Dao moving forward. I have studied tigers extensively in captive environments whilst at University and at other times. I was moved to tears upon looking again this evening at these pictures I took of Dao just because of his sheer beauty. This incredible animal ( Panthera tigris spp. sumatrae) is Critically Endangered in wild, and the last remaining Island subspecies native to Sumatra. Lowland rainforest provides the most suitable landscape for Sumatran tigers as these elevations provide the greatest prey biomass (Ministry of Forestry 2007). Female Sumatran tigers weigh in the range of 75 -110 kg, and males 100 - 140 kg (Sunquist and Sunquist 2002). A study by OโBrien et al (2003) conducted in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra, found that tigers take a wide variety of prey, including wild pigs (Sus scrofa), Sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), red muntjac (Muntiacus muntjac), pigtail macaques (Macaca nemestina), two species of mouse deer (Tragulus spp.), and less frequently hunt Malay tapir (Tapirus indicus) and argus pheasant (Argusianus argus). Tigers are capable of reproduction at three years of age (although the earliest recording is 21 months), with highest fecundity levels between ages 4 to 11. The inter-birth interval is approximately two years (Smith 1993), with usually three cubs per litter (mean of 2.98), but litter size can range up to five. Tigers, especially males do not attain maximum body size until they are five years old, and males usually take longer than females to acquire territories. The territories of breeding males usually overlap those of several females, with males competing for access to the females (Sunquist and Sunquist 2002). The Sumatran tiger is under severe pressure from continued illegal hunting and poaching, habitat loss and degradation, loss of prey due to poaching of prey species, potential loss of genetic diversity due to habitat fragmentation and infectious disease.
Dao the magnificent, 9th March 2026. #Sumatran #tiger #PaigntonZoo #Devon #photography #photos #cats #cat #bigcat #male
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