A lot of people think that it is just impossible to live in some under-developed rural areas while modern city life can provide a person with almost everything that one could only imagine. However, such active and bustling way of life is not for everyone. There are a lot of people who do not pursue a crazy success and luxury and just want their life to be simple and plain. A village is a perfect place to live if you are in search of harmony with nature. People have everything for their minimum requirements of life. Villagers are just satisfied with the necessities of their living. They are always provided with fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, water, and clear air. It is the simplicity, natural beauty, and tranquility that make the rural life unique and special. Moreover, living in a concrete jungle can be quite stressful and it can make you more vulnerable to depression.

Villages preserve our national customs and traditions. The village people usually hold various festivals and fairs where they represent the wealth of our culture. Villagers think in the terms of religion and God. The village temple is the divine place where people draw inspiration for their further work and pray for their families and themselves. There is a unique closeness between the elder and younger generations. Young people treat their parents and grandparents with great respect and follow their valuable advice.

In spite of everything good that the village can give us, there are a lot of important things that rural areas lack. Peasants lack the utilities and convenience a more developed area can offer, such as hospitals, stores, police stations, firefighters, public health, mass education, proper cell phone coverage, and internet access. So, there should be some progress in rural areas in order to make such places more pleasant and comfortable to live.
Conclusion
A lot of philosophers and great thinkers admired the rural life because the country people are able to gain a sense of well-being from the purposefulness of a simple country existence. You can easily find a certain spiritual serenity and enjoy the pleasures of meaningful time among the magnificent rural landscapes. There may come a time when you just want to escape from everyday stresses and complexities of city life. At village you can feel the time and make your life move slower.

Farming and agriculture are one of the most difficult jobs. The Indian farmer, in particular, is a hardworking and diligent man. The land and the crops need close attention and efforts day and night for a successful harvest. Life in an Indian village is not a walk in the park by any means.

The farmer will usually start his day before sunup and work throughout the whole day. It involves a lot of manual labor and persistence. They plow the land, sow the seeds, harvest the crops, etc. And a lot of the farmers do not enjoy the luxury of machines or tractors and have to rely on intense manual labor. Rain or shine, they can never take a day off.

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August to encourage breastfeeding. World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is a global campaign to raise awareness and galvanise action on themes related to breastfeeding. The 2020 theme is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet”. Breastfeeding promotes better health for mothers and children alike.

BREASTMILK

• It is the best gift a mother can give her baby ever.
• It contains all the nutrients for normal growth and development of a baby from the time of birth to the first 6 months of life.
• Ensuring exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months has a potential to reduce under-5 mortality rate by 13% and it assures maximum benefits of the breastfeeding.

Nutritional Superiority

Breast milk contains all the nutrients a baby needs for normal growth and development, in an optimum proportion and in a form that is easily digested and absorbed.

Carbohydrates

Lactose is in a high concentration (6-7 g/ dL) in breast milk. It helps in absorption of calcium and enhances the growth of lactobacilli, the good bacteria, in the intestine.

Proteins

The protein content of breast milk is low (0.9-1.1 g/dL) compared to animal milk. Human milk contains amino acids like taurine and cysteine which are necessary for neuro-transmission and neuromodulation. These are lacking in cow milk and formula.

Fats

Breast milk is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, necessary for the myelination of the nervous system.

Vitamins and Minerals

The quantity and bioavailability of vitamins and minerals is sufficient to the needs of the baby in the first 6 months of life.

Water and Electrolytes

Breast milk has a water content of 88% and hence a breastfed baby does not require any additional water in the first few months of life even during summer months.

Immunological Superiority

A breastfed baby is 14 times less likely to die of diarrhea and almost four times less likely to die of respiratory infection.

Protection against other illnesses

Breastfed babies have a lower risk of allergy, ear infections, orthodontic problems, diabetes, heart disease and lymphoma in later life.

Mental Growth

Studies have shown that babies who were breastfed had a higher IQ than those babies who were given other forms of milk.

Benefits to Mother

Not only the baby, the mother will also have number of benefits by breastfeeding.

