rounded ears. The biggest tigers weigh as much as 700 pounds (317 kilograms). They may measure up to 13 feet (3.9 meters) long. The Bengal tiger lives in India and Nepal. The male weighs about 450 pounds (204 kilograms). They measure from 8 to 10-1/2 feet (2.4 to 3.2 meters) long. A blue-eyed white tiger cub rests in a hollow log. 9

WHERE TIGERS LIVE Tigers live only on the continent of Asia and some islands of Asia. The tiger s home is known as its habitat. This may be a forest, marshy area, or even dry grassland. The Siberian tiger lives in parts of northern Russia and China. Sumatran, Bengal, and Indo-Chinese tigers live in warm, dry places. Tigers also live in India, Nepal, Burma, Vietnam, Korea, Sumatra, and Thailand. A Bengal tiger blends into the tall yellow grass. 11

Tigers in the warmer parts of Asia like water.

Siberian tigers live in a much colder world than many other tigers.

HOW TIGERS LIVE Tigers have heavy fur. Those that live in warm climates spend most of their time cooling off in water. Most tigers are nocturnal. This means they are more active at night than in the day. Like many cats, tigers spend most of the day resting. Tigers live alone most of the time. They are very quiet animals. They have excellent eyesight and hearing. This makes them alert to prey, the animals that they hunt. 14 A Siberian tiger charges toward prey on a frozen river.

TIGER CUBS Every two years or so, tigers mate. The female tiger gives birth to two or three cubs. Cubs are blind and are very tiny when they are born. The mother nurses the cubs on her milk. When they are about six months old, the cubs follow their mother and learn to hunt. By the age of two, they are able to live on their own. 16 A tiger cub steps into its new world.

PREDATOR AND PREY When tigers are not resting, they hunt. Tigers are predators. They spend much of their time stalking their prey. The tiger will leap at the animal it is chasing and try to bite its throat. A tiger drags dead prey to a hiding place. It may eat 55 pounds (25 kilograms) of its kill at one time. The tiger s prey may be almost any kind of animal, including deer, pigs, antelope, buffalo, elk, moose, or bears. A Sumatran tiger feeding 19

TIGERS AND PEOPLE The ancient Chinese probably used tigers to hunt other animals. Tigers were later used to kill humans. More recently, tigers have been trained to perform in circuses. But they are still feared and dangerous creatures. Because they are strong, tigers often appear as symbols. These symbols may be used as school teams and mascots or in advertising for breakfast cereals. 20 Even a tiger s fearsome teeth are no match for a rifle.

THE FUTURE OF TIGERS Tigers are considered an endangered species. Tigers are being pushed out of their habitats. Their fur is valuable. And many tigers are killed because they are a threat to people and farm animals. There are only about 4,000 wild tigers in Asia. Many of them are protected in preserves in Russia and India. These preserves are the only way the tiger will survive in the wild. 22

GLOSSARY endangered (en DANE juhrd ) in danger of no longer existing; very rare extinct (eks TINKT) no longer existing habitat (HAB uh tat) the area in which an animal lives mate (MAYT) when a male and female of a species come together to produce young nocturnal (NOCK ter nul) active at night nurses (NUR sez) giving or taking a mammal s milk predators (PRED uh turz) animals that kill other animals for food preserves (PREE zervz) areas where wild animals are protected from humans prey (PRAY) an animal that is hunted for food by another animal species (SPEE seez) one certain kind, within a group of closely related animals stalking (STOCK ing) hunting by slowly and quietly moving toward the victim symbols (SIM buhlz) things that stand for something else 23

INDEX Asia 11, 22 Bengal tiger 9, 11 endangered species 22 habitat 11 India 9, 22 Nepal 9 predator 19 prey 14, 19 Russia 11, 22 Siberian tiger 5, 6, 11 Sumatra 6 Sumatran tiger 11 tiger cubs 16 Further Reading Markert, Jenny. Tigers. Child s World, 1998 St. Pierre, Stephanie. Siberian Tigers. Heinemann Library, 2001 Websites To Visit http://www.oaklandzoo.org/atoz/azbentig.html http://www.bengal-tigers.org http://www.5tigers.org/research/researche.htm About The Author Jason Cooper has written several children s books about a variety of topics for Rourke Publishing, including recent series China Discovery and American Landmarks. Cooper travels widely to gather information for his books. Two of his favorite travel destinations are Alaska and the Far East. 24

EYE TO EYE WITH BIG CATS Come eye to eye with the world s big cats and get to know all about their lives through simple text and dazzling full-color photographs. Young readers need to learn how and where these creatures live and what the future holds for big cats, many of whose futures are endangered. This series is a perfect introduction to the topic for all natural science students. Titles in this series include: Cheetahs Cougars Jaguars Leopards Lions Tigers