Malayan Tiger

Millions of years ago, tigers roamed all over northern Asia where they grew to an enormous size, weighing as much as 700 pounds and standing over 8 feet tall. They survived by hunting prey which included wild boar, grizzly bears, and they even fished salmon from the rivers. But during the last great ice age, tigers were forced to migrate as far south as the island of Bali and as far west as the Caspian sea. During this great migration the tiger went through many changes, adapting to its new habitats.
Over tens of thousands of years as they moved south, they became smaller. The Balinese tigers, for example, were a hundred and fifty pounds fully grown. They could survive living on a diet of frogs, birds, and small mammals. The tigers made other adaptations as well. Besides changing in size, they changed in color. Many people do not realize this, but tigers once came in many colors just like house cats. Tigers could be jet-black, snow-white, royal white, and even tabby in color. These unique colors were the first to disappear as tigers were hunted to near extinction.

Tigers are incredible growing machines. They weigh around half a pound at birth and can fit in the palm of your hand. As they begin to grow, they gain a half a pound a day, on average, for the first couple of years of their life. This means that a 1-year-old cub weighs close to 300 pounds. The small birth size of tiger babies is a great benefit for the mother tiger. Tiny babies allow mother tigers to stay in top physical condition so they can track, hunt, and kill prey as large as young elephants, small rhinos, and even buffalo a day or so before giving birth, and just a few days afterwards.

Our national pride, the Malayan tiger is an elusive feline. They generally shy away from human. My grandpa spoke about 'em. He always said, you must respect nature and whats part of it and it will return that respect in many folds. Tigers were never known to attack unless provoked or hungry. But they have became victims of man's many cruelty.

Malayan tigers are a bit smaller and darker than Bengal tigers and they have shorter and narrower stripes. In late 2004 genetic studies found that tigers on the Malayan peninsula were a separate and distinct subspecies from the Indochinese tiger. Males average 9 feet from head to tail and weigh about 400 pounds. Females measure about 8 feet in length and weigh approximately 250 pounds. Like all tigers, they are endangered. They have been relentlessly hunted for their body parts, which are believed to have either medicinal value or supernatural power to ward off evil.

There are about 500 Malayan tigers in the nature reserves and national parks of Malaysia. One hundred years ago there was a total of over 100,000 wild tigers in the world. Today 3 subspecies have become extinct and there are only 6 tiger subspecies left with fewer than 7,000 wild tigers in the world.