VN1/ “Secrets” about the Siberian Tiger
In recent times, thanks to advanced technologies, we have gradually uncovered fascinating “secrets” about the Siberian tiger.
The Siberian tiger, also known as the Amur tiger, Ussuri tiger, or Manchurian tiger, is the largest cat species in the world. With an average weight of up to 350 kg (the recorded weight record is 465 kg), they are nicknamed the “Lord of the Taiga forest.”
In 2005, the Siberian tiger was believed to be at an extremely high risk of extinction with only about 331 to 393 individuals predominantly living in the Sikhote Alin mountains and a few in the southwestern part of Primorye Province in the Russian Far East. Among them, around 250 Amur tigers are of reproductive age.
However, over the past decade, under the wildlife conservation efforts of Russia, the number of Siberian tigers has surprisingly increased. Currently, there are about 480 to 540 individuals of this large carnivorous animal species living in the Russian Far East.
In particular, the Siberian tiger living in the Taiga forest has thicker and denser fur than other tiger subspecies. Thanks to this, they can withstand the harsh cold in the winter here.
It is known that the Siberian tiger prefers to live alone. Their diet consists mainly of grass-eating animals such as red deer, sika deer, roe deer, wild boars, and elk. However, some also believe that they hunt brown bears for food.
Although the Siberian tiger has always been known as the largest animal in the cat family, a recent study has shown that, since the first half of the 20th century, their average weight has become lighter than that of Bengal tigers.
According to scientists, the decrease in the weight of the Siberian tiger is due to a combination of various factors. Such as food availability, living environment, etc.
However, the main reason leading to the decrease in weight of the Siberian tiger is the change in genetic types. It is known that their ancestors mainly lived in the Central Asia region, over time, they moved through the Gansu−Silk Road corridor, from eastern China, then later moved through Siberia to the East to form Amur tiger populations.
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2/ “The deadly weapon” of the “beast” of the Taiga forest
Being the largest cat species in the world, the Siberian tiger possesses a gigantic body: the largest recorded tiger weighed a record 465 kg and measured 3.7 meters in length.
In them, strength, bravery, and cunning are combined to create the unpredictable danger of the “Lord of the Taiga forest.”
The “deadly weapons” that the Siberian tiger possesses are sharp claws, striking like thunder, powerful jaws, and sharp teeth with tremendous biting force.
Their hunting habits at night (sometimes during the day) make a series of “lightweight” prey species such as wild boars, deer, bear cubs, rabbits, etc., fearful.
Despite weighing up to 500 kg, the Siberian tiger has extraordinary hunting skills, enabling them to move and lurk to “locate” their prey.
When the opportunity arises, the “beast” of the Taiga forest leaps powerfully, followed by a strike and a bite with terrifying biting force, causing the prey to writhe in pain and agony.
The Taiga forest “beast” kills its prey by subduing and then biting the spinal cord of small prey; or focuses on delivering a fatal bite to the neck of larger prey.
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3/ The real reason why Amur tigers do not inhabit the inland regions of Siberia
From ancient times to the present, there is only one real reason why Siberian tigers do not spread to the inland regions of Siberia, and that is the environmental issue. This area is covered by thick snow all year round, which is very unfavorable for the tiger’s hunting.
Tigers are at the top of the forest ecosystem, with their basic color being orange with dark brown stripes, which is not a good camouflage on the snow and makes them easily detected by prey.
Moreover, tigers do not have the padded feet like snow leopards, so moving on thick snow becomes very difficult for them, making them hesitant to venture deep into the inland regions. In addition to the hunting characteristics and ambush tactics of tigers, they also encounter many disadvantages in the environment of excessively thick snow in the inland regions of Siberia.
Therefore, in theory, the living environment of the Siberian tiger should be in the Russian Far East, but because the inland regions of Siberia are not suitable for their existence, in reality, this species is distributed more in northeastern China and southeastern Russia. According to the predictions of scientists, in the future, the Siberian tigers in Russia will continue to move across the borders and enter northeastern China because the living environment there is more favorable.
