Fierce but vulnerable
The tiger is the largest cat in the world. Some time ago there were nine subspecies of tigers, but due to unbridled hunting and habitat deterioration, three subspecies are extinct, these are the Bali tiger, Caspian tiger and Java tiger. The surviving species are: the Bengal tiger, the Indochinese tiger, the Malayan tiger, the Sumatran tiger, the Siberian tiger and the South China tiger.
Most tigers have orange fur with a series of dark brown stripes and a white area in between. Like people’s fingerprints, the stripe pattern is unique to each tiger and is used by scientists to identify them in the wild.
Fun facts
- Tigers have earned a reputation for being ferocious animals; they live alone so they demarcate their territory with their urine to keep their rivals away. They are also powerful nocturnal hunters, traveling many miles in search of wild boar, deer, and other mammals.
- Tigers use their stealth and strength to hunt. They go out to hunt alone, their method is to ambush the prey by jumping from the place where they remained hidden.
- Out of ten times they go out to hunt, only once do they manage to catch the prey.
- The tiger can eat up to 70 pounds of meat. When the tiger is full, it covers its prey with leaves and earth to finish eating it another day.
- Unlike other cats, tigers love to swim. They do it to cool off or dodge flies.
- The tigress gives birth the female gives birth to one to six cubs which are born without sight. The young will live with their mothers until they are 2 years old.
- Tigers, unfortunately, are in danger of extinction; these have been hunted for trophies or used to create medicinal products.
- Tigers live in different places around the world, mainly in Asia and parts of the Middle East.