The number of tigers in the wild is less than in captivity. Some subspecies, for example, the Java tiger, have completely disappeared. This sad event happened recently, about half a century ago, soon the same fate can befall all striped predators.
Material Content:
Description and lifestyle of Javanese tigers
Outwardly, the Javanese tigers resembled the existing subspecies, but they weighed less and were smaller. Accurate information about them has been preserved by scientific papers and old photographs.
Type Description:
- maximum weight of males 142 kg;
- body length about 245 cm;
- maximum weight of females 115 kg;
- the head is large, with a narrow nape and elongated muzzle;
- ears are small, rounded at the top;
- amygdala eyes yellowish-green;
- elongated “whiskers” hair grew on the sides of the muzzle;
- stripes of black color were located on the yellowish-red main background.
The animals had a slightly elongated body, a long flexible tail, and low, strong legs. They loved water, swam well.
Among the dense jungle on the Indonesian island of Java, tigers easily got their own food. They always hunted alone when it gets dark, waiting for prey in an ambush or tracking down during a watering hole. The basis of the diet was ungulates and small mammals, when there were few game animals, they ate fish, reptiles, and ripe fruits. To overtake the prey, the predators made several huge jumps.
Reproduction and care for offspring
Javanese tigers (panthera tigris sondaisa) are very secretive animals; females with cubs are rarely seen by humans. Polygamous males did not create permanent pairs, and tigresses independently raised offspring. About 100 days after mating, 2 or 3 blind helpless kittens weighing about 1 kg were born.
A week after birth, the cubs opened their eyes.For the first month and a half, the babies ate their mother's milk. The female protected the den from tigers of males and other predators that could kill offspring. At the age of two months, the cubs left the den, following their mother everywhere. They accompanied her for another 2-3 years, until they reached puberty. The tigress taught children hunting techniques, transferring experience in finding the beast and killing him.
Reasons for extinction
The disappearance of the Yavan tiger was led by a ruthless hunt for him and human economic activity. Under extinction, the extinct subspecies appeared in the middle of the twentieth century, when it was reported that the animal population was reduced to 25 individuals. In 1979, only three tigers were seen on the island. It is believed that the last animals died out in the 80s of the last century.
Locals often killed predators, protecting livestock and their lives. The striped neighbors brought people a lot of anxiety and every killing of a tiger met with glee.
The situation of the subspecies today
There is no reliable information about the existence of living Javanese tigers, the cat family has lost another unique subspecies. Residents of the island of Java from time to time report that they see animals similar to tigers in the pristine forests of the western part of the island.
To preserve the unique nature of the island and search for miracles that survived by miracle, the Javanese National Park Meru Betiri was created.
But when gold was found on the territory of the reserve, the fate of animals became uninteresting to gold mining companies.
According to the latest information contained in the English Wikipedia: “On 25 August 2017, a wildlife ranger working in Ujung Kulon National Park took a photograph of an alleged Javan tiger while it was feeding on a dead bull.” That is, more recently, in 2017, the forester made a photo of the Yavan tiger, who ate a dead bull. Later, experts identified in the alleged tiger of the Java leopard.
Tigers and people
Currently, about 6 thousand live tigers remain in the wild, while 100 years ago there were more than 100 thousand. The hunt for these large predators was very popular in the late XIX and early XX centuries. From the killed tigers stuffed animals were made to decorate the houses of aristocrats, and carpets were made from striped skins.
At the beginning of the XXI century, out of 9 known subspecies, only 6 remained, and all of them are under the threat of extinction. Animals are listed in the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. The killing of striped predators is prohibited by law throughout the world, and in some countries it is punishable by death, but this does not stop poachers.
In China, meat and all parts of the tiger’s body from mustache to tail are endowed with healing power, although there is no evidence for this in scientific medicine. On the black market, this product is very much appreciated. People kill some animals forcibly for protection purposes, if caught in cannibalism. Tigers are more likely than all the rest of the cat family to attack humans.
In order to protect oneself from predator attacks, the following safety rules must be observed in their habitats:
- seeing from afar, never run away;
- Do not turn your back;
- put a mask on the back of the head with a picture of a human face, an attack is always from the back;
- knock loudly and make noise, moving along a dangerous section of the forest;
- Do not walk at dusk without weapons and alone.
The amazing thing is that in America tigers are kept as pets. The number of such exotic cats, according to statistics, reaches 12 thousand.
The reason for the disappearance of the Javanese tigers is an inattentive attitude to the surrounding nature. The inept use of natural resources, deforestation and the shooting of wild animals may lead to the disappearance of all large cats in the near future.
