Animals near extinction: Sumatran Tiger

  My research will be on the Sumatran Tiger, an animal which is near extinction. This animal resides in Indonesia. It numbers are currently less than 600 and it is on the verge of going extinct. The Sumatran Tiger has lived in only Sumatra for the last million years, thus due to human expansion, its numbers have fallen as it is unable to escape to a new habitat. Most of the remaining Sumatran Tigers live in Reserves, and less than a hundred live outside of them. The Sumatran Tiger is the smallest breed of tiger in the world.
   Sumatran Tigers live only in Sumatra. They reside in lowland forests, mountain forests and peat moss forests. They also venture to mountainous areas. The Sumatran Tigers prefer to hunt alone, and they only come together to mate. A male Sumatran Tiger’s territory can overlap many other female Sumatran Tiger’s territories, however it will never overlap another male’s. The Sumatran Tiger, like most other tigers, is carnivorous. Their diet ranges from small animals like fishes to birds, to big animals like wild boars and deer. The Sumatran Tiger shares its habitat with orangutans, wild boars, Sumatran Rhinos and Sumatran Elephants.
The way the Sumatran Tiger hunts is slow and patient. They usually stalk their prey from the dense jungle until they are close enough to spring. They try to attack their prey from the side or rear and rear. When the prey weighs more than the tiger, a throat bite is used and this causes the prey to die due to suffocation. They kill whatever they can catch, which includes the prey listed above.
   Sumatra is an island in Western Indonesia. Sumatra supports a wide range of vegetation types which are home to a rich variety of species, including 17 endemic genera of plants. The island is home to 201 mammal species and 580 bird species. The species present include: Sumatran Tiger, Sumatran Orangutan, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Sumatran Elephant, Sumatran Striped Rabbit, Dhole, Dayak Fruit Bat, Malayan Tapir, Malayan Sun Bear and the Bornean Clouded Leopard. The island has lost 48% of its natural forest cover since 1985, and many of the remaining species are endangered. The Sumatran Tiger, Sumatran Rhino, and Sumatran Orangutan are all Critically Endangered, indicating that the highest level of threat to their survival. In October 2008, the Indonesian government announced a plan to protect Sumatra's remaining forests. However,
the construction of illegal roads through prime tiger habitat has continued since then by companies led by Asia Pulp & Paper, the pulp and paper company well known for illegal logging and breaching environmental law.

The whole point of a tiger's distinctive striped fur is so that it can hide itself in the forest. Such camouflage is vital for it to hunt its prey. Therefore, an important biotic factor is the forest itself. A tiger is likely to stand out like a sore thumb in, say, a Savannah. Its orange coating helps it blend in to the shadows provided by the forest it lives in. The trees, too, are biotic factors. Tigers tend to scratch trees in order to show dominance, and mark their territories, including spraying.
   Tigers are nocturnal. They love to swim, and during hot summers, are known to take a dip in lakes and ponds. They live in both hot places and cold places. So they can adapt to a range of temperatures. These are their abiotic factors.

Interesting Article : Vampires

Article found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire

This is a blog post dedicated to vampires. Although the topic of vampires seems to have no connection with anything which has been taught in school ever, however I find this is not true. Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. Now look at it from this direction.

Creature 1	Creature 2	Relationship	Scientific Name of Relationship
Vampire	Human	+ -	Predation
Vampire	Subjugate (Vampire Slaves who get rewards such as immortality)	++	Mutualism
Vampire Killer	Vampire	+-	???
Mommy Vampire	Daddy Vampire	BABIES	BABIES

This table shows that technically, we can include vampires in a food chain. For example:

Sun -> Grass -> Cow -> Human -> Vampire

Therefore, this article about vampires shows me information about vampires which can be used to explain science.