The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is a rare subspecies of tiger (P. tigris). Also known as the Amur, Manchurian, Korean, Altaic, or North China tiger, it is confined completely to the Amur region in the Far East, where it is now protected. It is considered to be the largest of the six tiger subspecies and the largest cat in the world.
The Siberian tiger is typically only 2-4 inches taller at the shoulder than the Bengal Tiger, which is about 107-110 cm (42-43 in) tall. Old Males reach normally a head and body length of 190-220 centimetres (75-97 in).
The largest male with largely assured references was 350 cm (138 in) "over curves" (3,30 m/130 in. between pegs) in total length. (The tail length in old males is about one m/39 in.) A maximum body weight of up to 306 kg (675 lbs) is recorded and exceptionally large males weighing up to 384 kg (847 lbs) are mentioned in the literature but, according to Mazak, none of these cases were confirmed via reliable sources.[2] Females are normally smaller than males and weigh 100-167 kg (220-368 lbs), probably up to 180 kg (400 lbs).
The Siberian tiger is critically endangered. In the early 1900s, it lived throughout northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, northeastern Mongolia and southeastern Russia. Today, the majority of the population is confined to a tiny part of Russia's southern Far East: the Amur-Ussuri region of Primorsky and Khabarovsky Krai. There are very few tigers in northeastern China and fewer still in North Korea. The South Korean population died out in 1922.
Siberian tigers reach sexual maturity at 3 years of age. They mate at any time of the year. A female signals her receptiveness by leaving urine deposits and scratch marks on trees. She will spend seven days with the male, during which she is receptive for three days. Gestation lasts 3–3½ months. Litter size is normally 3 or 4 cubs but there can be as many as 6. The cubs are born blind in a sheltered den and are left alone when the female leaves to hunt for food.
Cubs are divided equally between genders at birth. However, by adulthood there are usually 2 to 4 females for every male. The female cubs remain with their mothers longer, and later they establish territories close to their original ranges. Males, on the other hand, travel unaccompanied and range farther earlier in their lives, thus making them more vulnerable to poachers and other tigers.
The captive population of Siberian tiger comprises several hundred. A majority of these tigers are found in China, with other populations in Europe and North America. The large, distinctive and powerful cats are popular zoo exhibits. The Siberian tiger is bred within the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a project based on 83 wild caught tigers. According to most experts, this population is large enough to stay stable and genetically healthy. Today, approximately 160 Siberian tigers participate in the SSP, which makes it the most extensively bred tiger subspecies within the programme. There are currently no more than around 255 tigers in the tiger SSP from three different subspecies. Developed in 1982, the Species Survival Plan for the Siberian tiger is the longest running program for a tiger subspecies. It has been very fortunate and productive, and the breeding program for the Siberian tiger has actually been used as a good example when new programs have been designed to save other animal species from extinction.
The Siberian tiger is not very difficult to breed in captivity, but the possibility of survival for animals bred in captivity released into the wild is small. Conservation efforts that secure the wild population are therefore still imperative. If a captive bred Siberian tiger were to be released into the wild, it would lack the necessary hunting skills and starve to death. Captive bred tigers can also approach humans and villages, since they have learned to associate humans with feeding and lack the natural shyness of the wild tigers. In a worst-case scenario, the starving tigers could even become man-eaters. Since tigers must be taught how to hunt by their mothers when they are still cubs, a program that aimed to release captive bred Siberian tigers into the wild would face great difficulties.
