International Tigers Day: Ten most interesting facts about the beautiful beasts

Jul 28, 2021

By: Mona Pachake

National animal

Tigers are not only the national animal of India, but in three more countries — Malaysia, South Korea and Bangladesh | The Bengal tiger was declared as the national animal of India in April 1973.

Credit: Mike-Marrah-Unsplash

Weight of a tiger

Females generally weigh less than males in all subspecies | Largest — An adult Amur or Siberian Tiger can weigh up to 660 pounds | Smallest — The Sumatran tiger with males weighing only up to 310 pounds.

Credit: Ranthambore-National-Park

Mating

Tigers can also mate with other big cats | Hybrid of a female lion and a male tiger — Tigon | Hybrid of a female tiger and a male lion — Liger | Cross breeding is banned in Taiwan.

Credit: Ranthambore-National-Park

Group of Tigers

A group of tigers are called an ambush or streak | Tigers do not live in permanent groups like lions do | Tigers are solitary hunters and always hunt alone.

Credit: Ranthambore-National-Park

Stripes

Tiger stripes are also found on their skin | Similar to human fingerprints, the unique pattern of stripes on tigers acts like their identity | The stripes on a Sumatran tiger are closer together than those on any other subspecies.

Credit: Ranthambore-National-Park

White spots

Tigers have big white spots on the backs of their ears and biologists have two theories | They are considered to function as "eyes" to ward off potential attackers from the rear | Another theory is that they help tiger cubs follow their mothers.

Credit: Twitter

Tiger cubs

Tiger cubs are born blind and only half of the cubs survive | The newborn cubs can't see anything, they only follow the scent of their mother | Since they are born blind and can't keep up, most of them die of hunger or cold.

Credit: Ranthambore-National-Park

Nocturnal animals

Tigers prefer engaging in most of their hunting activities at night | The reason behind this is that tigers prefer avoiding human conflict | Not all tigers are nocturnal | Their night vision is up to six-times greater than humans’.

Credit: Ranthambore-National-Park

Roar of a tiger

A tiger’s roar includes roaring, growling, chuffing, hissing, and moaning | It can be heard upto two miles away.

Credit: Jessica-Weiller-Unsplash

White tigers

White tigers are not a subspecies of the tiger, but exactly the same as Bengal tigers | The result of a recessive gene from each parent affects their pigmentation

Credit: Satyadeep-Unsplash

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