This graceful animal belongs to the Feline family. Of all the subspecies of the tiger, Malay is the smallest. He has a very flexible body and a long strong tail.
In jumping, the tiger is assisted by dexterous legs with low but wide forelegs. There are five fingers on the paws with tenacious retractable claws.
The beast has a rather heavy skull, on which neatly shaped ears are located. Particularly eye-catching is the Malay tiger. His huge eyes with round pupils inspire fear in animals and people.
It should be noted that the “big cats” see the world around them in color. Nature awarded the tiger a strong jaw with large fangs. This helps the predator to firmly grab the prey and strangle it. The tongue of the animal consists of sharp tubercles. Due to this, the tiger easily strips skin and meat from prey.
Other body structure features
Malay tiger weighs from 100 to 120 kilograms. The length of his body along with his tail reaches up to 2.4 m. In the wild, “big cats” live from 15 to 25 years. They live in fields with medium vegetation, forests and abandoned agricultural plantations. As a rule, areas with a small number of people are selected.
How beautiful the Malay tiger! The photo shows the bright colors of his body. It is replete with orange and orange shades. The belly of the beast is white and fluffy, and the pattern of black stripes on the torso is related to the predator with the Indonesian look.
Lifestyle
Malay tiger - the beast of twilight and darkness. His vision at this time is even sharper than in the daytime. Scientists say that the eyes of an animal see 6 times better than human eyes. This allows the "big cat" to easily spot the prey.
The predator creeps for the victim for a long time, considering further tactics of behavior. An unsuspecting victim is ambushed quite soon, and then is attacked from the rear. In most cases, such a hunt is successful.
The tiger is quite rumbling and immediately begins to eat. He can eat 18 kg of meat in one sitting. Wild boars and bulls, bears and livestock most often serve him as food.
Malay tiger likes to spend a lot of time in the water. This is a great swimmer! Ponds - this is a real salvation for the animal from the heat and annoying flies.
Among the relatives, the beast tries to convey its mood with body movements. If the animal is angry, then its ears are upright, the tail is taut and straightened, and its fangs are exposed.
Malaysian tiger on its territory
In most cases, representatives of this species are single in life. Only the female devotes much time to her offspring. This takes her most of her life.
Malay tiger is a big owner. Males and females mark their sites with secrets of glands and make scratches on tree trunks. By tags you can determine the sex of the animal, age and physical health. Strangers are not allowed animals on their territory. The exception is females during estrus.
Reproduction of the beast
The Malay tiger himself comes to the territory of a female. Before mating games, the tigress rolls on the ground for a long time and does not allow the male. He patiently waits for her to whisper enough and release her aggression.
Animals frolic for several days in a row. But except for one male, a tigress can mate in the same period with others. Because of this, the female may have cubs from different tigers.
It is curious that the male does not feel paternal feelings towards kittens. On the contrary, the tigress protects the offspring from the male, as he is able to kill tiger cubs in order to again incline the partner to mating games.
Malay tiger. Description of the offspring
The pregnancy of the female lasts 103 days. For childbirth, the tigress chooses a secluded place - dense thickets or a cave. In one litter usually there are 2-3 cubs.
They are born deaf and blind, weighing from 0.5 to 1.2 kilograms. 2 weeks after birth, the calves are able to eat solid food. But a real hunt awaits them at 17-18 months.
The cubs have been with their mother for 3 years. Then they leave its territory for independent existence. Females leave the mother tigress a little later than males.
People and wild beast
Throughout history, man hunted for a tiger. For example, there is a legend about how Alexander the Great went into little-known lands and with the help of darts conquered a wild beast.
Ancient Korea specifically trained people for tiger hunting. A whole ritual was assigned to this: during the hunt, silence should be maintained. For such a trip, a jacket was made of blue canvas and a turban of the same color was made, decorated with numerous beads.
Security amulets were carved out of wood for hunters. Before the campaign, the men were fed tiger meat. Such people were valued in Korea. They were even allowed not to pay state taxes.
In the early 19th and 20th centuries, the hunt for the "big cat" was widespread among the English colonialists. They were also interested in the Malay tiger. “In English” such a hunt was organized - the participants marched on elephants or gaura.
Travelers used goats or rams to lure the tiger. Sometimes, hunters loudly beat drums to drive an animal out of the thick forest. Of the dead tigers, stuffed animals were made that adorned the homes of aristocrats for a long time.
Also, the skin of the beast served as a material for the manufacture of souvenirs and decorative items. Tiger bones are credited with magical properties, and they are still in demand in Asian black markets.
Hunting for the “big cat” is currently prohibited, but poaching is still ongoing in many areas. Malay tigers also do not differ in peaceful behavior.
Some of them prey on livestock. Cases of cannibalism are known. In 2001-2003, 41 people died from the fangs of the Malay tiger in the forests of Bangladesh.