1. Breastfeeding soon after birth helps uterine involution, reducing chances of postpartum hemorrhage.
2. It provides protection against pregnancy due to lactational amenorrhea.
3. It reduces the risk of cancer of breast and ovary.
4. Breast-feeding is the most effective way of shedding extra weight that mother has gained during pregnancy.
5. More than everything, it gives a satisfied feel of motherhood and improves the emotional bonding between the mother and the baby

Technique of Breastfeeding.

Women becoming mothers for the first time require substantial assistance to learn the technique of breastfeeding. With correct technique, breastfeeding is natural and a pleasurable experience for the mother.

Position of the Mother

The mother can assume any position that is comfortable to her and the baby.

She can sit or lie down.

Her back should be well supported and she should not be leaning on her baby.

Position of the Baby

Make sure that baby is wrapped properly in a cloth.

• Baby’s whole body is supported not just neck or shoulders.
• Baby’s head and body are in one line without any twist in the neck.
• Baby’s body turned towards the mother (abdomens of the baby and the mother touching each other).
• Baby’s nose is at the level of the nipple.

Attachment

• After proper positioning, the baby’s cheek is touched and that initiates rooting reflex.
• Allow the baby to open his mouth widely and at that point, the baby should be latched onto the breast ensuring that the nipple and most of the areola are within baby’s mouth.

• It is important that the baby is brought on the mother’s breast and mother should not lean onto baby.

Signs of good attachment 

• The baby’s mouth is wide open.
• Most of the nipple and areola in the mouth, only upper areola visible, not the lower one.
• The baby’s chin touches the breast.
• The baby’s lower lip is everted.

Effective Suckling

• Baby suckles slowly and pauses in between to swallow (suck, suck, suck.. and swallow).
• One may see throat cartilage and muscles moving and hear the gulping sounds of milk being swallowed.
• Baby’s cheeks are full and not hollow or retracting during sucking.

This is some information about the breastfeeding to create awareness among the general public.

The book “living courageously” written by Lipa Rath; an angel therapist, a true healer is a self-help
book which helps the reader to discover the true meaning of life. Author Lipa Rath, did not believe in
God until she was shaken up by the sudden death of her elder sister and her broken marriage which
lead her to the discovery of spiritual path which gave her the strength to tackle life’s numerous
problems. “Living Courageously” has come from the author’s heart. “Going through a long, dark
tunnel makes you wonder if you are ever going to see light.” Her crisis became so severe that she
thought of killing herself at one point. But eventually, she came out of darkness. Lipa suffers from no
hatred. “Today,” she says, “I feel very proud of the sufferings that I bravely suffered.”
As Lipa retraces her path with us in this journey, she shines bright throughout the end. Love and
forgiveness, surrender to God, deep devotion, power of the mind, fear and negativity, health and
happiness, will power, introspection, health, healing, affirmation, karma, spirit within, desires, death.
A proper disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, Lipa covers every aspect of life with a rare candor.

You will find the reason very easily during the monsoon days. In this era of coronavirus epidemic, if you are missing out for a snack in the evening then you can consume it. It is used for eating even after roasting it at home and it also provides excellent benefits for health.During the monsoon days, we often feel like eating spicy foods. Especially in the rain, there is more to eat these dishes. Right now the coronavirus epidemic has imprisoned people in their homes during this period, so it is better to avoid eating outside things. At the same time, corn is consumed the most in this season.

You will find it very easily at the vegetable shop. You can also roast it at home and consume it. Corn intake will not only change your test, but it also provides many good benefits to your health. Let us tell you below, what are the benefits of consuming corn to your body.

Correct digestion Those who are struggling with digestive problems or their food is not digested properly, then such people should definitely consume corn. The amount of fiber present in corn actively acts to correct digestion.

Beneficial for the eyes Corn intake can also prove beneficial for good eye care. The amount of vitamin-A present in it maintains the eye’s ability to see. Along with this, the amount of carotenoids present in it is also considered very beneficial for the eyes.
Beneficial for the skin The amount of antioxidants present in it works to improve the skin. The risk of skin pigmentation is also reduced manifold due to the number of antioxidants.

