Size Northern tigers live in a colder climate and need a larger body to stay warm? That's correct! Tigers (or any mammal) which live in cold climates are usually larger than their cousins in warmer climates. This tendency is explained by Bergmann's Rule, which states: As the mean temperature of an environment decreases (e.g., with increasing latitude), the body size of warm-blooded animal species or subspecies tends to increase. Because of this, animals in colder climates have a lower ratio of body size to weight than animals in warmer climates. A larger body is capable of producing more heat, which is necessary to survive in cold climates such as northern Russia. Also, because other mammals such as deer and wild boar also tend to be larger in colder climates, northern tigers must be larger in order to catch and kill their prey. Allen's Rule is a corollary to Bergmann's Rule. It states: As the mean temperature of the environment decreases (e.g. with increasing latitude), the relative sizes of the appendages (ears, tails, limbs) of warm-blooded animals tend to decrease. This is correlated with the increased need to conserve heat. Tigers in hot climates, for example, are smaller and have longer limbs than their northern cousins. The Sumatran tiger, which lives near the equator, is the smallest of all tiger subspecies. Its tail and legs are very long compared to those of a Siberian tiger. Study the tables (either metric or U.S. Customary) to see how each tiger subspecies compares with the others. Then learn about tiger pugmarks below. Size Variation in Tiger Subspecies (Metric) Living Tiger Subspecies Subspecies Total Length (mm) ("between pegs")* Weight (kg) Greatest length of skull (mm) male female male female male female Bengal 2700-3100 2400-2650 180-258 100-160 329-378 275-311 Indochinese 2550-2850 2300-2550 150-195 100-130 319-365 279-302 Siberian 2700-3300 2400-2750 180-306 100-167 341-383 279-318 South China 2300-2650 2200-2400 130-175 100-115 318-343 273-301 Sumatran 2200-2550 2150-2300 100-140 75-110 295-335 263-294 Extinct Tiger Subspecies Subspecies Total Length (mm) ("between pegs")* Weight (kg) Greatest length of skull (mm) male female male female male female Bali 2200-2300 1900-2100 90-100 65-80 295-298 263-269 Caspian 2700-2950 2400-2600 170-240 85-135 316-369 268-305 Javan 2480 - 100-141 75-115 306-349 270-292 *Measured from nose to tip of the tail   Size Variation in Tiger Subspecies (US Customary Measurement System) Living Tiger Subspecies Subspecies Total Length (inches) Weight (lbs) Greatest length of skull (inches) male female male female male female Bengal 106-122 95-104 419-569 221-353 13-15 11-12 Indochinese 101-112 91-100 330-430 221-287 13-14 11-12 Siberian 106-130 95-108 419-675 221-368 13-15 11-13 South China 91-104 87-95 287-386 221-254 13-14 11-12 Sumatran 87-100 85-91 221-309 165-243 12-13 10-12 Extinct Tiger Subspecies Subspecies Total Length (inches) Weight (lbs) Greatest length of skull (inches) male female male female male female Bali 87-91 75-83 198-221 143-176 12 10-11 Caspian 106-116 95-102 374-529 187-298 13-15 11-12 Javan 98 221-311 165-254 12-14 11-12 Tiger Pugmarks Tiger pawprints, or pugmarks, range in size according to the size of the animal. Siberian tigers have the largest pugmarks; Sumatran tigers have the smallest. Below is an actual-size Siberian tiger pugmark. Size Variation in Tiger Pugmarks Subspecies Average Pugmark Size Bengal 12 cm to 14.5 cm (4.7 to 5.6 inches) Indochinese 12 cm to 14.5 cm (4.7 to 5.6 inches) South China 11 cm to 13 cm (4.3 to 5 inches) Siberian 15 cm to 17.5 cm (5.8 to 6.8 inches) Sumatran 11 cm to 13 cm (4.3 to 5 inches)

Siberian Tiger Pugmark (May or may not be actual size, depending on your monitor) Back to Subspecies Differences