Distribution (where it’s found in the world): Manchuria(North part of China) and Siberia(mainly along the Amur and Ussur river).

Habitat: Reeds and bushes in river valleys, mountain taiga and mixed forests traversed by rivers, with rock outcroppings.

Food: Feeds chiefly on ungulates, wild boars, roe deer, elk and musk deer. If its chief prey is lacking, it feeds on carrion and catches birds, small mammals, fish, turtles and even insects.

Reproduction and Development (birth and growth): After a 105-day gestation, two or three cubs are born. Litters can be as large as 6 cubs. Newborns are approximately the height of a cat, and weigh 1,400 gm. For dens they use fissures in rocks, natural caves, very dense reeds and bushes and occasionally, pits left by overturned trees. The young tiger grows extremely rapidly. Tiger cubs begin to follow their mother at one month of age when they weigh 6 kg but do not travel long distances with her until 5 or 6 months. The litter does not disband for 2 or 3 years. Sexual maturity is attained in the fourth year. Tigers can live to 15 to 17 years of age.

Adaptations (how it survives in its environment): The tiger is active, chiefly at night. Characterized by extreme strength, agility and endurance, they can moves noiselessly. Tigers can travel as far as 80 to 90 km in a day. They enter water willingly and are good swimmers. Their striped coat is good camouflage in dense vegetation. Prey animals are approached quietly and attacked in several large leaps (5 to 7 m. long and 2 m. high). When food is available and it remains unmolested, a tiger will stays in its selected region. It usually leads a nomadic type of life travelling long distances in the winter in search of food. Siberian tigers can endure extreme cold but when travelling in deep snow, they tire rapidly and rest often.