Tigers are the largest living cat species and belong to the genus Panthera. These big cats are known for their characteristics orange-brown fur and darker strips. Tiger is an apex predator and it hunts ungulates such as zebra and deer. Tiger is the courageous, ferocious and wild animal. Here are some exciting facts about tiger you probably didn’t know before:
Tiger are completely striped; even they have stripes on skin. Strips color varies from light brown to black. You will be amazed to know that no two tigers have same strips pattern. Tiger’s strips are just like our fingerprints. Their strips pattern is unique. Not only its different from other tigers but also different on both sides of body.
Tiger's hind legs are longer than its front legs. This enables them to leap forward about 20 - 30 feet in single jump.
A tiger’s tail is about three feet long. Such long tail is helpful to maintain body balance when making swift turns.
The average lifespan of tiger is 10-15 years. However, sometimes it may live up to 26 years in wild.
Top 10 exciting and mind-blowing facts about tiger!!
1. Year of the tiger in Chinese calendar!
“Tiger” ranks third in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac signs. A tiger year is repeated after eight years. The next year 2022 will be a tiger year. After 2022, the subsequent tiger year will be 2030. In old times, people used to compare royals and emperors with tigers and lions. Of course, tiger symbolizes bravery, courage, power and lordliness. The Chinese people believe that tiger is a patron deity for children. Thus, parents often prepare the shoes and hats with tiger designs for babies. In addition to this, Chinese believe that people born in years of tiger are natural leaders. Their most prominent personality traits include adventurous, ambitious, strong sense of justice as well as somewhat impetuous and arrogant.2. About this big cat!!
Tiger is the largest living cat species and ranks third in the list of largest carnivores on land. The adult Amur or Siberian tiger is the largest of tiger species. It weighs up to 660 pounds. On the other hand, the Sumatran tiger is the smallest subspecies. In this species, tiger is heavier than tigress and it weighs up to 310 pounds.
Tiger are completely striped; even they have stripes on skin. Strips color varies from light brown to black. You will be amazed to know that no two tigers have same strips pattern. Tiger’s strips are just like our fingerprints. Their strips pattern is unique. Not only its different from other tigers but also different on both sides of body.
Tiger's hind legs are longer than its front legs. This enables them to leap forward about 20 - 30 feet in single jump.
A tiger’s tail is about three feet long. Such long tail is helpful to maintain body balance when making swift turns.
The average lifespan of tiger is 10-15 years. However, sometimes it may live up to 26 years in wild.
3. Not all the hunts of tiger are successful!!
Another of interesting facts about tiger!! Despite the speed and sheer power, a tiger is not always successful in prey hunting. Usually, its one hunt is successful per 10-20 hunts. Tiger’s nighttime vision is just six times better than us humans. Additionally, they are opportunistic in term of prey hunting. Thus, they prefer to catch prey whenever it’s easy.4. Tigress takes care of its cubs all alone!!
Tigress is a super mom. After the gestation period of almost three month, it generally gives birth to two or three cubs. And starting from the birth, till they are independent by the age of two years, mother takes care of cubs all alone.
5. Tiger cubs are born blind!!
Amazing facts about tiger cubs!! At the time of birth, the cubs of tiger are blind and sadly only few survive. The newborns literally cannot see anything, so they follow the mother’s body scent. Many of newborns die of hunger and cold and often killed by other adult tiger because they see the newborns as threat and competition.6. Tigers are ambush predators and quite protective about their kill!!
Tigers are ambush predators or we can say sit-and-wait hunter. They usually sneak up on their prey before exploding into action. And then they kill the prey will a single bite on the neck or back of the head. When they hunt, they drag their prey to a cover spot. Even if they had to leave, they cover the rest of their kill by raking leaves, grass, dirt, bushes etc. An adult tiger can consume up to 88 pounds of meat in one meal. So, if they hunt a bigger prey, they cover or bury the rest of it for later. Then, it is less likely to kill for the next 4-5 days. One good hunt is enough for a week.
7. A group of tigers is called?
A group of tigers is called as “streak” or “ambush”. However, tiger is a solitary animal; it does not live in permanent groups like lions do. Tiger spend most part of life alone, except for tigress when it is raising cubs.8. Fun fact about tiger - these big cats are quite chatty!!
A tiger’s roar is audible from up to two miles away. It has various different vocalizations. Tigers hiss, roar , growl, moan, chuff and snarl . Each different kind of vocalization is used for different communication. On the other hand, tigers are generally humble to their group and rarely roar.9. White tigers are NOT albino!!
You may think that white tigers are albino or a distinct species. They are not! Their white fur is the result of a recessive gene expression - the leucistic gene. The homozygous state of this gene affects the pigmentation. Therefore, their fur is white and generally white tigers have blue eyes.
10. There are most tigers in captivity than in wild!!
It’s really sad that in United States, there are more tigers in captivity than in wild. Also Read: Interesting facts about cats11. India has the largest number of wild tigers!
India has largest number of tiger. More than 3000 of the world’s tigers are in India.
12. Tigon – the hybrid of a tiger and lion!!
Tigers tend to mate with other species. The hybrid of a tiger and a lion is called a “Tigon”. Interestingly, the “Liger” is the hybrid of male lion and female tiger. A Liger is usually 4.5 feet high when standing on four legs and its height can be 6 feet when standing. Tigons are the largest cat species and are bigger than Ligar. Tigons are native to USA, Czech Republic, India, China, Russia, Iran, UAE and Argentina.13. Tigers love to swim!!
Unlike other cat species, tigers are powerful swimmers and love to swim. They can cross the rivers and lakes. The young tigers often play in water. During hot summer days, they lounge in water to stay cool.