The Role of Tigers in the Ecosystem

Measuring almost 11 feet and weighing over 600 pounds, the Siberian tiger is the largest tiger species.

Tigers, the world's largest cats, serve a vital role in maintaining the balance of their ecosystems. Unfortunately, all species of tigers are endangered and therefore the ecosystems in which they live are endangered as well.

Ecosystem

Unlike domestic cats, tigers are very fond of water and spend time swimming on hot days.

Tigers live in forest ecosystems from tropical to arctic temperatures, depending on the species. They exist primarily in Asia, India and Eastern Russia. They are the top predators in their ecosystems. This means that while they have many prey species, they have no naturally occurring predators.

Prey

Tigers generally do not feed on animals that are less than 45 percent of the tiger's mass.

Tigers eat mostly hoofed animals. Wild deer and boar are their primary food sources, but they also eat wild cattle where it is available. They do not eat small mammals.

Significance

Overgrazing causes a depletion of plant life and can be detrimental to an ecosystem.

Top predators control the populations of their prey animals. By feeding on wild deer, for example, tigers keep the deer population within certain boundaries. If the population of deer were to exceed these boundaries, overgrazing of vegetation would likely occur.

Controlling Smaller Predators

Leopards are large enough to feed on the same prey species as tigers, causing competition for food sources when prey isn't abundant.

Although smaller predators, like leopards, are not a tiger's prey species, tigers will kill them if prey populations are too low to sustain both predator species. In this way, tigers can keep other predator species from becoming too abundant just as they keep the prey species from overpopulating.

References

• Smithsonian: Tigers: Top Carnivores and Controlling Processes in Asian Forests
• National Geographic: Siberian Tiger

Resources

• Smithsonian: Tiger Conservation in the Wild in Asia