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Sumatran Tiger
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| Scientific Name: |
Panthera tigris sumatrae |
| Range: |
Sumatra, Indonesia |
| Habitat: |
Rain forests and grasslands near water |
| Natural Diet: |
Boar, deer, wild pigs, water buffalo, wild cows,
snakes, fish, frogs, and birds |
| Zoo Diet: |
Feline diet and occasionally large bones |
Physical
Characteristics: |
From head to tail, Sumatran tigers are seven to nine
feet long. Males weigh 275 to 300 pounds, while smaller females weigh
150 to 175 pounds. Their black stripes provide camouflage that is most
effective at dawn and dusk. Tigers have sharp teeth and tongues covered
with tiny backward-pointing bristles used for grooming and eating.
Tigers see much like humans during the day but far more accurately than
us at night. Sumatran tigers hear extremely well. |
| Behavior: |
Sumatran tigers are most active at night and hunt
mainly at dusk and dawn. They are strong swimmers and enjoy cooling off
in streams and rivers. They are solitary animals, but sometimes
socialize when hunting. Hunting requires a lot of energy. Tigers travel
up to 15 miles to find food, and they catch prey in only one out of ten
tries. |
| Reproduction: |
The mother raises two to four cubs. Cubs are born blind
and helpless weighing two to three pounds. Cubs soon tag along on the
hunt, learning their mother’s techniques. The cubs hunt alone at one
year of age. Males grow faster than female siblings. Cubs remain with
their mother for two to three years, leaving after a new litter is born. |
| Notes: |
Fewer than 500 Sumatran tigers remain in the wild.
Compared to the other four tiger subspecies, Sumatran tigers are the
smallest and have closer, narrower stripes on brighter colored fur than
the others. At the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, you can see Sumatran
tigers in Tiger Forest. |
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