Siberian Tigers - The World's Biggest Cats

Though most people probably picture a wild tiger living in a warm climate, the largest of cats, the Siberian tiger, actually lives somewhere much colder.

The Siberian tiger is almost identical to the now-extinct Caspian tiger that was present across most of central Asia until recently. Caspian tigers were hunted aggressively during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries throughout Russia and China as forests were converted to farmland. The last confirmed Caspian tiger sightings occurred in the 1950’s, though unconfirmed reports still occur in the Middle East.

The current Siberian tiger can only be found in the birch forests of eastern Siberia, far northeastern China and North Korea. The wild population is estimated to be around 500 individuals. It is thought that they continue to exist in these areas because of the low human population density. 

At nearly four feet tall at the shoulders and weighing nearly 700lbs, Siberian tigers are taller and heavier than Bengal tigers. They grow shaggy winter coats to deal with cold temperatures and tend to be less brightly colored than other tigers.

The Siberian tiger is an apex predator that feeds almost exclusively on red deer and wild boar. Both black and brown bears are occasionally hunted, but this is very rare. Brown bears have been known to hunt Siberian tigers as well; an equally rare occurrence. Siberian tigers also occur in the same habitat as wolves, though wolf populations tend to be much sparser in areas where the tiger is present. 

Photo: Jelenia Sika

Despite their massive size, attacks by Siberian tigers on humans are rare. They are known to be extremely solitary animals that prefer to avoid human interaction. Most attacks throughout history have been either by wild tigers that were provoked or captive-raised tigers that did not possess an instinctual fear of humans.

Male Boars Keep to Themselves

Wild boars live in family herds of up to 50 females and youngsters. The young male always forms a bachelor group; however, the older male remains solitary except for during mating season. At age four, a male will usually join a female herd fighting off whoever challenges his position. Boars fight using their tusks to cut at each other’s shoulders.

National Basketball Championship

We had fun matching up Mascots for the Big 12 Basketball Tournament. Now that the Kansas Jayhawks will be playing in the finals of the Men's National Championship, let's see if the Memphis Tigers can measure up – Animal-wise.

You can find the definition of a Jayhawk in our March Blog archives. Remember, a Jayhawk is not a real bird, but an amalgam of a Blue Jay and a Sparrow Hawk. A rather formidable creature if it ever did hatch into existence.

Tigers are the largest of all the wild cats. There are 6 recognized sub-species and they roam throughout Asia. Tigers are an apex predator; there is no more dominant animal in their environment. They prefer large game, such as buffalo, elk and boar. Although they can leap higher than any other cat, save the American Mountain Lion, tigers do not hunt birds. They do, however, kill an average of 50 people a year.

What does all this mean for the National Championship? Besides it promising to be a wonderful game, I really can't say. How do we at the Jungle Store want it to turn out? I'll answer by leaving you with another interesting animal fact. The Tiger's saliva contains natural antiseptics. All the better to lick its wounds with.

Thanks to KennKiser and Morgue File for the photo.