Hobbies And Interests
Adaptations for Cold
The northerly latitudes inhabited by the Amur tiger force the species to confront cold and snow as few other big cats do. The tiger's huge size is one clear adaptation for such a climate: Animals in high, cold latitudes tend to be larger than relatives in balmier climes---an ecological truth known as Bergmann's Rule. Big body size is an advantage for thermoregulation in such conditions. Their thick coats, notably shaggier than those of more southerly subspecies like the Bengal tiger, also help keep them warm, as does a 2-inch layer of fat along the stomach and flanks.
A Carnivore's Equipment
Amur tigers are well-designed for their livelihood of hunting and killing large game. They have enormous canine teeth and powerful jaw muscles. Their forearms and paws are exceedingly muscular, and they employ them in wrestling big animals like boar, wapiti, roe deer and even bears--prey that may exceed the size of the tiger itself. Like other cats, the Amur tigers have sharply curved retractable claws for gripping struggling prey. Even their tongues are formidable: They are equipped with a knobby coat of papillae for scraping flesh from the bone during feeding.
Camouflage
While Amur tigers often are paler than their subtropical and tropical relatives, they show the same iconic pattern of the species: an orange coat with white underside, creased by a series of ragged black stripes. Such a coat allows the tiger to conceal itself within the scattered shadow and sunlight of its forested landscape: It can virtually vanish in a shrub thicket or in the shade of an oak or birch copse. This camouflage plays a key role in the tiger's hunting style. Unlike the gray wolf or dhole that historically shared the Amur tiger's hunting grounds, the big cat is an ambush predator, stalking as close as possible to its intended victim before dashing out with a short burst of speed.
Behavior
Amur tigers are solitary animals, roaming large home ranges that may overlap with other tigers. A male tiger may patrol some 4,000 square miles of territory. Spreading themselves across the landscape allows these big carnivores to allocate prey resources. To find each other for mating purposes, males and females use olfactory and auditory signals, communicating with scent marks and vocalizations like roars.