This is Kiev, a Siberian tiger. Siberian tigers inhabit the cold forests and mountains of Manchuria and Siberia. They can weigh more than 600 pounds and measure more than 12 feet long.
Diet
In the wild, Siberian tigers eat large animals such as deer and cattle. According to Rocky Sylar, a carnivore keeper at the Knoxville Zoo, the Siberian tigers eat about six pounds of raw meat a day. That's like eating the meat from 64 McDonald's hamburgers in one day!
The tigers get a large bone (hip joint of a horse) once a week, Rocky says. "They don't get meat on the day they get the bone," he explains. "The bone keeps their appetites sharp and their teeth and gums in good shape. And they have fun playing with it!"
Tammy Hudson, also a Knoxville Zoo carnivore keeper, says that the tigers have other opportunities for fun. "Boomer balls are their favorite toys. They also like to destroy the watermelons that we sometimes put in their little pool," she says.
Conservation
There are fewer than 350 Siberian tigers left in the wild, and only 6,000-8,000 of all tiger subspecies. Siberian tigers are members of the Species Survival Plan.
Did you know?
Each tiger has its own stripe pattern, and no two tigers are exactly alike. Keepers identify individual tigers by the markings above their left eye.
The tigers at the Knoxville Zoo recognize their keeper, Rocky Sylar, and approach the fence when he calls them. Asked if he ever pets the tigers, Rocky grinned and held out his hand. "Nope," he laughed. "I still have all my fingers!" Even though he and the tigers know each other, Rocky says, the tigers are still wild animals--not pets!
Information provided by the Knoxville Zoo. Photo by Rocky Sylar, Knoxville Zoo.
Note: Rocky's photo of Kiev with his ball won a photography contest sponsored by a boomer ball company and earned the Knoxville Zoo a supply of boomer balls!