Boost immunity Corn intake is also considered to be the most effective for maintaining immunity. According to a scientific study, the special properties present in corn have the potential to strengthen immune cells. For this reason, if you consume corn, your immunity can also be strong.

Strengthen bones Foods rich in calcium nutrients should be consumed to make bones strong. This nutrient is also found in corn. So if you want to keep your bones strong, then eating corn can also prove to be a portion of good food.

Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Cancer is a very complicated disease characterized by uncontrolled, unregulated cell growth. 

Cancer is what happens when one of the cells in the body “forgets” that it’s supposed to be part of a multicellular organism, and starts acting like one of its single cell organism ancestors instead. Rather than performing a specific role that benefits the organism as a whole, it acts selfishly, evolving to produce as many offspring as it possibly can, and undergoing mutation and natural selection to evade the body’s attempts to eliminate the disease.

The process starts when a cell picks up a mutation in a gene that controls cell division. The cell passes the mutation on to all its progeny; more mutations start to accumulate as the cells divide faster and faster. The group of tumour cells behave and evolve like a colony of bacteria, or other single cell organisms; the forces of natural selection allow the cells best able to survive the body’s attempts to control them to predominate.

The cells that can divide the most often produce the most “offspring”; some cells in the tumour mass develop the ability to escape their location and colonize new environments around the body; some cells develop resistance to drugs, or to the body’s immune system. It really is just like a bacterial infection within the body, except that the “bacteria” are the body’s own cells – similar enough to normal cells that it’s incredibly difficult to kill the cancer cells without killing normal cells, but different enough that they can overcome and kill the entire organism. This is why it’s so difficult to treat, especially once the cells have started to spread around the body.

The formation of a cancer tissue can be roughly classified into 5 stages that are tightly controlled: 1. the birth of a cancer cell; 2. a game of survival; 3. a game of hanging on: colonization into a cell clump; 4. winning out and the formation of a malignant tumor; 5. the final blow: metastasis.

1. The birth of a cancer cell: the first step onto this long, ominous journey is genetic mutations.

Of a total of ~ 20,000 genes in our body, ~ 100 genes are known to directly affect the birth of a cancer cell. Overall, it requires at least two independent mutations in two classes of these 100 genes to make a cancer cell: one in the category called proto-oncogenes (Oncogene), whose mutations enhance the transition from a normal cell to a cancerous one; the other mutation in the category called tumor suppressor genes (Tumor suppressor gene).

So you can see the cancer cell as an anomaly caused by an aberrant core (genes).

There are three main ways that result in aberrant genes:

a. hereditary, in which the faulty genes are passed from one’s ancestors. A relatively well-known example is the BRCA mutations involved in breast cancer.

b. spontaneous mutations caused by the built-in mechanisms through which our DNA is replicated each time a cell divides. This happens much more often than one expects. In fact, it is estimated that in every cell of the new generation ~ 60 new mutations (called somatic mutations, Mutation rate) will happen in a cell’s genome.

However, the vast majority of such mutations are harmless — only the very rare ones that affect the activities of the oncogenes will result in the birth of the cancer cells.

c. “catalyzed” mutations caused by environmental factors such as radiation (UV, X-ray, and others), toxic chemicals such as tobacco and pollutions, and certain viruses.

All those external risk factors do one thing in terms of carcinogenesis, which is to greatly enhance the mutation rates during cell replication. In the case of a virus such as a human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer, the mutation rates in oncogenes are drastically increased.

Overall, a double-hit in the categories of oncogenes is the most important determinant factor that results in the birth of a cancer cell, although not necessarily the sole one. As described above, the birth of a single cancer cell happens much more often than one might expect. However, by no means does it have an easy life to live, and the chance of its winning out is still very, very slim at this stage (under normal circumstances).

