In the Black of Night by Sakiko Koyama

In the Black of Night STUDY OF TIGER’S ADAPTATION TO SURVIVE IN WILD LIFE

Copyright ÂŠ 2015 All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-12345-67890-5 National Geographic Society 1145 17th Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036-4688 www.nationalgeographic.com

DEDICATION This book is lovingly dedicated to my family, without whom I would not be studying design. Finally, this book also goes out to Areil Grey, who has made this project possible.

TABLE OF CONTENTS The Hunter

>> What makes them successful hunter?

Language of Tigers

>> Communication of the loners

>> Dressing For Wildlife

Camouflage

>> Where and Why Tiger set habitat

Habitat

IN THE BLACK OF THE NIGHT

INTRODUCTION

> There are thousands of animals in this world. It is obviously not possible to recognize each of them individually. That is why we have these animals in an animal kingdom, which has many sub-categories under it. These categories are based on the unique characteristics found in these animals. For example, the animals which are included in the category of nocturnal animals, have a special characteristic in them, which is not found in any other animal. > What is that special characteristic? Well, unlike any other animals, nocturnal animals sleep during the day and carry out all their activities during the night. So now you know why your pet cat is asleep throughout the day and vanishes during the night. Not only the animals, even some plants are nocturnal; these plants bloom at night and close during the day. The nocturnal behavior found in animal species has some specific reasons. The night world brings a whole new set of challenges for finding food and keeping away from predators. For us, sight is our most important sense. When it gets dark, we lose our main sense, and it is harder for us to get around. But night creatures manage to live in a world of darkness. What are they doing in the dark? Night creatures need many special adaptations to be active at night. > Tiger, the nocturnal and solitary in its wanderings, is one of the most elusive of all wild wild animals. Yet its fugitive, powerful grace has made it a fabled symbol of the jungle's primal mystery. In the black of the night, tiger become the strongest predator in the wild. The night is time for tigers reigning the forest. In the first chapter, we describe tiger's hunting habit. It is about what special characteristic they have for successful hunting at night. The second chapter talks about tiger's marking habit of night, how they communicate each other.

WHAT MAKES THEM SUCCESSFUL HUNTER?

IN THE BLACK OF THE NIGHT

Tiger, the nocturnal and solitary in its wanderings, is one of the most elusive of all wild wild animals. > Among all 37 species of cat the cheetah is the only exception to the night hunting rule; it is a diurnal, or day-hunting, cat. The majority of felids are solitary hunters; the lion is the exception in that the pride co-operates in catching prey. Most of the work in a lion pride is done by the swifter, lighter lionesses and very little hunting is done by the males. Tigers use a combination of keen vision and hearing, along with a powerful sense of smell, to locate a potential meal. They tend to concentrate their search for prey around selected water holes, making the rounds several times a night in the process of the hunt.

> As carnivores, tigersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; diets comprise almost exclusively of

meat. There are, though, very rare occasions on which tigers will resort to eating fruits, berries and grasses (usually to aid digestion). In order to survive in the wild, it is of paramount importance that tigers become accomplished hunters at a young age. Because tigers are solitary animals, each specimen has to be able to hunt and kill prey for its survival, since there is not a pack to support them. In addition, they average one kill every eight or nine days, which means that their prey needs to be large enough to provide up to 40 pounds (or 18 kilograms) of meat in one sitting.

THE HUNTER

Tigers eat anything in the jungle - whatever they can catch. But tigers need large prey to survive long term. Here is a list of prey items Chittal Hog deer Sambar Barking deer Gaur Barasingha Wild pig Nilgai Chevrotain Hare Porcupine Hog badger Dhole Primates Lizards

IN THE BLACK OF THE NIGHT

tigers live and hunt in areas that enjoy dense vegetation, concealing them, but also concealing the prey that they need in order to survive. To overcome this challenge, the hunter’s hearing

must be extremely sharp so that the tiger does not miss an important opportunity to get food. > One of the most practically advantageous features of the tiger’s structure in terms of its hearing is that its ears, situated on top

WHISKERS

HEARING

A large part of their success in hunting activity lies in their acute sense of hearing. They need to be able to detect potential victims and dangers in the dense foliage around them. Often,

as the tiger nears an object. Along with excellent night vision, this enables the cat to avoid objects. Mood: Whiskers are a strong indication of a tiger's mood, with those of a calm cat turning down and at right angles to the face, while an angry animal has whiskers which are erect and widespread.

