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7月29日是国际老虎日，这种濒危的野生猫科动物因美丽的皮毛和黑色的条纹而闻名。

这些难以捉摸的、孤独的亚洲生物一直受人敬畏，它们是孟加拉国、印度、越南、马来西亚和韩国的国宝，每年有无数游客涌向印度的班达迦国家公园等地，来参观这些生物的自然栖息地。然而，老虎是高度濒危和受威胁的物种，被列在IUCN红色名录中。

我们采访了亚洲国际野生生物保护学会主席，更多地了解这些美丽的大型猫科动物以及如今它们面临的威胁。以下是一些我们学到的有趣事情。

老虎是亚洲物种，在中国被发现的老虎化石显示，该物种可能已经有二百万多年的历史了。

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来源: J.H. Mazak et al, PLoS ONE

如今，老虎是世界上最大的猫科动物，重达660磅。它们可以长到10英尺长，尾巴三英尺。老虎也非常擅长跳跃，能弹起至少10米。

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它能够生活在各种各样的环境，无论是森林和草原。老虎的适应能力很强，它们生活环境有-35摄氏度的俄罗斯，也有48摄氏度的印度，它们也可以适应年降雨量低至600毫米到8000毫米的雨林。

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与大多数猫不同，老虎喜欢水，是优秀的游泳运动员。所以它们经常出现在河流、小溪和水池。

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老虎是凶猛的食肉动物，能够拿下体型是它两倍大小的猎物。它们通常捕猎，吃野猪、鹿、野牛、象、牛犊和羚羊，有时也会吃鱼，但这并不是他们的主要食物，它们偶尔也会杀死鳄鱼和海豹，它们的尸体在岸上或在海滩上发现。

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一窝的宝宝一般有三到四个，才一岁就开始狩猎。它们会留在母亲身边，直到2岁。

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来源：Defenders of Wildlife

老虎主要在夜间活动，晚上捕食猎物。它的视网膜被称为派络膜层，光会反射回视网膜上，它们的夜视能力是人类的六倍。它们也有更多的视杆细胞（可以感知形状），而不是锥状细胞（可以感知颜色），这让他们更好的在黑暗中发现猎物的运动。

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来源：National Geographic

它们的脸上和身上有五种不同类型的胡须，用于帮助老虎在黑暗中捕捉运动和振动，在打猎时察觉到危险。

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美丽的皮毛帮它们在栖息地隐蔽。它们的皮毛在动物显得华丽又瞩目，但一旦进入森林里，就融入了灌木，条纹和环境融为一体。它们的主要猎物没有明亮的颜色，所以颜色鲜艳的猎物不是它们的主要捕食对象。

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老虎条纹图案，是独一无二的——就像人类的指纹，它们的条纹也印在它们的皮肤里。

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来源：Scientific American

白虎是孟加拉虎，是一种罕见的基因突变，大约10000只老虎中只有一只。这种白虎也更容易斜视，这意味着它们可能会有交叉的眼睛。

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来源：National Geographic

老虎的咆哮声非常响亮，可以从两英里外听到，能达到114分贝，大概是飞机起飞的声音大小。

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来源：Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American

与流行的观点相反，大多数老虎其实害怕和回避人类，它们认为人类不是猎物，而是值得害怕的敌人。不过，老虎已经杀害的人类比其他野生动物更多，但往往是一这些又老又病的老虎对人类发出攻击，它们的身体不能正常狩猎。

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从历史上看，它们的生存范围一直从土耳其到南亚和东南亚，但现在只存在于南亚和东南亚、中国、俄罗斯远东地区，在印度发现的数量最大。在过去的200年里，它们的生存范围已经缩小了93%。

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老虎濒危主要有三个原因：过度狩猎、人们为了它们的皮毛和身体器官猎杀它、以及它们的栖息地遭到破坏，以及农业、伐木、工业发展和其他形式的人类入侵。

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但也有一些好消息的：今年早些时候在全球老虎论坛，世界自然基金会的一份报告称，经过一个世纪的不断下降，野生老虎的数量最终上升，这得益于由政府和非政府组织在世界各地领导的成功保护工作。

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来源：WWF

根据最新的统计，大约有3890只老虎在野外生存，而2010年只有约3200只。

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来源：WWF

现在野生老虎可以生存下来，数量也会增加，这在50年前几乎是不可能的。

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本文来自：加速会

原文地址：http://jiasuhui.com/archives/91538