2. A game of survival

Now in an ocean of normal cells and other natural defenders in the body, there is a lonely cancer cell that needs to first hang on for its life. Although the genetic mutations give it more power in terms of lifespan and proliferation, they also bring other significant obstacles for its life.

Believe it or not, the beginning of a cancer cell’s life is rather tough. Just like all natural ecological systems, in the human tissue environment this abnormal cell has to compete for nutrients, adapt to an environment that may not favor its survival, and evade the natural killer — the immune system.

As a result, the vast majority of newborn cancer cells die before they even have a chance to reproduce.

Correspondingly, many internal and external factors kick in at this step in terms of cancer development, which could be affected by one’s life style, further decreasing the chance of carcinogenesis.

Examples include: a. natural body metabolism and integrity. The more healthy and robust of one’s normal cells, the less likely a cancer cell will be able to survive, simply because of the power-imbalance. b. the surrounding micro-environment that could be affected by metabolism, cell-cell interactions, human microbiota (Microbiota), etc. For example, the cancer cell may prefer a different PH, or oxygen concentration, etc. Thus keeping a healthy microbe population is also beneficial for fighting against cancer. c. The killing machine, the immune system.

3. A game of hanging on

Once a cancer cell beats all the odds and survives, it will employ its most powerful weapon – fast replication – and starts proliferating.

However, at this step, the cancer cells are still outnumbered. In addition, since there are only a few of them, they are still trying to adapt to an unfavorable environment rather than building their own fortress. It’s still weak, and all the factors described in 2. (A game of surviving) could still eradicate them.

Thus it’s never too late to adopt a healthy habit, such as quitting smoking, starting to boost immunity, adapt to a more healthy diet, etc. By doing so you may just give your body the extra power it needs to get rid of those budding malignant cells.

4. The winning out phase

Only at this phase cancer cells really become dangerous. Now that the cancer cells have defeated a number of obstacles and outcompeted the normal cells, they start to proliferate at a crazy rate. In addition, since there are a large number of them, they start to connect to each other and change the micro-environment to their favor.

At this step one’s own defense system is not enough to handle the insults. But still, since the cancer cells just build one solid foundation in one area, they are still prone to be defeated by additional reinforcement, such as surgery and a series cancer therapies. That is why the earlier they are detected, the easier it is to destroy.

5. The final blow: metastasis

This is the final tipping point beyond which there is less hope of returning. The final blow of a cancer tissue is its migration. By doing so the most robust and devastating malignant cells are starting building their fortresses in other areas of the body, which are typically vital organs.

Yet even in this step there are still ways to deal with them. The most powerful weapon is still one’s own immune system, which is what the recent highly promising immunotherapy is based on.

In all, the majority of a cancer cell’s (tough) journey is just like that. Despite the notorious name it has, there are really numerous steps that it can be beaten. And the first step always starts with a balanced healthy life style.

treatment options

• Surgery: The goal of surgery is to remove the cancer or as much of the cancer as possible.
• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells.
• Radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses high-powered energy beams, such as X-rays or protons, to kill cancer cells. Radiation treatment can come from a machine outside your body (external beam radiation), or it can be placed inside your body (brachytherapy).
• Bone marrow transplant: Your bone marrow is the material inside your bones that makes blood cells from blood stem cells. A bone marrow transplant, also known as a stem cell transplant, can use your own bone marrow stem cells or those from a donor.A bone marrow transplant allows your doctor to use higher doses of chemotherapy to treat your cancer. It may also be used to replace diseased bone marrow.
• Immuno therapy: Immuno therapy, also known as biological therapy, uses your body’s immune system to fight cancer. Cancer can survive unchecked in your body because your immune system doesn’t recognize it as an intruder. Immunotherapy can help your immune system “see” the cancer and attack it.
• Hormone therapy: Some types of cancer are fueled by your body’s hormones. Examples include breast cancer and prostate cancer. Removing those hormones from the body or blocking their effects may cause the cancer cells to stop growing.
• Targeted drug therapy: Targeted drug treatment focuses on specific abnormalities within cancer cells that allow them to survive.
• Cryoablation: This treatment kills cancer cells with cold. During cryoablation, a thin, wandlike needle (cryoprobe) is inserted through your skin and directly into the cancerous tumor. A gas is pumped into the cryoprobe in order to freeze the tissue. Then the tissue is allowed to thaw. The freezing and thawing process is repeated several times during the same treatment session in order to kill the cancer cells.
• Radio frequency ablation: This treatment uses electrical energy to heat cancer cells, causing them to die. During radio frequency ablation, a doctor guides a thin needle through the skin or through an incision and into the cancer tissue. High-frequency energy passes through the needle and causes the surrounding tissue to heat up, killing the nearby cells. 

