40 Awesome Facts About Tigers

The tiger is a magnificently beautiful creature, full of might and vigour. The tiger is the largest living member of the cat family. It feeds itself by hunting. They are found in Asia, mainly India, Bhutan, China, Korea, and Siberian Russia. Tigers are solitary animals. So let’s look at some facts about this amazing big cat.

1. 97% of the world’s tigers have been poached in the past century.
2. Now there are only 4000 tigers left in the wild as well as in captivity combined.
3. If a white tiger is born, that means both tiger parents carry the same gene of white coloring.
4. Tigers have a lifespan of 22 years in captivity while 10 to 15 years in the wild.
5. The rare white tigers carry a gene is the reason behind their white skin. This gene is present in around 1 of every 10000 tigers.
6. Miacoids are the most ancient tiger ancestors discovered to date.About 40 million years ago, carnivores split into two groups: Feliformia and Caniformia. The Feliformia group was more cat-like and eventually included cats, hyenas, civets, and mongooses.
7. They have striped skins, not just striped fur.
8. The Caspian Tiger was the third largest tiger species in the world.
9. The last of this Caspian tiger was seen in the 1970s, after which it is counted as extinct animal species. This tiger was found in the lands of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Caucasus.
10. Some wild tigers can eat up to 18 kilograms (40 pounds) of meat at a time and may not eat again for several days.
11. The tigers are also called big cats as they are the biggest in the cat family.
12. Less than 10 percent of their hunts get successful.
13. Just like a human fingerprint, the coat or stripes of two tigers can never be of the same pattern. Their skin is striped, not just the fur.
14. The largest population of tigers on the planet is in the United States. The country has more numbers of tigers in captivity than in the wild. There are around 10000 tigers in the wild, while around 25000 are there in captivity.
15. Various subspecies of the tigers are national animals of India, Bangladesh, North Korea, South Korea, and Malaysia.
16. Tiger paws are so powerful and forceful, which is enough to smash the skulls of domestic cows and break the backs of sloth bears.
17. Amur tigers are the largest subspecies of the tiger and are mainly found in Siberia, Manchurian, Russia, North Korea, and northeast China. They can weigh as much as 300 kilograms and reach the length of 11 feet(3.3 meters).
18. The Siberian tigers can survive in extremely low temperatures like -49 degrees Fahrenheit.
19. Tiger’s gestation period is about 93-112 days. They give birth to two to seven cubs in a litter.
20. At the age of 2 years, the lion cubs leave their mothers.
21. The subspecies of Bengal tiger likes being in the water the most among all big cats. They will even chase their prey into the water.
22. Sumantran tigers tend to have webbed feet. This allows them to swim with ease, and they often cross rivers in search of food.
23. They are real good swimmers and can swim up to 6 kilometers in one go.
24. The species of Tasmanian tigers got extinct in the year 1936. This animal is regarded to be the largest carnivorous marsupial of the modern age. It was native wildlife animals of Australia and new guinea. Human poaching led this animal to extinction.
25. Their eyes have a retinal adaptation that reflects the light back to their retina; the night vision of these creatures as compared to humans is six times stronger.
26. Tigers can run faster than 49-65 kilometers per hour; they like to swim like tigers and are very sociable like lions.
27. In the wild, tigers hunt at night. They do this because they prey mostly on noncultural animals.
28. Tigers can jump as high as 12 to 15 feet(3.6 to 4.5 meters) in the air.
29. Tigers, when bred with lions, give birth to a hybrid called tigons and ligers.
30. When tigers reach the age of 2 years, they leave their mothers. Around half of the cubs do not survive to life beyond the age of two.
31. Tiger’s cubs leave their mothers when they are around two years of age.
32. Tiger really roars very loudly, and their roar can be heard from 2 miles away.
33. It’s been researched that they can hear frequencies ranging from 0.2 kHz to 65 kHz. Which is considered to be the frequency at which humans hear.
34. Tiger claws can grow up to 10 centimetres (4 in) long and they use it to grasp and hold onto their prey.Each paw has four of these claws as well as one specialised claw known as a dewclaw. A dewclaw is located further back on the foot and thus does not come into contact with the ground when walking.
35. The genetic analysis also reveals the tiger began evolving 3.2 million years ago, and its closest living relative is the equally endangered snow leopard.
36. At the starting of the 20th century, there were about 1 lakh tigers. Whereas in 2019, the global tiger population was estimated to the number of 3900.
37. The south china tiger is considered the rarest tiger on the planet.
38. The tail of a tiger is about 3 feet long and helps them to balance their bodies while turning and running.
39. Their feet are padded, which helps them to move silently and catch their prey.
40. Tigers can survive without food for about two weeks.