Tiger Facts: Habitat, Diet and Where to See Them

The tiger is a solitary, powerful ambush hunter that once ranged from eastern Turkey to the Russian Far East and Bali. Three subspecies have gone extinct in the last century (Bali, Javan and Caspian tigers). Most remaining wild tigers belong to the Bengal and Amur populations, with India holding roughly three-quarters of the world’s wild tigers.

Interesting facts

The tiger is the largest cat in the world.
Unlike most cats, tigers are strong swimmers and often cool off in water.
A tiger can eat more than 30 kg of meat in a single meal.
Only about one in ten to twenty hunts is successful.
The white spots on the backs of tigers’ ears may help cubs follow their mother or signal to other tigers.
Wild tiger numbers have risen from about 3,200 in 2010 to about 5,500, mainly thanks to recovery in India and Nepal.

Behaviour

Tigers live alone and mark large territories with scent, scrapes and scratches on trees. A male’s territory usually overlaps those of several females. Tigers stalk prey using cover, then rush the last few metres and kill with a bite to the throat or the back of the neck.

Breeding and young

After a gestation of about 100 to 110 days, females give birth to 2 to 4 cubs in a hidden den. Cubs stay with their mother for about two years, learning to hunt before dispersing to find their own territories.

Threats and conservation

Poaching for skins and body parts used in traditional medicine, loss and fragmentation of forests, depletion of prey, and conflict with people living near tiger habitat.