Tigers mate any time during the year so says the Wildlife Fact-File. The female leaves urine deposits and scratch marks on trees to show that she is ready to mate. The tiger’s range is vast in Siberia so it is quite a challenge for the female to search for a male. This is not to mention that the female is receptive only for three to seven days. The pair will mate many times only for the male to leave to mate with another female.
Three or four blind cubs are born after a gestation period of three to three and a half months. The den is sheltered. The mother nurses the cubs and rarely leaves them. In two weeks old their eyes open and their first teeth begin to grow.
The mother brings them meat to eat and in three months the cubs start to leave the den. The cubs continue nursing until five or six months. When they are a year old they start to hunt themselves. When they are two they can kill a large prey but they do not leave their mother until they are three to five years old.
Our family like many families spent much time viewing and admiring tigers and their cubs in zoos and circuses. Few people get a chance to see them in their natural habitat. The closest I came to where tigers are was in Africa but I only was in Morocco. I often thought how exciting it would be to be amongst them in the wild.
The time came when I was able to have a cub about six weeks old on my lap. Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio used to have an area of baby animals for the kids. They would show them to all the kids and took them out of the cage. We were viewing tiger cubs and they asked for volunteers from the mothers who had nursed their children to come up front and give a milk bottle to the cubs. This was my chance and I volunteered. The cub was so cute and so very active. The fur was so beautiful with its patterns and so soft. It took the bottle fine but it kept biting my fingers. They were teething and wanted to keep biting. All the children loved it but were not allowed to come close.
Another time we as a family ended up being very close to tigers was in an old fashion circus in Oberlin Ohio in the 80’s. All the people were sitting in the bleachers and the parade of animals passed very close to us. We were intrigued but also afraid. We’ve gone to many zoos and circuses to keep admiring the tigers.
While Siberian Tigers mate anytime, the Bengal Tiger usually breed in the spring. A male who is a neighbor to the female will mate with her. He remains with her for 20-80 days but she is fertile only 3-7 days. The male returns to his home range after mating and plays no part in rearing the cumb.
Fifteen weeks later the tigress gives birth to two of four cubs. She suckles the cubs for eight weeks and brings them prey to eat. When the cubs are eleven months they start hunting on their own. The tiger cubs stay with their mother for two or three years. At that time she is ready to mate again.
Jaguars are a mystery in how they breed since very little is known about their breeding and their family life. It is a sad fact that they have almost been hunted to extinction because of their fur. They are so rare that biologists find it very difficult to study them. Most of the information comes from zoos where they have been bred successfully. The male and female meet in the wild only to mate. As soon as the mating is over the male leaves and the female brings up the young on her own.
The female gives birth to one to four cubs. They weigh 25-32 ounces and are blind. In two weeks their eyes open and they begin to explore outside of the den. At the age of six months they begin hunting with their mom. They stay with their mother for two years and then find their own territory to hunt. At three years old they are sexually mature.
Leapords mate during the six to seven days the female is in heat. The male leapord is drawn to the female by the urine she sprays on trees during the time she is in heat. The male leaves the female after mating and she cares for the young alone. After three months the birth takes place in a hidden lair. This short gestation period results in the cubs being born underdeveloped and helpless. They weigh only 15-20 ounces.
The leapord cubs could fall preys to lions, hyenas, or even male leapords. The mother carries them to a new hiding place every few days. The spots on their coats are so dense that the fur appears to be gray. Their milky blue eyes open at nine days. The cusbs stay with the mother two years.
The Bengal Tiger, Siberian Tiger, Jaguar, and Leopard all grow up to be powerful and amazing animals so striking to look at. The Siberian tiger is the largest living cat in the world. It possesses grace and beauty. The bengal tiger evokes both awe and fear. It is capable of killing animals twice its size and is one of nature’s most feared predators. It is very difficult to spot in the wild the solitary leopard. It has a sharp vision, a keen sense of hearing, and the unique ability to avoid detection. The jaguar is the largest Americn wildcat and is very rare because of being hunted for its attractive fur.
Wild animals are so very striking to us and we must do everything we can to have them reproduce in their natural ways but at the same time protect them from becoming extinct. Biologists know a lot about them but need to have the opportunity to learn more in the wild
