Tiger

The tiger is the largest member of the cat family. It lives in parts of Asia, from the snowy forests of Russia to the steamy jungles of India and Indonesia. An adult tiger can weigh more than 600 pounds and stretch 10 feet long from nose to tail. That is bigger than a full-grown lion. Tigers are known for their orange fur with black stripes and their powerful, muscular bodies.

No two tigers look exactly alike. Each one has its own pattern of stripes, the way every person has unique fingerprints. Scientists can tell tigers apart just by studying photos of their sides.

Tigers are hunters. They eat deer, wild pigs, water buffalo, and other large animals. Unlike lions, which hunt in groups, tigers hunt alone. They sneak up on their prey in tall grass, using their stripes as camouflage. Then they pounce with a sudden burst of speed. A tiger can leap more than 20 feet in a single jump, farther than most classrooms are wide.

Tigers are also strong swimmers, which is unusual for cats. On hot days they cool off in rivers and ponds. They can swim for miles and sometimes catch fish or even hunt in the water.

There are several kinds of tigers, called subspecies. The Bengal tiger of India is the most common. The Siberian tiger lives in cold forests of Russia and is the biggest of all. The Sumatran tiger lives only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and is the smallest. Three other subspecies, the Bali, Javan, and Caspian tigers, went extinct in the twentieth century.

Wild tigers are in serious trouble. About a hundred years ago, around 100,000 tigers roamed Asia. Today only about 5,000 are left in the wild. People have cut down the forests where tigers live. Poachers kill tigers illegally for their fur and body parts. Laws now protect tigers in every country where they live, and their numbers have slowly started to rise in India and Nepal. But the species is still listed as endangered.

Tigers have held a powerful place in human stories for thousands of years. In Chinese tradition, the tiger is one of the 12 zodiac animals and a symbol of courage. Korean folktales often feature tigers as wise or trickster figures. The tiger is the national animal of India, Bangladesh, South Korea, and Malaysia. Few animals have inspired more respect, fear, and admiration. Saving the wild tiger may be one of the biggest conservation challenges of this century.