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The Siberian Tiger The Siberian tiger (Pantera tigris altaica) is a solitary hunter. It actively searches for its prey instead of lying in wait to ambush an animal as it happens by. A tiger will typically travel six to 12 miles during a night of hunting. Having located its prey, a stalking tiger uses its keen eyesight and bounding ability to capture it. Using the surrounding ground cover, this skillful predator must sneak up to within 65 feet if the final rush is to be successful. The tiger does not spring on its prey from a distance, but attacks on the run from the rear or side. A bite on the neck is usually the fatal blow. Tigers stay near their kill and continue to feed on it until only skin and bones are left. For large prey this can take up to three days, but smaller prey may be consumed in a single meal. Siberian tigers live in cold forests. They mark their home range with urine and secretions on trees, bushes, and rocks. They may also use scrape or scratch marks as sign posts. The Siberian tiger's diet consists mainly of large hoofed animals weighing 110 to 440 pounds. Typical prey include sambar, axis deer, swamp deer, red deer, rusa deer, and wild pigs. The basic social unit is a mother with her young. The demands of a closed habitat have not favored the development of a complex social unit. A predator is able to operate more efficiently by hunting alone when prey are often scattered. Siberian tigers are hunted mainly for their skins which fetch in high prices. Other parts of their bodies are used for their medicinal values. Their habits are now limited to isolated areas in Siberia and Manchuria. Only about 200 Siberian tigers live in the wild today. It is listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the IUCN Red Data Book. The Lion Tamarin     The Giant Panda Back to list of endangered species This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page