Since there are many aspects for causes of cancer all we can do is leading a healthy and disciplined lifestyle with a positive attitude is the best way to deal with cancer.

Just like it is important to know about the foods that enhance good health, it is equally important to give attention and have knowledge about the top foods that are unhealthy for the body and should be avoided as much as possible. The foods mentioned below are not only unhealthy but also hampers with the regular functions of the body making you more prone to diseases and health problems.

Candy Bars
Candy bars are loaded with sugar. They cause cavities in teeth, which can lead to tooth loss over a period of a time. Candy bars also cause insatiable hunger and can up your sugar glucose levels. They also cause liver failure and excess weight gain. They are one of the factors that cause insulin resistance in the body.

Ice Cream
Ice creams are irresistible foods for both adults and kids alike. However, these sugar loaded desserts are high on carbohydrates and can cause several health issues. They cause diabetes, weight gain and even teeth sensitivity issues. They also increase the blood triglycerides in the body.

Fast Food
In the modern era, people prefer something that is quick and tasty. Fast foods are the most eaten food across the world. These are extremely dangerous to health, as they can cause excessive weight gain. They also cause depression due to the presence of harmful chemicals. Studies show that fast foods are also responsible for dementia.

Coffee Drinks
Intake of coffee must be restricted to no more than 2 cups per days, as it can increase caffeine levels in the body. It can cause restlessness, stomach disorders, vomitings, nausea, acidity and irregular functioning of heart. It is always better to limit your coffee intake per day.

Processed Foods
Processed foods may be easy to consume, but they are extremely harmful to health. They are loaded with sugar and fructose corn syrup. These have very little amounts of nutrition and fill body with empty calories. This causes increases heart diseases, obesity and sudden deaths in people.

Pasta
White pasta of any form or shape is one of the unhealthiest foods that one should stay away from. There are no vitamins and minerals that are provided to the body and a minimum amount of fiber which is not even significant. The only thing it has is empty carbs. The unhealthy fat is only an add on in most of the cases.

Soda
Aerated drinks are another of the unhealthy foods that totally deserves to be in this list. Soda is only a hundred percent calories without any nutrient or health gains for a person. It also has high levels of sugar that affects the body in a negative way. It damages the teeth; weaken the bones and leads to cavities.

White Bread
White bread is just another form of pasta and one that provides no nutrients to the body and only empty calories. White flour based products are unhealthy snacks and you can always adhere to healthier substitutes like brown bread.

Tomato Ketchup
Tomato ketchup is full of preservatives and high levels of sugar. It is one of the processed foods that bring only bad health to the body. Make sure you stay away from this unhealthy food as much as possible.

Processed Cheese
Have you ever seen the slice of cheese in hamburgers? These are nothing but processed cheese and something highly unhealthy and full of saturated fats. There is nothing else in this food apart from calories and the way to obesity.

You may have heard of Eat, Pray, Love, the memoir that spent 199 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List thanks to the writing of American author Elizabeth Gilbert. Similarly, the most recent book of Gilbert’s, City of Girls, has thus far met quite satisfactory reviews and is a New York Times bestseller itself. In addition to this, the book is a winner of the 2020 Audie Award for fiction because of its jazzy style, sexy characters, and indisputable New York glamour.

