TIGER


Scientific Name: Panthera tigris

IUCN Status: Endangered

Habitat: Tigers are highly adaptable to different habitats, living anywhere from grasslands to tropical swampland.

Diet: Tigers hunt alone and at night for their prey, which usually consists of large and medium sized mammals.

Life Span: About 30 years.

Reproduction: Mating can occur all year round, but is generally more common between November and April. Usually give birth to a litter of 3-4 cubs.

Fact: The Association of Zoos and Aquariums estimates that up to 12,000 tigers are being kept as private pets in the USA, significantly more than the world's entire wild population. 4,000 are believed to be in captivity in Texas alone.




BACTRIAN CAMEL


Scientific Name: Camelus bactrianus

IUCN Status: Critically endangered

Habitat: The deserts and dry steppes in the Gobi Desert, southwestern Mongolia, and northwestern China.

Diet: Camels will eat almost any vegetation in the desert, including thorny twigs and salty plants that other desert dwellers cannot tolerate. A camel can drink up to 50 gallons of water at one time after going without water for a long time in hot weather.

Life Span: Up to 40 years

Reproduction: When the female reaches maturity at 3 -4 years she is able to give birth to usually 1 offspring. Gestation is 370-440 days.

Fact: While there are two milion domesticated camels, the Bactrian camel is critically endangered with as few as 1000 in the wild.