> When stalking prey a tiger must approach from downwind so as

not to be detectable. Whiskers can detect even slight changes in the direction of a breeze so the tiger can compensate and increase

of its head, are able to swivel around. This allows them to direct their ears to the area from which a sound is coming,honing in on the sound much the way a radar dish would. This is especially effective in the receiving of high-frequency sounds that may otherwise be muffled within the dense vegetation of the tiger’s habitat. For this reason, this sense is the most commonly and

its chances of success.Whiskers also come forward when prey is seized in the jaws. At this stage the whiskers will make contact with the target and give the cat information regarding dinner. Though little is known about what information is passed on, studies have shown domestic cats are quite capable of seizing and killing prey, even whilst blindfolded, as long as their whiskers make contact

effectively used for hunting.

> Tigers are believed to be able to hear in the range of 0.2 kHz and

with the prey. It is possible the whiskers help establish the position of prey and the correct area to apply the lethal bite. Tigers cannot focus their eyes on objects as close as prey held in the jaws and the whiskers may signal when the catch is dead.

65 kHz, which is considerably different to the frequency at which humans hear. We have a hearing range of about 0.02 kHz and 20 kHz. High-pitched noises are clearly more intense for cats, both wild and domestic, than they are to humans. This allows them to

Tigers make extensive use of their vision for everyday functions and applications (in much the same way as human beings), but particularly for hunting during the darkness of night or the limited visibility of dusk or storms. During the day, the tiger’s eyesight is more or less equal to the quality that we enjoy. Compared to many other animals, this is quite impressive. However, tigers are not able to perceive the detail that we can, since this is not necessary for their purposes. > Tigers have forward facing eyes rather than one on each side of their head. This provides binocular vision because each eye's field of vision overlaps creating a three dimensional image. Binocular

EYESIGHT

hear the tiny movements, squeaks and other noises of potential prey that would escape our field of hearing completely.

Cats, both wild and domestic, use whiskers for the same reasons. Navigation: As the tiger walks whiskers are bought forward to increase their sensing ability. The e xtreme sensitivity of the whiskers can register very small changes in air pressure that occur

vision enables them to accurately assess distances and depth which is extremely useful for maneuvering within their complex environment and stalking prey.Tigers have more rods (responsible for visual acuity for shapes) in their eyes than cones (responsible for color vision) to assist with their night vision. The increased number of rods allows them to detect movement of prey in darkness where color vision would not be useful.

THE HUNTER

a — vibrissal shaft B

b — ringwulst c — deep vibrissal nerve d — capillary

structure of whisker Whiskers are connected to muscle, which allows them to be moved backwards and forwards, and the bottom two rows can move independently of the top two. Whiskers have an endotheliumlined blood sinus between the inner and outer layers of the dermal portion of the follicle with a rich nerve supply. This makes each whisker an intricate receptor that allows your cat to sense even the smallest changes in the environment, such as air currents, changes in air pressure, temperature or wind direction.

Day

14 D

with night vision and when there are low light levels available

Harderian Gland Duct

D — Opening of the

C — Nictitating membrane

B — Iris

A — Contracted linera pupil

at daytime

and pupils that increase the amount of light let into the eye. This characteristic helps the tiger

especially useful for hunting prey that is running across a plain.Tiger eyes have large lenses

portion of their eye that enables them to have better peripheral vision.This characteristic is

shone on them. Cats in general have a broad horizontal line of nerve cells near the central

a brighter image. The tapetum lucidum causes their eyes to glow at night when a light is

has not already been absorbed by the eye) back into the eye a second time to help produce

that enables them to have better night vision. This mirrorlike structure reflects light (that

