Tigers Fact

Easily recognized by its coat of reddish-orange with dark stripes, the tiger is the largest wild cat in the world. The big cat weighs up to 720 pounds (363 kilograms), stretches 6 feet (2 meters) long, and has a 3-foot- (1-meter-) long tail. The powerful predator generally hunts alone, able to bring down prey such as deer and antelope.

Tigers wait until dark to hunt. Once a tiger has spotted its prey, it sneaks as close as possible to its victim. Then the tiger sprints to the unsuspecting animal, usually pulling it off its feet with its teeth and claws. If the prey animal is large, the tiger bites its throat to kill it; smaller prey is usually killed when the tiger breaks its neck.

Tigers have been known to eat up to 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of meat in one night, but more often they consume about 12 pounds (5 kilograms) during a meal.
It may take days for a tiger to finish eating its kill. The cat eats until it's full, and then covers the carcass with leaves and dirt. When it's hungry again, the tiger comes back to feed some more, until the meat is gone.

Unlike most members of the cat family, tigers seem to enjoy water. They swim well and often soak in streams or pools of water to cool off.

Some tigers live where it gets very cold—in India and parts of southeast Asia.

The whole species is endangered throughout its range. Tigers have been overhunted for their fur as well as for other body parts that many people use in traditional medicines. Tigers' habitat has also dwindled seriously as humans have developed land for uses such as farming and logging.
FAST FACTS
The scientific name for the tiger is Panthera tigris.

There are five subspecies of tiger: Bengal, South China, Indochinese, Sumatran, and Siberian. Three subspecies of tiger—Caspian, Bali, and Javan—are extinct.

Tigers that live in cold northern areas are usually bigger and heavier than those that live in tropical habitats.

No two tigers have exactly the same pattern of stripes.

A tiger retracts its claws as it walks, leaving no claw marks in its tracks.

Tigers hunt at night; they can see well in the dark.

A tiger's roar can be heard as far as two miles (three kilometers) away.

Tigers weigh from 240 to 500 pounds (109 to 227 kilograms); males are larger than females.

In captivity, a tiger can live to be 26 years old.

Tigers live in both tropical and temperate forests as well as in swamps. They are never found far from water.

Tigers eat small animals such as turtles and frogs, as well as large animals such as buffalo and large deer.

Tigers live alone, except for mothers and their young. A male and female tiger come together to mate, and then go their separate ways.

A female tiger may have from one to six cubs in a litter. The average is two or three. She raises them on her own.

By the time the cubs are about six months old, they leave the den area for good, following their mother on her hunts.

By the time tiger cubs are one year old they can kill prey, but they generally stay with their mothers until they're at least two years old.