my country's rare and endangered animal - tiger
There are currently only 5 subspecies in the world, namely: Bengal tiger, Southeast Asian tiger, Suman tiger, South China tiger, and Siberian tiger . Among the five existing subspecies, although my country has three subspecies (Siberian tiger, South China tiger, Bengal tiger), the total number ranks last in the world.
1. The origin, morphology and habits of the three types of tigers in my country
The Siberian tiger refers to all tigers found in my country, the former Soviet Union and northern North Korea. It is distributed in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in my country, but its habitat range has become very small. In the wild, it mainly lives in forests, jungles and places with thick weeds, especially in coniferous and broad mixed forests. There is no fixed nest. They like to live alone, and each tiger has a certain territory. It is active at night and is good at swimming. It is easy to cross the 6-8km wide river. In terms of size, the Siberian tiger is the largest and most beautiful subspecies, with a length of up to 4m and a weight of 380kg. The hair on the whole body is light yellow and long, with sparse markings. The chest, abdomen and inside of the limbs are covered with white hair. The tail is thick and dotted with black rings. It hunts by sight and hearing. When hunting, it lurks and waits or carefully sneaks up on the prey. Then it suddenly snaps and bites the vital parts of the prey's neck and back, kills it and drags it to a hiding place before eating. In the wild, it mainly preys on wild boars and herbivores. They mate in estrus in winter, with a gestation period of 105 to 110 days, and 2 to 4 offspring per litter. They become sexually mature at 4 to 5 years old and have a lifespan of 20 to 25 years. It is a first-level protected animal in my country.
The South China tiger, also called the Chinese tiger, is a specialty of my country. This subspecies is widely distributed in South China, East China, Central China, and Southwest China, but it is very rare in the wild. In the wild, it lives in mountain forests, shrubs, and places with dense weeds. Solitary and ferocious in nature. The living habits are similar to those of Siberian tigers. In the wild, it mainly preys on wild boar, yellow deer, deer, etc. There is no fixed breeding season, the gestation period is 100 to 106 days, each litter has 2 to 4 offspring, they become sexually mature at 3 to 4 years old, and their life span is 20 years. The South China tiger is smaller than the Siberian tiger, has shorter hair, dense patterns and darker colors, and has the most dark spots on its tail. It is a first-level protected animal in my country and is currently facing extinction. It is also one of the most endangered animals in the world.
The Bengal tiger is also called the South Asian tiger. It is found in Myanmar, India, Thailand, Malaysia, etc. abroad. In my country, it is mainly distributed in Yunnan and eastern Tibet. This tiger lives in habitats such as forests, mountains and hills. It travels at night and mainly feeds on ungulates, such as wild boars, deer, etc., and occasionally attacks people and domestic animals. There is no fixed breeding season, the gestation period is 100 to 106 days, each litter has 2 to 4 offspring, they are sexually mature at 3 to 4 years old, and their life span is about 20 years. The Bengal tiger is smaller than the Siberian tiger and larger than the South China tiger. It has short fur and narrow and dense black stripes. It is also a first-level protected animal in my country.
2. Tiger protection and countermeasures
In recent years, the number of tigers has been declining sharply. The Siberian tiger, South China tiger, and Bengal tiger in our country have reached the level of endangered According to literature reports, there are only more than 200 Siberian tigers living in the wild in the world. Currently, there may be only about 10 wild Siberian tigers living in my country; including zoos and breeding bases across the country, there are only more than 200 tigers. There are no more than 10 South China tigers and Bengal tigers living in the wild.
As the number of tigers in the world continues to decrease, the global call for tiger protection is growing. The World Wildlife Fund began its tiger rescue operations in the 1970s. Subsequently, strict protection measures were adopted in India, Siberia, and my country, and wildlife protection laws were promulgated. The three types of tigers kept in zoos across the country are bred under artificial breeding conditions. Only 122 Siberian tigers kept in the Beijing Zoo have been bred and survived since the 1950s.
In order to save South China tigers, the Chinese Zoological Association also established a South China Tiger Coordination Committee in 1995 to coordinate the rescue work of South China tigers; more than 30 South China tigers currently kept in zoos in my country have been included in my country's "21st Century Agenda” and “China Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan”. In 1996, an animal breeding expert team from the International Union for Conservation of Nature came to my country to conduct a detailed investigation of the current status of South China tigers in zoos such as Shanghai, Chongqing, and Suzhou, and jointly adopted artificial rejuvenation measures.
As long as the whole society enhances its ecological awareness and relevant departments invest corresponding manpower and funds, there is hope to save this precious tiger species from extinction.
The tiger is called the king of beasts, which is why we usually see tigers with horizontal stripes on their heads. In our Chinese thinking, a tiger has three horizontal lines on its head, which looks like the word "king". Why is it said to be the king of beasts? 1. Its body size is relatively large, and it feeds on preying on other animals. It is in this food chain, it is at a top stage. That is, it survives by eating other animals, so it plays an important role in maintaining ecological balance. So it belongs to the king of beasts, and the tiger is an important part of our Chinese cultural tradition. As we mentioned, where does the tiger rank among the twelve zodiac animals? It's third, right! There are more idioms about tigers. We all know, "The dragon soars and the tiger leaps", "The tiger is powerful", "The tiger is more powerful", "The color of the tiger changes", and "If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get the tiger cubs". These are all idioms that we ordinary people have summarized through long-term contact with tigers that are very similar to some of the tiger’s habits. They can fully reflect some of the tiger’s living habits.
How did the tiger originate? We just talked about the genus Panthera, which appeared about five million years ago. Where did it originate? It originated in Asia, and then radiated outwards from Asia. It is generally believed that tigers originated in the east of Asia, especially in our country and within our borders. In our country, it predates other members of the genus Panthera, such as lions or leopards, first diverging about two million years ago. The South China tiger in our country is unique to our country and is considered to be the ancestor of all tigers and a primitive group. Tigers are now divided into eight subspecies, and unfortunately, three of them are extinct. Let’s give a brief introduction to the distribution of each subspecies: Bengal tiger, which is distributed in India, Myanmar, Nepal, eastern Tibet in our country, and southern Yunnan. Its body color varies greatly, with white and black types. The white tiger we will talk about later is a physical change of the Bengal tiger. It is not an albino individual like what we humans see. It is not an albino individual, but a change in its body color. Its body length is approximately 2.9 meters and its weight is 220 kilograms. The female is slightly smaller, about 2.5 meters long and weighs 140 kilograms