Tigers have a structure at the back of the eye behind the retina called the tapetum lucidum

structure of eye

IN THE BLACK OF THE NIGHT

Night

menbrane fully extended

third eylid or nictitanting

C — Eye, showing the

Harderian Duct

D — Opening of the

C — Nictitating membrane

B — Iris

circular pupil

A — Expanded and nearly

at night time

THE HUNTER

LANGU

UAGE

COMMUNICATION OF THE LONERS

IN THE BLACK OF THE NIGHT

Tigers assert and maintain their control over their territories by patrolling them at night. > Tigers are aggressively territorial solitary animals. Every forest has one dominant male, who controls and guards the prime area, which has the highest density of prey species. These territories vary in size and can measure up to as much as 100 square kilometers. He is constantly patroling and marking his territory to ward off any rival trying to tresspass. The tigers in the surrounding areas often try and overthrow him. In such situations, confrontations are inevitable and can sometimes result in grave injuries leading to loss of life. Tigers mark their territory is a number of ways. The primary method of doing this is by spraying urine and a fowl smelling fluid from their anal glands on trees, bushes and rocks in their area. They specially spray areas that remain protected from elements of the weather, which reduce the duration of their effectiveness. They also leave scratch marks on trees and on the ground. > This prime area can also contain many sub-territories of females, who also mark their areas similarly but not as regularly. They do however specially mark their areas when they are in estrus and ready to breed. The dominant male, although protective towards the tigresses of his territory and their cubs from rival males, remains so only until the cubs are dependant on their mother. As soon as the cubs attain adulthood, they have to move out and find territories of their own in surrounding areas. These areas too have to be sometimes fought over as they are already marked by previously driven out males or others that have been powerful enough to invade these areas but not strong enough to take over the prime area. > These territorial battles are nature's method of ensuring a healthy gene pool in two ways. Firstly, only the most healthy and powerful male and females manage to inhabit the prime area and secondly, it ensures that the chances of in-breeding are reduced to the very minimum.

LANGUAGE OF TIGERS

IN THE BLACK OF THE NIGHT

SCENT MARKING

Tigers have devised their own silent way of communication their movements and establishing their territorial claims. This is done firstly by spray-marking. As the river, or tigress, walks along, it will its hindquarters towards a tree, bush, or patch of grass, and with a vertically-raised tail shoot out a spray of fluid, hitting the object at an upward angle. The fluid stream of the male is narrow compared with that of the females. The fluid smells musky and strong, and is a mixture of urine and secretion from the anal glands. After ejecting this spray, you will have on occasions seen a tiger sniffing it and the hanging his tongue out with the nose wrinkled, a gesture referred to as ‘flehmen’. Tigers will also

indulge in fellowmen when sniffing another tiger’s scent on an object. The smell can last for up to 40 days and is an excellent indication to other tigers of how recently a tiger has passed by, and whether or not the area is ‘occupied’ . This may discourage other tigers —or encourage them — depending on the precise situation. > Cub can follow their mothers through their scent, and a tigress in oestrus will attract the male tiger by using it as a means of pi-pointing her location. Fresh scent can indicate a dangerous encounter, especially between males, whereas an old scent may be a signal that the animal can go ahead with care.

> Be it clawing, spraying or scratching, the intensity of this activity

is concentrated on the animal paths, man-made rodas that crisscross the forest. The reason for this is probably that such belts and oaths act as natural boundaries, demarcating areas and ranges, especially for resident male tigers. Specific trees in such area are regularly sprayed and clawed, more so when a new tiger is asserting his rights over an area.

