By Nike Tolentino 10BU Evolution of a Tiger Evolution of a Tiger
Tigers are the most powerful of all cats and despite their bulk they are extremely agile and can leap up to 10 metres in a single bound. There are several subspecies of tigers and those that are around today are the Siberian Tiger, Bengal Tiger, Sumatran Tiger, Indochinese Tiger and the South China Tiger. All tigers are classified as endangered and in the last sixty years three subspecies have become extinct and they are the Caspian Tiger, Bali Tiger and the Javan Tiger.
Tigers are distinguished by their orange coat, black stripes with white markings however the colour, size and markings on tigers differ depending on their subspecies. Another colour variation is that of the white tiger that has a white coat and black stripes. Depending on the subspecies the size of tigers can range from 2.4m – 3.3m head to tail and from 90kg to 300kg. The Tiger Evolution The tiger evolution begins 30 Million years ago with the prehistoric Proailurus. They were native around France. They were small, weighing about 12kg and 75cm, and lived in trees.
The Pseudaelurus succeeded the Proailurs and roamed the earth about 20 million years ago and are considered to be the direct ancestor of all 37 of the modern day species of cats.
The tiger is a prehistoric animal that has walked the earth millions of years ago. The earliest tiger fossils are dated back as old as 2 million years ago. Tigers belong to the Panthera classification of animals and its origin is said to be in South Asia.
The ancestors of the modern tigers were bigger but they have always be carnivores. Tigers reduced in size as their pray became smaller and with this change they developed the capability to climb trees, they became better swimmers and became faster and more agile in order to hunt their prey. The Evolution Timeline - Tiger Fossils and Artist Impressions
of the Evolution of a
Tiger Geographical Area and Population
In the wild the tiger’s habitat requires access to water, vegetation acover and sufficient prey. The map below shows the geological area where wild tiger subspecies live and the poplutation. Extinction & Endangered Poaching, deforestation and human expansion has bought all species of tigers to the brink of extinction. Of the eight subspecies of tigers, three have become extinct in the last 60 years and they are the Balinese (extinction 1930’s), Caspian (extinction 1970’s) and Javan tigers (extinction 1980’s). The numbers of the remaining subspecies in the wild are very low and thus are endangered.
Since the 1900s the tigers habitat ahs been reduced by about 95%. Poachers poisoned or snared tigers for their skin and parts of their body for use in traditional Chinese Medicine.
Despite 20 years of international conservation efforts to save the tiger all the remaining subspecies have become endangered and their numbers in the wild are very low. In the 1900’s there were over 100,00 tigers in the wild. Today the wild population is estimated between 4,600 to 7,700. Since the tiger has lost most of it's population in the past and is now a endangered species. I believe that the Tiger population will increase as the in enhancement of science is growing. Also i think new species will be born as different large cats will be mating with each other and has already started with the 'Liger" which is a hybrid cross between a male tiger and a tigress. These animals will be more deadly and will have more predatory features as all the animals from the large cat family have there own specific individual benefits and features. My prediction to the tigers future is looking bright as the humans are aware of the endangerment of the tigers population and science will help bring the population back up to where it was in the future. Hypothesis.