Page 56 - GK-6final

GRADE 6 Start Up G.K

THREAT TO TIGERS
36 The wild roar The biggest threat to Loss of habitat

tigers comes from man. Tigers need lots of space
Tigers are the largest members of the cat family and are known for their power The two main threats
to roam around. With
and strength. Let us read and know a little more about this fierce animal. faced by tigers are: the human population

An adult tiger can weigh upto 363 kgs and measure upto 3.3 metres. Poaching increasing, the forest area

Tigers are carnivores, eating only meat. They mainly feed on large animals such Poaching is the biggest left for these wild animals
is fast shrinking.
as deer, wild pigs, antelope and buffaloes. threat faced by the wild More and more forests

They are solitary hunters and generally search for food alone at night. tigers of the world. They are being cleared for
are illegally killed or
Tigers are good swimmers. They often cool off in pools or streams on a hot day. timber or agriculture. As
poached because there
The roar of a tiger can be heard as far as three is demand for their the forests area reduces,
tigers can no longer find
kilometres away. beautiful skin, bones and enough prey to survive. As

Every tiger in the world is unique– no two tigers other body parts. Their their numbers decrease,
have the same pattern of stripes. skin is seen as status breeding with other tigers
symbol for home décor,
A tiger’s canine teeth can grow up to three while bones are used in is also becoming a problem.
inches long and are easily capable of crunching some Asian tonics and Moreover, climate changes
through the spine of any creature on Earth. and loss of habitat is forcing
medicines. In the past
A tiger’s saliva is antiseptic and comes handy tigers were also killed as these wild animals to move
when a tiger cleans its wounds. a symbol of valour and to human inhabited areas.
courage.

The average life span of the tiger is up to 26 years in captivity and about 15 years
in the wild.

Today there are five sub-species of tigers – Bengal, South China, Indo-Chinese,
Sumatran and Siberian. Sadly, three sub-species of tigers have become extinct – Answer the following questions.
Caspian, Bali and Javan. 1. What are baby tigers called?
2. Which is the biggest species of tigers in terms of size?

India started ‘Project Tiger’ in 1973 to save 2500 3. Which part of the body is used by a tiger for its cleaning?
the tigers after the tiger population in India approximately 4. White tigers belong to which species of tigers?
fell below 300. Since then there has been a 2226 5. In which year was tiger hunting banned in India?
gradual increase in the number of tigers 6. Who was the Prime Minister of India when ‘Project Tiger’ was
in India. 1706 launched in 1973?
1411
Today, India is home to about 70% of the 7. How many claws does a tiger’s forefeet have?
tiger population in the world. Let us see the
tiger count in India over the last few years. 8. What is the name of the book written by Rudyard Kipling in 1984

2006 2010 2014 2016 which features the famous tiger character– Sher Khan?

55
54 55