Book Summary

Vivian Morris is a nineteen-year-old girl who is rich, beautiful, and second-to-last in grades out of every single student at Vassar college. When she inevitably flunks out, her parents don’t know what to do with her, so they decide to send her to New York. There, she will live with her estranged Aunt Peg and assist her with the old, decrepit live theater she owns, which Vivian comes to know fondly as the Lily Playhouse.

When she arrives, Vivian is aghast at the fiery glamour of the Big Apple. She’s swept up in it, in fact, so much so that this rather innocent girl becomes a late-night lock-the-door partygoer, romping along with her new showgirl and actress friends from the Lily Playhouse as they put on their first hit show: City of Girls. Vivian describes her adventures, and does so in a chatty, fun tone—even when she comes to the part in the story where a regretful sexual encounter leaves her as almost nothing more than a piece of gossip in the tabloids, she keeps up her high-spirited style.

Because of the ruckus that said sexual encounter caused, Vivian, now twenty, decides to leave New York out of guilt and shame. She comes back a few years later out of necessity—Aunt Peg needs her help putting shows on for the soldiers of the second World War—but in the time that she’s back with her parents, she still has her adventures, one of them being narrowly escaping an engagement. When she finally arrives back in New York, Vivian sews costumes for the political skits that Aunt Peg and her secretary, Olive, put on, and she’s happy to be home at last.

In the last leg of the book, Vivian talks about the aftereffects of the war and the destruction it caused, the death of her brother being an example of that. One day, Vivian meets a soldier named Frank who knew her brother—and although the pair do share a small but terribly unpleasant piece of history involving why Vivian left New York, they gradually move past it and become the best of friends. As the pair grow older and Vivian settles down, becoming a happy, independent seamstress, she recounts all the wild events of her past and allows them to flow into the much calmer events of her present, graciously allowing readers to join her in the process.

Review

In my humble opinion, I think City of Girls lives up to its expectation in every way. It’s an effervescent, witty, and sexy adventure that reintroduces us to colloquial things we thought we forgot, giving readers insight and wisdom along the way. As a story of a young girl growing up and discovering the real world, it has its share of heartache, but never fails to swing back into the shameless you-only-live-once style that Vivian never quite grows out of.

My favorite thing about City of Girls was probably the characters—each one more unique and interesting than the last, you’ve got girls that sound like boys and boys that look like girls and playwrights that respond to “Good morning!” with “I fail to see your argument.” Elizabeth Gilbert spared no expense in giving even the smallest characters a trait unique to them, and that kind of patience is admirable among authors.

It is said that Where tigers thrive, it is a sign that the ecosystem is healthy. International Tiger Day is celebrated on 29 July annually to promote the protection of natural habitat of tigers and to increase awareness about the conservation of tiger. International Tiger Day is also known as Global Tiger Day. International Tiger Day was established in 2010 at Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia to raise awareness about the decline of wild tiger numbers, leaving them in the brink of extinction and to encourage the work of Tiger conservation. In the Summit, a declaration was made that Governments of tiger populated countries had vowed to double tiger population by 2020. The largest species of cat in the world, tigers are powerful hunters with sharp teeth, strong jaws and agile bodies. They range across Asia from Russia all the way to the Sumatra and Indochina. Researchers still have much to learn about these beautiful, critically endangered, solitary cats. 

There is currently one recognized species of tiger, Panthera tigris. Scientists have further classified the tiger into nine subspecies: the extinct Bali, Caspian and Javan subspecies, and the living Malayan, Sumatran, South China, Indochinese, Bengal and Amur (or Siberian) subspecies. Of these six subspecies, AZA-accredited zoos currently manage three: Amur, Malayan and Sumatran. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is home to Sumatran and Amur tigers.

Physical Description

Tigers have reddish-orange coats with prominent black stripes, white bellies and white spots on their ears. Like a human fingerprint, no two tigers have the exact same markings. Because of this, researchers can use stripe patterns to identify different individuals when studying tigers in the wild. Tigers are powerful hunters with sharp teeth, strong jaws and agile bodies. They are the largest terrestrial mammal whose diet consists entirely of meat. The tiger’s closest relative is the lion. In fact, without fur, it is difficult to distinguish a tiger from a lion.

