Sumatran Tiger

Sumatran Tiger

Sumatran tigers are the smallest of the tigers. Unfortunately, all subspecies of tiger are endangered (and three already are extinct) because of the combined threats of habitat loss, fear-based persecution by humans, and wildlife trade for their skins, bones and other body parts.

Panthera tigris sumatrae

Carnivore

Southeastern Asia [VIEW MAP]

Rainforests

Tigers are very well camouflaged, so look carefully as you observe their habitat. The tigers at Zoo Atlanta may generally be seen year-round, but they have access to their heated indoor areas on cold or rainy days.

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Male Sumatran tigers can reach 310 pounds. Like all cats, tigers have a specialized tongue with sharp, rasping structures called papillae. These are used for cleaning bits of meat from bones and for grooming.

Males usually weigh 200 to 300 pounds, and females weigh 180–300 pounds. Healthy tigers have very little body fat, so that mass is almost entirely bone and muscle. Sumatran tigers may be 9 to 12 feet long, including the tail.

Sumatran tigers’ stripes are set closer than in other tigers, with long cheek hair and a short neck mane. Individuals can be identified by the markings on their foreheads.

Unlike most cats, tigers often swim in water. Webbing between their toes enables Sumatran tigers to be very fast swimmers. On land, they are capable of very fast bursts of speed, often through dense vegetation and can make vertical jumps up to about 16 feet and horizontally to 27 feet or so.

Tigers are solitary with the exceptions of females with cubs and brief periods of courtship between males and females. Females are sexually mature between 4 and 5 years old. A tigress is in heat every three to nine weeks but is fertile for only a few days at a time. A female usually mates with the resident male whose territory overlaps hers. During mating, a male and female usually stay together about three days. Tigers have induced ovulation, which means that the egg is not released into the uterus until stimulated (induced) to do so by the actual act of copulation. In order to ensure that the ovulation is successful and timed so that active sperm are available, a pair of tigers will copulate 100 or so times during the course of a two or three-day courtship.

Gestation last about 100 days. Most litters consist of one to six cubs, born blind and weighing about 2 pounds. Cubs stay with their mothers for about two years. Males do not participate in rearing the cubs.

In the wild, tigers live 10 or 12 years, and in zoological settings a tiger over 15 years of age is considered geriatric.

Tigers are very well camouflaged, so look carefully as you observe their habitat. The tigers at Zoo Atlanta may generally be seen year-round, but they have access to their heated indoor areas on cold or rainy days.

Sumatran tigers occur only on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

Sumatran tigers live in rainforests. Unlike other cats, they readily take to water and can swim well, thanks to specialized webbing between their toes.

Strict carnivores, tigers will eat virtually any available animal, from large prey to lizards, frogs, fishes or crabs. At Zoo Atlanta, the tigers are offered up to 10 pounds of commercially-prepared tiger diet made from the entire beef carcass. Approximately weekly, they are offered a large bone to manipulate and chew upon.

Tigers seem to enjoy batting items around and chewing, but their enrichment must be large and very durable. At Zoo Atlanta, they are offered large, hard-plastic balls and empty kegs, as well as a variety of novel scents.