Sumatran Tigers: You can take the animal out of the wild, but can you take the wild out of the animal? By: Maria Fernanda Lancheros 1 st

How much influence does environment have on living organisms? Environment - en-vahy-ruh n-muh nt - Every external influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things surrounding us Would our behavior remain the same if we had been brought up in a different family, different country, different friends?

Many studies on adoptees and their families have shown that they have more similar personality traits with their biological parents than with the parents who raised them However their environment does affect their faith, political beliefs, and values; more specifically they are ore likely to have a good life: since child abuse and parent divorce is rare in adoptive families they are likely to be happier and be less stressed.

“Environment triggers gene activity” Traits controlled genetically stimulate important responses in other people,so our surroundings do impact our behavior

Would tigers still display same behavior and hold the same traits as tigers in the wild?? OR Would their captive environment change them? Lets Find Out!!

IN THE WILD Solitary Family Structure: Mother and Cubs Strong Hind legs to Jump on Prey Great swimmers Start to hunt when they are 6 months old When they are about two years old they are independent

Acute Senses: Eye of the Tiger Long Whiskers- Sensors Great Sense of Smell Vision- very sharp

In Captivity Family Structure: still Mothers and Cubs, males DO NOT take care of offspring just because they live with them Do not need to hunt because food is given to them

Well Developed Senses in Captivity Long Whiskers with sensors Sharp Vision

Underdeveloped Senses : Loose what you don’t use Olfactory sense- not needed as much since they do not need to hunt

Behavior In Captivity Solitary for the most part Males are still territorial Groom themselves for a long time Usually swim to cool themselves off, their webbed toes make them one of the two species of tigers “ best equipped” for this Captivity In Behavior

Behavior In Captivity Still very nocturnal Great Jumping ability even without practice Females still “call the shots”: they get to decide when they want to mate

Measured at 5 minute intervals

As the previous graph shows, they spent much of their time grooming themselves, which is still true of Sumatran tigers in the wild but unlike the tigers in the wild they also just lay on the ground; being confined in their artificial forest there is nowhere for them to explore or a need for them to hunt prey is the reason for this. If they were in the wild they would be much more active.

See it to Believe it Most of the time the tiger was grooming but don’t just take my word for it click on the second square on the adjacent computer and watch how engaged and devoted the tiger was to licking his fur

They are solitary but because of the environment they interact with each other much more than they would in the wild Click on the third square down and observe how they interact

Not Nature versus Nurture but “Nurture via Nature” Environment does not completely alter the Sumatran tigers’ behaviors or traits, it is a combination of both genetics and environment which shapes the tigers into the way they are.

Bibliography Black, Dr. Michael, Post Doctoral Student/Researcher. Personal Interview. 24 Oct Myers, David. Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers, “Sumatran Tiger.” Honolulu Zoo January 10,2008. > “Sumatran Tiger.” The Sumatran Tiger Trust December 14,2007. >