The Tiger

A point worth noting is that tigers in the south are quite different in appearance to those in the north of planet. So, I am comparing the very rare and endangered Sumatran and Indonesian tigers with the Amur tiger and even the Bengal tiger which not only lives throughout India in reserves but also on the foothills of Bhutan 4,000 meters above sea level.  Map showing approximate location of northern and southern tiger subspecies. There is a gradual increase in size as you go north. The larger size helps tigers to conserve body heat in cold climates while the opposite is true in hotter climates. Image: MikeB The difference between the 'southern tigers' and those in the north are as follows. The differences are due to evolution. They are considerably smaller. For example, in tropical areas adult male tigers average about 2.2-2.5 metres in length which is about half a metre shorter than males from northern areas. They weigh only 100-140 kg. Adult females in tropical areas weigh be...

Another bizarre tiger story. A French couple living in France wanted to purchase a high filial Savannah cat which you might know is a serval-domestic cat hybrid. They bought the cat online but were delivered a Sumatran tiger cub instead. Extraordinarily, they did not know that they had taken possession of a tiger until a few days later when they contacted the police. They purchased the animal for €6000. Savanah cats and tiger cubs have a completely different appearance by the way. Tiger cub. Stock image from EPA. The Sumatran tiger is highly endangered. The trade in wild kittens of any species is arguably out of control. There are international treaties (CITES) in place to protect wildlife from this kind of trade but they are unenforced or the enforcement lacks teeth. If it isn't tiger cubs it'll be tiger body parts which are traded to feed the traditional Chinese medicine market in China. Lion bones are also popular which causes no end of lion abuse in Africa. This rather o...