Chinese tiger culture has a long history. Since ancient times, the Chinese people's love for tigers is self-evident. However, people are not aware of the situation of tigers because we see them all the time in various ways, so we have a wrong impression that they are not endangered animals.
However, the opposite is true - Tigers are one of the most endangered big cats in the world today. Data show that there were about 100,000 wild tigers in the world at the beginning of the last century. Today, there are less than 4,000 wild tigers surviving in the world. There are only about 70 wild tigers left in my country. More than 95% of wild tigers have been in the past 100 years. Disappeared during the year.
▼ The tiger is the most endangered big cat in the world ©Bjørn Christian Tørrissen
The tiger belongs to Chordata - Mammalia -Carnivora-Felidae- Panthera , is an endemic species in Asia, distribution area starts from the north The Russian Far East, as far south as Indonesia , has been found in more than 10 countries including Russia, China, Bangladesh , Bhutan , and India.
In China, tigers also have their preferred habitats. To understand the survival status of tigers in our country, we can start by understanding our country’s ecological pattern.
my country’s ecological pattern
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Geographic conditions are an important factor in determining the appearance of the ecosystem. China's terrain is higher in the west and lower in the east. The altitude gradient ranges from the basin to Mount Everest, which is 848.86 meters high. It is one of the countries with the largest altitude difference on the earth.
▼ my country’s terrain presents the typical characteristics of high in the west and low in the east. The picture comes from the official website of the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Standard Map Service System
China’s terrain is diverse, including plateaus, mountains and hills, basins, plains, etc. It is roughly divided into three levels from east to west:
The first step mainly includes Tibetan Plateau and Qaidam Basin and other areas, with an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters;
The second step mainly includes Inner Mongolia Plateau , Loess Plateau , Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. , Junggar Basin , Sichuan Basin , Tarim Basin and other areas, the average altitude is between 1000 and 2000 meters;
The third step is located in the east of my country, mainly including Northeast Plain, North China Plain , The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River plains , Liaodong hills, Shandong hills, southeast hills and other areas, the average altitude is below 500 meters.
▼ The three major ladders of China's terrain The base map comes from Baidu map
In terms of climate, according to the precipitation distribution patterns and characteristics of my country, several equal precipitation lines can be divided, among which the 400 mm equal precipitation line has a special significance. To the east of this line is a humid and semi-humid area affected by the monsoon. The water and heat conditions are relatively good, suitable for plant growth and crops can be grown, thus forming a farming civilization. To the west of this line is an arid and semi-arid area that is less or even unaffected by the monsoon. The environment is mostly desert steppe or even desert. Such a place cannot meet the needs of long-term human settlement and planting, so it has given birth to people who live in pursuit of water and grass. Nomadic civilization.
▼ The 400mm equal precipitation line roughly divides my country’s farming and grazing areas © National Geographic Information Public Service Platform official website
Affected by terrain and precipitation, our country has also formed a Black River- Tengchong population line. This line More than 94% of my country's population is distributed in the east.This population line is also very important for understanding the living conditions of animals in our country, because if the distribution range of animals overlaps too much with the range of human activities, there will inevitably be conflicts in the living space between animals and humans.
▼ The 400mm equal precipitation line is also closely related to the Heihe-Tengchong population line in my country. The picture comes from the Internet
From the perspective of the geographical climate of the entire China, the three-level ladder and these two special lines formed the ecological pattern of China today: On one side It is the eastern region with good water and heat, lush vegetation but dense population, and the other side is the arid and barren western region, sparse vegetation but vast land and sparsely populated areas.
So, where does the tiger fit in this ecological pattern?
Tiger - the king at the top of the food chain
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In the three-level ladder mentioned above, the topography of the first level is mainly lowlands, shallow mountains, and swamps, and tigers are undoubtedly the ruler of the first level. By.
Tigers prefer to live in flat environments and live in various tropical, subtropical, temperate forests, and areas with dense vegetation such as tall grass swamps, shrubs, and wetlands. The stripes on their bodies also evolved for the tall grass environment. The stripes run in the same direction as the grass grows, helping the tiger to camouflage itself when ambush its prey.
With its powerful strength, sensitive hearing and smell, fangs and claws, tigers occupy the ecological niche at the top of the food chain. In its habitat, tigers usually feed on 2 to 5 types of large and medium-sized ungulates that are common in the local area, including wild boars, sambar , red deer , sika deer , etc. In addition, tigers will also prey on various small prey, such as badgers, foxes and other small carnivores, primates , birds, and even a small number of amphibians and reptiles. In addition to adult rhinos and Asian elephants , a healthy An adult tiger can hunt almost any creature it encounters and is truly the king of the forest.
▼ A tiger is chasing a sika deer © Harsh.kabra.98
However, as mentioned before, because the distribution range of tigers highly coincides with the range of human activities, has increased with deforestation, human hunting, and wild activities in recent centuries. Their habitats have been invaded, and tigers have been pushed to the brink of extinction step by step. Historically, there were 9 tiger subspecies in the world, and China once had 5 of them: South China tiger (extinct in the wild), Siberian tiger , Bengal tiger , Indochinese tiger (or already in China (extinct) and Xinjiang tiger (extinct).
