13 facts about tigers in the wild and in captivity
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Share these tiger facts to educate others on the wild beauty of the tiger species and the unimaginable cruelty tigers in captivity face.
Animal Awareness Days
Every year on July 29, the International Day of the Tiger is celebrated. To find out more about the world's largest wild cats and why they require our protection, read on.
Tiger ‘experiences’ are big business in many areas where tigers are still found. Tourists will often pay for selfies with tiger cubs or to watch adult tigers ‘perform’. All of these are exploitative and harmful to the animals involved.
Tigers are also commonly poached or farmed for their body parts to be used in traditional medicine. As the largest big cat, an adult tiger has many large bones that are sought after to be ground up for ‘remedies’.
There is no evidence that tiger bones have any healing properties, and the animals bred for this purpose are kept in brutal conditions. South Africa is one of the few remaining countries that permits legal farming of big cats, but illegal farming is also common.
A tiger’s distinctive striped coat is important for camouflage but can also attract the wrong kind of attention. Pelts are seen as trophies and sell for high prices, despite this trade being illegal. Tiger cubs are also prized as status symbols among some extremely wealthy individuals.
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A selfie with a tiger might seem like an incredible souvenir of your trip, but these experiences are often deeply harmful to the animals involved.
Tiger cubs are especially popular, but they are also especially vulnerable. Cubs used for selfies are usually removed from their mothers at 2-3 weeks old when they would normally stay with her for their first 2 years of life.
Never take pictures with wild animals being held, restrained, or baited with food. Instead, look for opportunities to view animals at a safe distance where they have the freedom to behave naturally.
Travel companies respond to feedback from their customers and react even faster when they lose customers due to unethical practices. Book your travel with companies who take their responsibilities to animal protection seriously.
Check out our guide to know which companies are making a real effort.
Animals like tigers don’t exist for our use and pleasure. They are sentient creatures with their own needs and desires. Join our campaign to improve our understanding of animal sentience.
Take a look at these fun and interesting facts about tigers to learn more about the world’s biggest big cat.
The average tiger lifespan is between 10 and 15 years.
Tigers are the biggest of the big cats, with male tigers weighing between 100 and 260 kg.
There are five subspecies of tigers, including the Bengal, South China, Indochinese, Sumatran, and Amur tiger (also known as the Siberian tiger). The latter is the largest.
Tigers are endangered, and their population is decreasing. There are thought to be just 3,140 mature tigers left in the wild. The most endangered species are the South China and Sumatran tigers, which are both critically endangered.
Tigers are threatened by poaching, the illegal trade of tiger body parts, traditional medicine, climate change, and human encroachment on tiger habitat.
Yes, tigers are bigger than lions. Lions weigh up to 230 kg and measure up to 2.1 metres long. Tigers can weigh up to 420 kg and measure up to 3.7 metres.
Tigers are carnivores and apex predators. They eat deer, buffalo, and wild boar but will also turn to fish, birds, rodents, primates, and insects when large prey populations are scarce.
Tigers in the wild live in tropical and temperate forests across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and in evergreen forests in Russia and China.
Farming and logging threaten tiger habitat. These big cats need a lot of space to hunt and mate, so habitat loss is a considerable threat to their survival.
The saber-tooth tiger is one of the most famous extinct tigers. The species disappeared around 11,700 years ago.
The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is the biggest tiger in the world. Males can weigh over 300 kg and measure more than 3 metres in length. They also have a thick fur coat to survive harsh Russian winters.
White tigers are not a subspecies of tiger or albino tigers. Instead, they are Bengal or Siberian tigers with a rare genetic mutation.
Only 1 in 10,000 tiger cubs is born white, and only a handful have ever been spotted in the wild. In captivity, however, white tigers are victims of wildlife exploitation and are bred for profit.
Albino tigers are extremely rare and are not a recognised subspecies. They are usually the result of captive breeding. There is no reliable estimate of how many exist, but their population is minimal and limited to captivity.
Male Siberian tigers are up to 3.7 metres from tip to tail. They weigh up to 420 kg.
The Tasmanian tiger was a meat-eating marsupial that once lived in Tasmania. It went extinct because European colonisers hunted the Tasmanian tiger, destroyed its habitat, and introduced competing species.
Tigers are mostly nocturnal, resting in the shade during the day and becoming active at dawn and dusk. During these hours, they can avoid conflict with humans and hunt their prey that are also more active during the night.
Tigers are not domestic animals and can’t be trained or domesticated. They are wild animals with instincts to hunt and kill. They are also solitary animals and do not enjoy social connections.
Blog
Share these tiger facts to educate others on the wild beauty of the tiger species and the unimaginable cruelty tigers in captivity face.
Animal Awareness Days
World Animal Day is October 4th - World Animal Protection has put together a guide on the day's importance to help increase awareness for animal welfare.
Animal Awareness Days
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