Tigers By Medea Figg

Tigers are the largest cat species. They are 11 feet long and can weigh up to 670 pounds. They are third largest land carnivore. Before them is the polar bear and the brown bear. They have very wide teeth, that are actually the world's longest teeth and can reach up to 3.5 inches long. Some creatures live for a longer type in the wild than in captivity or for a longer time in captivity than in the wild. The tiger lives for 20-26 years both places.Tigers are odd in one way. They're independent and social at the same time. They hunt alone. A tiger would probably attack another tiger if it tried to hunt with it. And yet they usually sleep in packs. Evidently, they do want some extra security. Tigers used to live all over Asia. But they lost 93% of their range in just one century. Now they only live in tropical swamps, open grasslands, and a certain siberian forest. They have less than 457,497 square miles. That's barely anywhere! That's 41% less than in the mid 1990s. Tigers are endangered. There are 3,062-3,948 tigers left. When the 20th century began there were 100,000 tigers. This happened because tiger habitats were destroyed and many tigers were poached. The population is still declining. Tigers have been in legends for hundreds of years. And they still show up in films and books. Also, the bengal tiger is the national animal of India and Bangladesh. Even if they go extinct, which hopefully will not happen, they will never be forgotten.The bengal tiger is the most populous tiger species. The population used to be 4,246. Now it is less than 2,500. And this is the most populous tiger species. Not a good sign. The population is still decreasing. The siberian tiger is also called the amur tiger. In mainly just lives in one particular siberian mountain range. There actually only approximately 551 tigers left, and they are the largest type of tiger of all. The sumatran tiger lives on the small island of Sumatra. There were 441-679 Sumatran tigers left in 2008. They are critically endangered, and their population is still declining. There used to be multiple types of tigers that made a little sumatran island group. The sumatran tiger is the only one. The other types were the bali tiger and the javan tiger. In 2008, there were 493 adult malayan tigers. In 2003, there were 1,480. The population of adult malayan tigers dropped almost 1,000 tigers in 5 years. The population is still declining. They live in Malaya and there are a few in Siberia as well.There is a little question about the population of this species of tiger. They are either critically endangered or extinct. They have not been seen for a couple of years, and one of the last ones seen was killed and eaten by a man who is now (thankfully) in prison. Another name for this tiger is south china tiger.