Tiger Facts

Tiger Facts

#1. Tigers are the biggest cats in the world, some can grow to nearly 4 metres long. (That’s about four times your height!) And can weigh more than 10 times what you do!

#2. A group of tigers is called a streak.

#3. They have stripes so that they can sneak up on prey when they are hunting for dinner. Although you’d easily spot a Tiger in your backyard the stripes help hide tigers in their natural habitat of shadowy grasslands and forests.

#4. Tigers often go two or three days without eating anything.

#5. Most tigers have more than 100 stripes! And just like zebras, no two tigers have identical stripes.

#6. There are not many tigers left in the wild (so make sure you look after Tipu!). This is because the forests where they live are being chopped down. Tigers are also hunted for their body parts as some people believe they have healing powers.

#7. Wild tigers live to around 12 years old, however those kept captive (in zoos and safari parks) can expect to live up to 20 years.

#8. There are no wild Tigers in Africa and there never have been! Lions, leopards and cheetahs all live in Africa but Tigers are Asian cats.

#9. A tigers roar is so loud it can be heard over a mile away.

#10. Every tiger has a different stripe pattern, just like human fingerprints do!

#11. The tiger evolved slightly later than the lion and evolved along a separate cat line at a later date.

#12. It is believed the Caspian Tiger became extinct in the 1950's, the Javan in 1972 and the Bali in 1937.

#13. The night vision of tigers is six times better than that of humans.

#14. Tiger claws, like cats, are retractable.

#15. Tiger stripes are like human fingerprints, no two are the same.

#16. A tigers tail is 3 to 4 foot long, about half as long as its body.

#17. A tiger's paw prints are called pug marks.  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

#18. Adult tigers like to live alone (except for a mother with cubs).

#19. A tigers territory can range from 10 - 30 square miles.

#20. Tigers mark their territories by spraying their scent and scratching marks on trees.

#21. Wild tigers can eat as much as 40 pounds of meat at one time and often do not eat again for several days.

#22. The life span of tigers in the wild is thought to be about 10 to 15 years.

#23. A tiger's forefeet have five toes and the hind feet have four toes.

#24. All toes have claws. The claws are 80 to 100 mm in length.

#25. The length of a tiger's canine teeth can be between 74.5 to 90 mm.

#26. Depending on the subspecies, the head-body length of a tiger is about 41/2 to 9 feet (1.4-2.8 m).

#27. Male tigers weigh heavier than females.

#28. Siberian tigers are the heaviest subspecies at 500 or more pounds (225 kg).

#29. The lightest subspecies is the Sumatran at around 250 pounds (110 kg).

#30. The heaviest tiger recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records is a 1,025-pound male Siberian tiger.

#31. Tiger cubs are born blind and weigh only about 2 to 3 pounds (1 kg), depending on the subspecies.

#32. Cubs live on milk for 6-8 weeks before the female begins taking them to kills to feed.

#33. Tigers have fully developed canines by 16 months of age, but they do not begin making their own kills until about 18 months of age.

#34. Young tigers live with their mother until they are two to three years old, then they find their own territories.

#35. Tigers live in thick forests or areas with tall grasses to hide in and plenty of prey to eat.

#36. Tigers are not found in Africa because they never evolved there.

#37. Modern day tigers are all descended from tigers that originally lived in south central China.

#38. They never moved from China to Africa because Africa was just too far away and besides, they would have had to cross an ocean!

#39. Unlike most cat species, tigers like water and are good swimmers.

#40. In tropical climates, tigers frequently spend time lying in water to cool off.

#41. Pound for pound a tiger has five times the pulling strength of a trained human athlete.

#42. Tigers can see about six times as well in the dark as a human.

#43. A tiger may go days between kills, so it may eat over 40 pounds of meat at a setting.

#44. Tigers may live from 10 to 15 years in the wild, but in captivity 16 to 20 years is more common.

#45. A tiger has two to five cubs in a litter. They come into the world blind and weighing only about two to three pounds.