Yellow birch

Flat-leaved white birch

Larch

Mongolian oak

Korean pine

Japanese elm

Linden

Aspen/poplar

White-barck fir

Ajan spruce

Alder

Daurian birch

Amur cork-tree

Manchurian ash

Chosenia 50 110

currents, changes in air pressure, temperature or wind direction.

an intricate receptor that allows your cat to sense even the smallest changes in the environment, such as air

inner and outer layers of the dermal portion of the follicle with a rich nerve supply. This makes each whisker

two rows can move independently of the top two. Whiskers have an endothelium-lined blood sinus between the

Whiskers are connected to muscle, which allows them to be moved backwards and forwards, and the bottom

Species composition and diameter at breast height of trees scent marked by tiger

LANGUAGE OF TIGERS

toes make contact with the ground, which increases their speed of running. Cats have the a remarkable ability to right themselves when falling, when first the head, then the rest of the body turns toward the ground so that the cat lands on its feet.

claws that are curved, sharp, and sheathed. The claws are particularly useful when climbing trees. The bones of their feet are arranged in a digitigrade posture, meaning that only their

Most cats are excellent climbers, great jumpers, and have remarkable balance. Except for the cheetah, cats have retractable

IN THE BLACK OF THE NIGHT

CLAW MARKING

C — Extented Claw

B — TightenedTendon

A — Ligment

C — Reacted Claw

B — Relaxed Tendon

A — Ligment

walking; this avoids excessive wear and tear.

by retracting their claws into a skin pouch while

long through use. Cats maintain the sharp tips

continuously and are kept from growing too

the animal kingdom in design, cats' claws grow

cat to grip his prey and hold onto it. Unique in

needle sharp tip and is designed to allow the

The shape of the claw is sickle-like with a

retractable claws

LANGUAGE OF TIGERS

BOOK

Anton, Mauricio. The Big Cats and their fossil relatives. New York: Colombia University Press, 1997. Barnes, Simon. Tiger!. New York: Martin’s Press, 1994.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mills, Stephen. Tiger. New York: Firefly Books, 2004. Thapar, Valmik. Tiger — Portrait of A Predator. New York: Facts On File Publications, 1986. Wolfe, Art. Wild cats of the world. New York: Crown Publishers, 1995. Zwaenepoel, Jean-Pierre. Tigers. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1992.

ONLINE

Annabelle, Maxine. “Water Play.” Loadstar Lair. Web. 11 May. 2015. Broad, Michael. “Cat Paws.” Picture of Cats.org. Web. 11 May. 2015. “Cats - Behavior” JRank. Web. 11 May 2015 “Cat’s whiskers.” New Zealand Veterinary Association. Web. 11 May. 2015. Conger, Cristen. “Why do tigers swim?” HowStuffWorks. Web. 11 May. 2015. “Facts about Tigers.” Tigers-World. Web. 11 May. 2015. “Habitat and Adaptation” World Wide Fund For Nature. Web. 11 May. 2015 “How the tiger got its stripes: Proving Turing's tiger stripe theory” Science Daily. Web. 11 May. 2015. "Tiger." The Animal Files. Web. 11 May . 2015 “Tigers Communication” Tigers—The Most Majestic Cats In the World. Web. 11 May. 2015. “Tigers, Physical Characteristics.” SeaWorld Parks & Entertainmen. Web. 11 May. 2015. “Tiger Population Table.” Tiger Homes.org. Web. 11 May. 2015. “Tigers” Panthera, Inc. Web. 11 May. 2015 “Tiger Territories” Wildlife of India. Web. 11 May. 2015 "What Is The Difference Between Zebra And Tiger Stripes?" Animal Pawnation. Web. 11 May. 2015 “What Does A Tiger Do At Night?” Pontoon. Web. 11 May. 2015.

COLOPHON

TYPEFACE The text is set in Scala and Scala Sans designed by Martin Majoor and issued in digital form by FontFont in 1993. The Heading is set in Trade Gothic designed by Jackson Burke and issued in digital form by Linotype in 1948.

DESIGNER

SOFTWARE Adobe CC 2014 InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator

ABOUT THE PROJECT This is a student project only. No part of this book or any other part of the project was produced for commercial use.

EQUIPMENT Macbook Pro 15-inch Epson Stylus Photo R2880

PAPER Moab Entrada Bright 300#

PRINTING & BINDING Printing: Sakiko Koyama Binding: Chum's Design & Print, San Francisco, CA

Sakiko Koyama, Academy of Art University

PUBLISHER National Geographic, Washington, D.C.