Size

Tigers are the largest cat species in the world, and the Amur tiger is the largest subspecies with males weighing up to 660 pounds (300 kilograms) and measuring 10 feet (3 meters). Sumatran tigers are the smallest subspecies, maxing out at 310 pounds (140 kilograms) and 8 feet (2.4 meters). Female tigers of all subspecies tend to be smaller than their male counterparts.

Native Habitat

Historically, tigers existed throughout much of Eastern and Southern Asia, as well as in parts of Central and Western Asia and the Middle East, surrounding the Caspian Sea. Their range has diminished significantly as human populations have expanded. It is believed they currently occupy just 7 percent of their historic range.

Presently, tigers are found in a variety of habitats across South and Southeast Asia, China and Eastern Russia. They thrive in temperate, tropical or evergreen forests, mangrove swamps and grasslands. Amur tigers are primarily found in Far-East Russia, although there are small populations across the border into China and potentially North Korea. Sumatran tigers are found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. A tiger’s range within these regions is determined by the availability of prey.

Communication

Despite their solitary nature, communication is a very important part of tigers’ behavioral ecology. They communicate through vocalizations, such as roaring, grunting and chuffing, and through signals, such as scent marking and scratches on trees. Tigers are fiercely territorial animals, so these signals are particularly important to communicating where one tiger’s home range ends and another’s begins.Food/Eating Habits

Tigers are solitary ambush predators that rely on stealth and strength to take down prey. These apex predators primarily hunt large ungulates, such as wild boar and deer, but are also known to consume monkeys, buffalo, sloth bears, leopards and even crocodiles. When tigers are found in close proximity to humans, they may also feed on domestic animals, such as cattle or goats. Tigers are adept swimmers and have even been recorded hunting in the wild.

These powerful cats hunt primarily at night, using sight and sound to identify prey. Their striped coats help them blend into their surroundings, where they lie in wait for prey to pass by. At the opportune moment, tigers pounce on their prey, take it to the ground and finish the kill by breaking or biting the neck. Tigers hunt about once a week and consume as much as 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of food in one night.

At the Zoo, tigers eat ground beef, and their diet is supplemented with enrichment items each week. They receive knucklebones or cow femurs twice a week and rabbits once a week to exercise their jaws and keep their teeth healthy.

Social Structure

Tigers are solitary creatures, except when mating or raising young. Cubs stay with their mothers until they learn to hunt successfully, usually at about 18 to 24 months old. They reach full independence after two to three years, at which point they disperse to find their own territory. Female tigers often remain near their mother’s’ territory, while males disperse farther from home.

Reproduction and Development

Female tigers reach sexual maturity between age 3 and 4. Males are sexually mature at about 4 or 5 years old. Mating can occur at any time of year but most often takes place during cooler months between November and April. Tigers are induced ovulators, which means females will not release eggs until mating occurs. Gestation lasts approximately 100 days, and females give birth to between one and seven offspring at a time, averaging between two and four cubs. Once cubs become independent, at about age 2, females are ready to give birth again. However, if a female’s offspring do not survive, due to causes such as infanticide or starvation, she is able to conceive another litter right away.

Lifespan

The life span of tigers in the wild is usually between 10 and 15 years. In human care, or on rare occasions in the wild, a tiger can live up to 20 years. However, approximately half of all wild tiger cubs do not survive past the first two years of life. Only 40 percent of those that reach independence actually live to establish a territory and produce young. The risk of mortality remains high for adult tigers due to their territorial nature, which often results in direct competition with conspecifics, or members of the same species.

Tigers are a part of our planets’ natural heritage‘ they also have a great cultural and historical significance. No doubt they are also crucial for the ecosystems in which they live. We can’t ignore that tigers not only protect the forest by maintaining ecological integrity but also they bring highest levels of protection and investment to an area. Therefore, we call them as “umbrella species” that is their conservation also conserve many other species in the same area.

So, protect and conserve tigers!