TIGER

                     STATUS

IUCN                   :     Endangered, EN (C2a (i)) 

ZSI/CAMP          :     Endangered EN (C2a) 

CITES                 :      Appendices I 

Schedule           :      Part I 

Activity              :      Nocturnal Solitary

Social Group    :   Solitary

Population        :     Extinct in Gujarat but about 5,000 in the world and 1,500 - 2,000 in India.

👉Local name   :   Bagh, Sher, pattayat vagh

👉Phaysical measurements & life cycle👇

Length.          260 - 300 cm (Head to Tail) (Largest cat)

Weight.          Male - 170 - 190 kg, Female - 125 - 140 kg

Height.           105 - 110 cm 

Maturity.        Male - 4 years, Female - 3 years

Gestation.     110 - 115 days

Litter size.      2 - 3

Life span.       12 - 14 years in wild and 16 - 22 years in    captivity 

Breeding.        November to April

👉Description  :  Largest cat. Richly coloured, well - striped animal with a short coat and long black - banded tail.

👉Food  :  Carnivorous. preys upon any animal when hungry (deer like chital and sambar, antelopes, wild boar, Indian gaur, cattle).

👉Distribution  :  No recent records in the state. Now extirpated from Gujarat. Last record for this animal was in 1997. Maximum population is in Madhya Pradesh.

👉Habitat  :  Prefers dense forest where adequate prey base and water to quench thirst is available. Tiger is found in 17 states. There are a total of 28 Tiger Project Area. 

👉Behaviour  :  Feeds upon large herbivores like Chital, Sambar, Blue bull, cattle etc. Crepuscular to nocturnal in habitat. Can swim easily, can be seen near waterholes or near kills. 

👉Signs of presence  :  Pugmarks can give definite clue. Claw marks on trunk of trees and scat also can be of help. If the neck of predated animal is found broken then it can safely be assumed as a tiger kill.

 👉Population  :  At present not a single tiger is found in Gujarat. Tiger survived till 1997 in Gujarat. In the past, this animal was found in forested region from Valsad to Ambaji and also near Ahmedabad. 

Global population in wild is about 5,000 individuals. Population in India dropped from about 40,000 individuals in the beginning of 20th century to about 1800 in 1972 and then increased to about 4000 in 1990s, and again dropped to about 1,500-2,000 in 2006.

👉There are total 5 geographical races of the tiger existing today. These are; Bengal tiger, Indo Chinese tiger, Sumatran tiger, Amur/Siberian tiger and South China tiger. Tiger is the national animal of India.