▼ Nine tiger subspecies, 3 subspecies have been declared extinct: Javan tiger, Caspian tiger , Bali tiger ©WWF
my country's
tiger subspecies
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【South China tiger】
and Bengal tiger and Siberian tiger In comparison, the black stripes on the South China tiger are short and thick, and the intervals between the stripes are large, often forming a diamond pattern on its side.
▼ The South China tiger in Shanghai Zoo©J. Patrick Fischer
As the only tiger subspecies unique to China, is known as the " Chinese tiger ". Most of the records in our country's history are also South China tigers. In the past, South China tigers were widely distributed in the vast areas of eastern, central, southern and southwestern my country, including Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Hubei, Sichuan, Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu and other provinces, It was once the most numerous tiger in my country.
After the 1950s, due to population growth, large areas of mountain forests were reclaimed. Cultivated land has increased, forests have decreased, and the living space for wild animals has been compressed. The number of wild boars, sambar deer and other herbivores has dropped sharply. On the one hand, the reduction of habitat and vegetation makes tigers lack food. On the other hand, the large-scale utilization of mountain forests has virtually increased the possibility of encounters between humans and tigers. The "human-tiger conflict" has intensified, and tigers have been hunted on a large scale. The South China tiger, which was the most numerous at the time, was the most affected.
▼ The picture comes from the tiger hunting report published in "Xinmin Daily" on August 7, 1956
On November 6, 1986, a South China tiger cub was captured by an iron clip in Anren County, Hunan Province, and died of excessive injuries. This may It was the last time humans saw wild South China tigers. Since the 21st century, there have been no records of South China tigers in the wild nationwide. In 2012, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the South China tiger as extinct in the wild on the Red List of Endangered Species.
Although extinction in the wild does not mean complete extinction, the only remaining South China tigers in my country now live in artificial breeding environments, and are descendants of 6 wild tigers captured in the 1950s and 1960s, close relatives. Reproduction is severe and survival ability in the wild is poor. It is still difficult to release captive South China tigers into the wild.
▼ South China tigers kept in zoos still have a long road to release into the wild ©Cao Hai-Dreamstime.com
[Bengal tiger]
The Bengal tiger is second only to the Siberian tiger in size, with short and shiny body hair, slender and clear stripes , is the most abundant tiger subspecies in the world, accounting for about 2/3 of the world's wild tigers. In China, Bengal tigers mainly live in southern Tibet, but their number is only about a dozen.
▼ Bengal tiger photographed in Medog, Tibet © Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Bengal tigers are mostly distributed in India. But just like the South China tiger in China, the Bengal tiger was hunted on a large scale in India, and the number was once reduced from 40,000 to 1,800. It was not until India announced a ban on tiger hunting and designated the tiger as a national animal that the population of Bengal tigers in India was generally stabilized.
▼ Bengal tiger in Bandipur National Park, India ©Dkishorekumar
[Indochinese tiger]
The Indochinese tiger is slightly darker in color and smaller than the Bengal tiger.
▼ Indochinese tiger in a zoo in Berlin © R. Altenkamp, Berlin
The last time a wild Indochinese tiger was photographed in China was in 2007, in the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve. This is also the only image of a wild Indochinese tiger captured in my country so far. However, in 2009, this Indochinese tiger was poached and shot by local villagers. Since then, there has been no trace of Indochinese tigers in my country. Indochinese tigers may be extinct in China.
▼ The last time a wild Indochinese tiger was photographed in my country in 2007 © Institute of Ecology, Beijing Normal University
[Xinjiang tiger]
Internationally, the Xinjiang tiger is also known as the "Caspian tiger". The Caspian tiger is orange-red with narrow and dense stripes. , with longer hair, its size is second only to Siberian tiger and Bengal tiger. It has special ring patterns in its tail markings. was the third largest tiger species in history. was once the most widely distributed tiger subspecies, and has been recorded in China, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey and other places.
▼ In 1899, the Caspian tiger in the Berlin Zoo. The picture comes from the Internet
In 1916, the Caspian tiger became extinct in our country. In 1981, the International Union for Conservation of Nature officially declared the Caspian tiger extinct worldwide. China’s Xinjiang region has low rainfall, and tigers depend on water sources. Therefore, most of the Caspian tigers living in Xinjiang, my country, rely on water. Some people believe that the reason for the disappearance of Caspian tigers in my country may be related to the depletion of water sources and the sharp reduction in food quantity caused by land reclamation and overgrazing.
▼ The tail pattern of the Caspian tiger (left) is inconsistent with that of the Siberian tiger (right) ©V. G. Heptner, et al.
Conclusion
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022 is another Year of the Tiger. After understanding the boom and bust of the tiger population, we have more complicated emotions about this former " king of beasts".
In tens of millions of years of coexistence and struggle with nature, tigers have used their fangs and claws to fight for themselves to be the dominant player at the top of the food chain. However, with the continuous development of mankind and the rapid advancement of science and technology, we can no longer simply define who is the overlord of the world.
Fortunately, there is always someone who will realize and act first before it is too late. We hope that in the next Year of the Tiger and the year after that, this endangered species may usher in a population resurgence.
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composition | Tang Bilian
editor | Yao Yuan
review and picture supply | Maomeng CFCA
