Tigers are the largest of the big cats, with the Siberian Tiger being the largest tiger sub-species.

Tigers inhabit parts of Asia such as India, Northeast China, Siberia, Indonesia and Korea. Out of the 8 sub-species three are now extinct. The Bengal Tiger is known to have the largest population, thought to be approximately 5,000 in the wild. A high percentage of these are in the tiger reserves of India.

The kings of the jungle live in dense forests where their striped coat provides good camouflage when stalking their prey through the dense vegetation. They don’t chase their prey for long periods like the Cheetah. Instead they stalk their prey for as long as possible before bounding a leap. They are usually nocturnal hunters and their prey consists mainly of deer especially sambar deer.

Unlike lions, they are solitary animals, except for when a tigress is living with her cubs until they are old enough to leave the family unit. They are territorial, and mark their territory by spraying or marking the trees with their claws.

They have excellent hearing and very good night vision. Unlike the other big cats tigers like the water and often go swimming to cool off from the hot sun.

For information on the status of the Tiger, please visit our Endangered Section.