Amur Tiger

Panthera altaica

Irish Name: Tíogar Amur
IUCN Status: Endangered

The Amur tiger is the world’s biggest cat. It was formerly known as the Siberian tiger but as it no longer exists in Siberia, it has been renamed after the Amur river on the border of Russia and China where it is still found.

Amur tigers have orange fur with thin black stripes and a white underbelly. These tigers have large heads, sharp teeth and long claws. Males can weigh up to 190kgs.

Amur Tiger

Panthera altaica

Irish Name: Tíogar Amur
IUCN Status: Endangered

The Amur tiger is the world’s biggest cat. It was formerly known as the Siberian tiger but as it no longer exists in Siberia, it has been renamed after the Amur river on the border of Russia and China where it is still found.

Amur tigers have orange fur with thin black stripes and a white underbelly. These tigers have large heads, sharp teeth and long claws. Males can weigh up to 190kgs.

General Information

Where do they live? (Natural habitat)

The Amur tiger lives in forest habitats, usually at high elevation and have adapted beautifully to live in the harsher, cold climates. The majority of the remaining Amur tigers can be found in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range and the Russian Far East though there are also small populations in China.

How long do they live?

On average, Amur tigers live 10 - 15 years in the wild, and up to 20 years in zoos.

What do they eat?

Amur tigers are carnivorous, and they hunt and eat large ungulates including wapiti, moose, boar, sika deer and red deer. They will also, on occasion, eat smaller animals such as badgers, hare and salmon. They have also been known to kill brown bear cubs and sometimes even sub-adult Himalayan black bears.

In a three-year study spanning 2009-2012 it was discovered that the monitored tigers would kill, on average, every 7 days during summer, and 5 in winter. They would consume approximately 7 - 10 kg per day. Their territories are usually vast and extensive.

Group name

They are solitary in nature, except mothers with cubs, so there is not a very consistent name for a group.

Zoo Location

Asian Forests

Closest related species / sister species

The tiger's closest relative is the snow leopard. Other subspecies include - Bengal tiger, South China tiger, Sumatran tiger, Indochinese tiger and the Malayan tiger

Animal class

Mammalia

Animal order

Carnivora

Fun facts

Unique Markings

The pattern of stripes on a tiger's body are completely unique to that tiger, much like our fingerprints.

Water Lovers

Unlike most other members of the cat family, Amur tigers like water! They can swim, and they will often submerge themselves in pools or streams on hot days to cool down.

Love Songs

Roar infrequently but have been known to roar for intimidation and communicating with cubs. Not just to find a mate and indicate receptivity.

Long Range

Amur tigers have the largest home range territories of any tiger subspecies. This is because they must travel great distances to hunt and find food, due to low prey densities. Male territories are usually over 1000km2. Female territories are usually just over 400km2

Cub's Day Out

After approximately 2 months cubs will accompany their mother to kill sites. This is when they leave the den. Cubs will leave their mother's territory between 2-3 years of age.

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Family Life

Amur tigers are solitary creatures and have their own territories, with multiple females living in one male's territory. They can mate at any time of year, their gestation period is 12-14 weeks and the average litter is 2-4 cubs. The cubs will stay with their mother and learn how to hunt and survive from her, and once they reach sub-adulthood, at around 2-3 years, they will leave to establish their own territories. Male adolescents will leave sooner than their female counterparts, though both sexes will leave quickly following the birth of a mother's new litter.

Baby name

A baby tiger is called a cub.

Gestation (pregnancy) period

12-14 weeks.

Number of young at birth

1-6 cubs can be born, though the average is 2-4 cubs.

Weight at Birth

780 grams - 1.6 kilograms.

Age at Maturity

Amur tigers are considered adolescent by 35 months, with males reaching sexual maturity at 48 - 60 months. Females reach maturity quicker, as do tigers in zoos.

Adult male name

Tiger

Adult female name

Tigress/tiger

Size male adult

A male Amur tiger's body length can reach 3.7 metres, including their head and tail (they have a tail length of approximately 91-99 cm), and can weigh up to approximately 400 kilograms.

Size female adult

A female Amur tiger's body length can reach up to 2.4 metres, including their head and tail, and can weigh 168 kg.

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Conservation

Endangered

The Amur tiger is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation in Nature.

Current population estimate

540 individuals as per 2015 census.

The Amur tiger once ranged across a large swathe of land covering the Russian Far East, northern China and the Korean peninsula. But in the 1940s their numbers dropped to less than 50 individuals, mainly due to hunting. In 1947, Russia became the first country to grant the tiger full protection and, since then, tiger numbers have gradually been rising.

However, their future is still not secure with a number of threats remaining. The Amur tiger’s habitat is now primarily restricted to the Amur River region on the border between Russia and China. This remaining habitat is under threat from human developments such as agriculture, logging and mining.

Threats

Human interference such as poaching, hunting, and habitat loss.

What is Dublin Zoo doing?

Since 2015, Dublin Zoo has worked in partnership with the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance to support a project to reduce human-tiger conflict in the Russian Far East. This project is coordinated by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – Russian Programme and has two main parts. The first is to resolve human-tiger conflict when it arises and the second is to monitor the progress of orphaned cubs and rehabilitated tigers released back into the wild.

Dublin Zoo is also part of a European breeding programme for the species and in 2018, two female cubs Alena and Zarina were born as part of this programme.

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Tiger cubs born at Dublin Zoo

https://www.facebook.com/DublinZoo/videos/793796224312782/

FAQs

  • Where do Amur tigers live?

    The Amur tiger lives in boreal forest habitats, usually at high elevation and have adapted beautifully to live in the harsher, cold climates. The majority of the remaining Amur tigers can be found in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range and the Russian Far East though there are also small populations in China.

  • How long do Amur tigers live?

    Amur tigers on average live 10 – 15 years in the wild and up to 20 years in zoos.

  • How many Amur tigers are left in the world?

    As per a 2015 census, it was found that there are approximately 540 individual Amur tigers remaining. The current estimate for populations in the Amur region is at around the 500 mark, with IUCN declaring the population to be stable.

  • Why are Amur tigers important?

    Amur tigers are apex predators and are an important part of ecosystem balance. They are an umbrella, or keystone, species. They prevent overgrazing by hunting herbivores and large ungulates.

  • Why are Amur tigers endangered?

    Amur tigers were nearly hunted to extinction. They now face threats not just from poachers and hunters, but also from habitat loss, encroachment and logging.

  • Are Siberian and Amur tigers the same?

    Amur tigers and Siberian tigers are the same. They were once called Siberian tigers because of the huge range of land their population covered across Siberia, but now unfortunately their numbers have dwindled so much they inhabit just Russia’s Amur region.

  • What do Amur tigers eat?

    Amur tigers are carnivorous, and they hunt and eat large ungulates, including wapiti, moose, boar, sika deer, and red deer. On occasion, they will also eat smaller animals such as badgers, hare, and salmon.

  • When did the Amur tiger become endangered?

    In the 1930s it is thought that Amur tiger numbers fell to as low as 20-30 animals, but it wasn’t until 1996 that they were declared Critically Endangered by IUCN.

  • Are Amur tigers nocturnal?

    Amur tigers are mostly nocturnal and are most active at night. They are ambush predators and rely on camouflage while hunting.

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