Common Name: Tiger
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: Tigris
Subspecies: There are six subspecies of tiger currently living: the Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, Sumatran, Siberian, and South China.
Size: Size varies by subspecies but generally a male tiger averages between 96 to 120 inches long and a female, 84 to 108 inches.
Weight: Weight varies by subspecies but a male weighs around 550 lbs. and a female to 350 lbs. A male Siberian tiger can weigh up to 800 lbs.
Coat: The tiger sports a fiery reddish-orange coat with vertical stripes that can vary between black, gray, or brown stripes. The underside is creamy or white in contrast. No two tigers share the same stripe pattern, making each one unique.
Habitat: Primarily tropical and subtropical forests, but the species can also be found in tropical grasslands, shrublands, montane forests, and conifer forests.
Diet: Tigers hunt medium to large prey – mostly ungulates – such as deer, antelopes and buffalo.
Geography: Tigers are primarily found in southern Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand, and Vietnam – and in northeastern Russia.
Population Health: Endangered (According to the IUCN)
Threats: Humans – Urban expansion results in habitat loss and fragmentation, and populations are subject to hunting and poaching.
Additional Facts:
- Tigers are the largest members of the cat family. The Siberian tiger is the largest and heaviest subspecies of tiger.
- The word “tiger” stems from the Greek word “tigris”, which is derived from the Persian word meaning “arrow”, most likely describing the animals speed.
- Tigers usually hunt at dusk, allowing them to blend into the tall grass with their stripes. This enables them to stalk their prey.
- The male tiger marks his territory with urine, droppings, and claw marks.
- A tiger can consume up to 88 lbs. of meat in one sitting.
- A tiger’s roar can be heard from up to three miles away.
- The white Bengal Tiger is one of the rarest cats in the world. In a span of 100 years, only 12 white tigers have been found in the wild. While some believe white tigers to be albino or a different species altogether, their unique white fur, black stripes, and blue eyes are actually the result of an unusual genetic strain.
- Three subspecies of tiger: the Bali, Javan, and Caspian Tiger have all gone extinct.
