Endangered species

Currently, the biggest enemy for the tiger is the man.

The bones, and virtually all of tiger body parts have been used in traditional Oriental medicine, although today this practice has been banned in China.

Poaching for obtaining the skin, and the destruction of their habitat, have significantly reduced the wild tiger population. It is estimated that by the early twentieth century, there were about 100,000 tigers in the wild, spread from the peninsula of Anatolia to the island of Bali, while recently, the estimated wild tiger population, consisting of little more than 3,000 copies, while in captivity is estimated there are approximately 20,000, a much greater number of wild tigers.
Variations

Most of these variations are animals in captivity, however, in the wild have also been given some of these features.

* Liger: It's a cross between a male lion and a tigress. They have physical and behavioral characteristics of both parents. However, they grow much more than either parent. Male ligers are sterile, but female ligers are often fertile.
* Tigon: The Tigon is less known, and is the result of cross between a male tiger and a lioness. The Tigon is often relatively small, because the males weigh about 150 kg, approximately 20% smaller than a mid-size male lion. Like ligers, the Tigon have physical characteristics and behavior of both species, males are also sterile.

Tiger as the national animal

Today the tiger is the national animal in several countries in Asia:

* Bangladesh (Bengal tiger)
* China, along with the dragon and the panda, the tiger is an unofficial symbol
* India (Bengal tiger)
* Malaysia
* Nepal (Bengal tiger)
* North Korea (Amur tiger)
* South Korea (Amur tiger)


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