Sumatran Tiger

  

The Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is a rare tiger subspecies that inhabits the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The habitat is in the lowland to mountain forests.

The Sumatran Tiger is the smallest tiger of the tiger subspecies. This smaller size allows it to move through the forest quickly. Unlike other cats, tigers like to swim. Sumatran Tigers have partial webbing between their toes, which makes them very fast swimmers. Sumatran Tigers also have a white ‘beard’.

It is darker in fur colour and has thicker stripes than the Javan tiger. The Sumatran Tiger's stripes are also thinner than other tigers, assisting with camouflage in the shadows. Stripes tend to disintegrate into spots near their ends, and lines of small dark specks between regular stripes may be found on the back, flanks and hind legs. The frequency of stripes is higher than in other subspecies.

Males have a prominent ruff, which is especially marked in the Sumatran Tiger.

 

Males weigh 100 to 140 kg and measure 2.2 to 2.55 m in length between the pegs with a greatest length of skull of 295 to 335 mm. Females weigh 75 to 110 kg and measure 215 to 230 cm in length between the pegs with a greatest length of skull of 263 to 294 mm.

The gestation of this Sumatran Tiger is 90–110 days.

Tigers are carnivores and will eat whatever they can catch including fish, crocodiles and fowl, with the most common larger prey being wild pigs and deer. The tiger is a solitary animal. A male will control a territory that contains a number of females. 

 

Sumatran Tigers mark their territories by spraying scent on trees or bushes. They have a good sense of smell. They use their sense of smell to communicate with each other. They will lift their tails and shoot urine onto bushes, trees, and grass. The tigers smell the urine and their dung is used to mark their ranges. This lets other tigers know that range is occupied. Female tigers also use scent-marking to attract males when they are ready to mate. The scent-marking also helps keep rivals out of each others way. A Tiger will also mark its territory by scratching tree trunks. Sometimes they scratch the ground too. 

Tigers have been poached for their body parts which are used in traditional medicine. Habitat destruction is also a major threat to their survival. There are now estimated to be fewer than 400 Sumatran Tigers left in the wild.