Fun Facts About Tiger

“Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”

Thus wrote the English poet William Blake. You will be hard pressed to find better words that describe this magnificent creature. As you set your eyes on it, even as the initial fear kicks in, it would not be surprising if you find yourself racking your brains for superlatives to describe this animal. The lord of all that it surveys, the tiger sits on top of the food chain. Yet, insensitive hunting and poaching have drastically reduced their numbers and have pushed this grand creature to the verge of extinction. Although censoriously endangered, these wild cats continue to prowl the fringes of South Asian countries like India, Bangladesh and Nepal, China, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, and south eastern Siberia.. To explore more about these big wild cats of the jungle, read on.

Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Panthera Tigris
Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivore
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. tigris
Length (Head and Body): Male: 6 ft. to 9ft.   Female: 5ft. to 6ft.
Length (tail): Male: Up to 3ft.    Female: 2ft.–3ft.
Length (skull): Male: 10 inches to 15 inches      Female: 8 inches to 12 inches
Height: Male: Up to 3ft.      Female: Up to 2.5ft.
Diet: Carnivorous
Mating Period: Between November and April

Interesting And Amazing Facts About Tiger

• Tiger belongs to the cat family. In fact, it is the largest member of the cat family.
• Once found throughout Asia and up to the Oceanic Islands, the tiger is now found in Indian subcontinent, China, Siberia and Sumatra.
• There are nine sub species of the tiger, three of which are extinct now. The Siberian Tiger is the largest and the Sumatran Tiger is the smallest.
• Tigers have a lifespan of 10–15 years but can live up to 20 years in captivity.
• No two tigers have the same pattern of stripes.
• Tiger stripes serves as camouflage in the thick jungles.
• The tigers, in addition to having striped fur, also have stripes on their skin.
• Tigers prefer denser vegetation for their habitat because their camouflage coloring is ideally suited for that.
• The white tigers and the golden tabby tigers are the two documented color variations born out of recessive genes. The genes for white tigers are only present in 1 in 10,000 tigers.
• Tigers are the apex predators of their habitats. Their impressive diet includes sambar, gaur, wild boar, moose, and wild as well as leopards, pythons, sloth bears and even crocodiles.
• Though they avoid large animals like elephants and rhino, they like to prey on their calves. However, cases of tigers killing adult rhinos and elephants have also been recorded.
• Tigers do not look at humans as natural prey. In fact, they are highly elusive even in jungles. Lack of natural prey and loss of habitation are the major factors for tigers turning into man-eaters.
• The Champawat tigress, a Bengal Tiger was responsible for 436 documented killings of human beings before it was shot dead by Jim Corbett. The loss of its canine teeth had forced the tiger to hunt easy prey.
• Tigers are extremely muscular and rely on power and stealth to hunt down prey.
• Tigers are excellent swimmers and can swim for up to four miles. They can drag their prey through water.
• They have night vision that is 6 times as strong as that of human beings. It aids them in hunting at night.
• The swipe of a tiger’s forepaw is powerful enough to smash the skull of most of its prey.
• Tiger usually kills by locking its jaw around the neck of the prey until it dies of strangulation.
• Tigers are agile animals that can reach speeds ranging from 49–65 kmph though only for short distances as their muscular body tire faster than its prey.
• It’ strong hindquarters can also propel it to leap in excess of 10m.
• The tiger population around the world is facing severe threat due to excessive poaching and killing.
• The estimated numbers of tigers left in the wild is around 3062–3948.
• Ninety percent of India’s original tiger population has been killed in the last century because of hunting.
• Tigers are hunted for their hide and some other parts that are used extensively in traditional Chinese medicines, which is are the reasons for tigers being hunted.
• At present, there are more tigers in captivity in the US than there are in the wilds.