All about tigers

Origin and habitat of tigers

Digging deep the history, the modern tiger species is traced back to about two million years ago. It is widely accepted that the tiger’s origin home is East Asia. However, there are some other claims too but Asia is favored the most. The reason behind this could be that Asian countries are abundant with tigers even today.

Physical appearance and capabilities of tigers:

Nature-

The tigress shares her prey with her cubs. Tigers are more active at the night. The night vision of tigers is six times better than that of human beings. During the day time, they are found relaxing. Tigers have their own way of communicating. They use their tail to communicate with other tigers.

Appearance-

Tigers can weigh up to 365kg and stretch up to 12 feet long. Their tail can be 3 feet long. Their eyes are sharp and aggressive every time. A tiger’s elegant gait, haughty demeanor, and dynamic movements make it more attractive.

Food and feeding-

They also hunt dogs, cats, sloth bears, monkeys, pythons, and sometimes humans. According to wildlife records, a tiger is likely to miss its target 90% because it approaches too close to catch the prey.

Importance of Tigers in Indian history and mythology:

The legendary Tipu Sultan was an ardent admirer of tigers. His everything was symbolized with a tiger. Once he said, "The tiger is the God". If we talk about the olden Vedic period, tiger is well known for being the divine vehicle of Aadi Shakti Maa Durga and her numerous manifestations.

Not to forget, in modern India too, tiger’s significance is so high that it graces the Indian currency.

Types of Tigers:

All tigers belong to Panthera genus within the Felidae family. The rest of six are in the endangered stage. Some had even gone extinct. Take a look at all the tiger species-

1. Bengal Tiger – present
2. Siberian Tiger - present
3. Sumatran Tiger - endangered
4. Malayan Tiger –endangered
5. Indochinese Tiger – endangered
6. Caspian Tiger- extinct
7. Bali Tiger – extinct
8. Javan Tiger – extinct
9. South China Tiger – endangered

tiger conservation in India

The ancient kings used to hunt tigers just out of their hobby. Though the vicious act of poaching and hunting the tiger left the population of tigers very little, still tigers can be sighted only in Asian countries including Russia and Turkey

The drastically decline of tiger’s population triggered the Indian Government to awaken and take some steps to preserve this vanishing species. The first step was taken in 1970 when the slaughter and poaching of tigers were banned completely and it was declared an endangered species with the population of around 1800.

Conclusion:

What to say more about the tigers. The terror and magnificence of tigers stand side by side. They might be ruthless and perilous to other animals but when it comes to human, they are kind enough. Instead, humans are being cruel to them. They refrain from human beings and humans poach them just out of their hobby.

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