Cats In Asia

Big Cats of Asia Big cats, small wild cats and domestic cats are members of the felidae family, which is a biological classification. There are two subfamilies of felidae, the Pantherinae and the Felidae. The various species once roamed throughout the word in large numbers. Asia forest consists of many species of big cats. However, 3 main species of big cats of Asia are Asiatic lion, leopard and tiger (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix). One of the major big cats is Asiatic lion. Describing the lion in his 1607 volume, History of four-footed beasts, Edward Topsell wrote, “The colour of lion is generally yellow. The hair of some of them is curled, and some of them have long, shaggy, thin hair, not standing upright but falling flat,

Tiger is apparently the largest wild cat in the world. However it is also known as an endangered species. Almost 90% of their original habitat has been lost due to aggressive hunting and poaching. Tiger “farms” currently exist in Asia, where tigers are being bred for their body part.it is estimated that currently there are around 5000 to 1000 tigers living in this farm, which is more than the current wild tiger population. Tigers have reddish-orange coat with black stripes all over their body. Some tigers have white fur but they are not albino. Their white appearance is due to genetic variation of the recessive gene. White tigers are either pure or they are part Bengal tigers and are usually bred in zoos. It is actually quite rare to see a white tiger in the wild. The white tigers sadly do not live as long as the golden-coloured tigers and many have crossed eyes the golden-coloured tigers can be found in zoos and even in the wild. Their chest, throat, inside of legs and underside of a tiger are white while the face has some white above the eyes and extends to the cheeks. There is also a white spot on the back of each ear. Tigers also have thick neck and large strong front limbs. Male Siberian tigers can grow up to 12 ft. long and they weigh as much as 675 lbs while female tigers are between 6.5 to 9 feet long and they weigh between 140 to 370 lbs. A tiger’s tale is known to be 2

Tigers are found in a range of habitats in Asia. This includes rainforest, monsoonal forest, open woodland, tall grassland and also mangrove swamp. Tigers are excellent swimmers and they love being near water. Tigers are known to lead a solitary lives. Some of the subspecies of tigers in Asia are Indochinese tiger (Panthera t. Corbett), Bengal tiger Panthera t. tigris), Sumatran tiger (Panthera t. sumatrae) and Malayan tiger (Panthera t. jacksoni). However three subspecies of tigers in Asia are extinct which are the Bali tiger, Javan tiger and Caspian tiger. Tigers are herbivores. They hunt during the day and night. They eat mainly large mammals such as deer, water buffalo, wild pigs and domestic livestock. They also eat leopards, crocodiles, rodents and even frogs. Tigers kill large prey by a bite to the throat and suck it while small animals are killed by a bite to the neck. From time to time, a tiger will also eat vegetation. (Nowell & Jackson,