| Tiger | |
|---|---|
 Bengal Tiger | |
| Information | |
| Range | Asia |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Conservation Status | |
 Endangered | |
Bindi & Robert Irwin feature - Tiger (Bashii) - Growing Up Wild
Description[]
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera. It is among the most recognizable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. It featured prominently in the ancient mythology and folklore of cultures throughout its historic range and continues to be depicted in modern films and literature, appearing on many flags, coats of arms, and as mascots for sporting teams. The tiger is the national animal of India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and South Korea.
Appearance[]
Tigers are large, powerful cats known for their distinctive reddish-orange coats marked with vertical black stripes along the flanks and shoulders. These stripes vary in length, width, and spacing. Some subspecies have paler fur, while others can be nearly white, with dark brown or black stripes. The underparts—including the belly, chest, throat, muzzle, and the underside of the limbs—are white or light-colored. White markings also appear above the eyes, extending to the cheeks, and a prominent white spot is present on the back of each ear. Tigers' tails are reddish-orange and encircled by several dark bands. The facial stripes tend to be symmetrical around the eyes, though other facial markings can be asymmetrical.
Tigers exhibit significant variation in body size and morphology depending on the subspecies. The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), also known as the Amur tiger, is the largest. Males can grow up to 3.7 meters in length and weigh over 423 kg, while females reach up to 2.4 meters and 168 kg. The Indochinese tiger (P. t. corbetti) is smaller in overall body size, with males averaging 2.85 meters and 195 kg, but this subspecies has the longest skull, measuring between 319 and 365 mm. The Sumatran tiger (P. t. sumatrae) is the smallest living subspecies, with males measuring around 2.34 meters and weighing 136 kg; females average 1.98 meters and 91 kg.
Tigers are built for strength and stealth. They have short, thick necks, broad shoulders, and muscular forelimbs, ideal for wrestling prey to the ground. They use their long retractable claws and broad forepaws to hold onto struggling animals. One tiger has been documented dragging a gaur bull weighing approximately 700 kg. The tongue of a tiger is covered in hard papillae, which helps them scrape flesh from bones efficiently.
Anatomically, tigers possess a robust and broad skull, characterized by wide zygomatic arches, a well-developed sagittal crest, and strong coronoid processes to support their powerful jaw muscles. The nasal bones are high and project only slightly beyond the maxillary bone, where the canines are set. Their dental formula is 3/3, 1/1, 3/2, 1/1, totaling 30 teeth. Bengal tigers (P. t. tigris) have the longest canines among all living big cats, measuring between 7.5 and 10 cm.
Distribution[]
Tigers (Panthera tigris) are native to parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Russian Far East, and China. They inhabit a wide range of forested environments, including pine forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and riparian forests, which provide essential resources like food and water. In the Indian subcontinent, tigers primarily live in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist evergreen forests, tropical dry forests, and the swampy mangrove forests of the Sundarbans. They can also be found in lowland peat swamp forests, tall grass jungles, and rugged montane habitats.
Historically, tigers had a vast range stretching across Asia—from eastern Turkey and the Caspian Sea, south of the Tibetan plateau, eastward to Manchuria and the Sea of Okhotsk. They once roamed areas including northern Iran, Afghanistan, the Indus valley of Pakistan, and throughout much of Southeast Asia, including Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and the islands of Java and Bali. However, tigers have been extirpated from much of their historical range and are now extinct or nearly extinct in many of these areas. Populations remain relatively stable in parts of India, the Himalayan foothills, northeastern China, Korea, and the Russian Far East.
There are eight recognized subspecies of tiger:
- Siberian tiger (P. t. altaica): Found only in a small region of Russia, including the Amur-Ussuri areas of Primorye and Khabarovsk.
- Bengal tiger (P. t. tigris): Inhabits India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of China.
- Indochinese tiger (P. t. corbetti): Found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
- South China tiger (P. t. amoyensis): Restricted to three isolated regions in south-central China and possibly extinct in the wild.
- Sumatran tiger (P. t. sumatrae): Native exclusively to the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Three subspecies are considered extinct:
- Bali tiger (P. t. balica): Once found on the island of Bali.
- Javan tiger (P. t. sondaica): Formerly native to the island of Java.
- Caspian tiger (P. t. virgata): Previously ranged across Turkey, the Transcaucasus, northern Iran, and Central Asia.
Behavior[]
Tigers are solitary animals, with the only lasting social bond being between a mother and her cubs. Adults typically live alone, occupying large home ranges that they patrol in search of prey. These ranges are marked with scent (a musky liquid mixed with urine), scratch marks, and scrapes to communicate presence and deter rivals. Tigers are generally nocturnal, preferring to hunt at night when their primary prey—wild ungulates—are most active. However, they may also be active during the day.
Tigers hunt primarily in dense vegetation or along quiet pathways that allow stealth, using their powerful build to tackle prey. They typically kill by knocking prey down and biting the neck. In snowy environments, they follow paths with reduced snow depth, like frozen riverbeds or animal trails. Tigers are incredibly strong and agile—they can leap 8 to 10 meters in a single bound (though shorter leaps are more common) and are excellent swimmers, capable of crossing rivers 6–8 kilometers wide and, in rare cases, up to 29 kilometers. They also climb skillfully using their retractable claws and powerful limbs.
Communication among tigers is multifaceted. In addition to scent-marking, they use visual signals such as scratch marks, urine sprays, and ear-spot displays. Facial expressions like the "flehmen" response—where the tiger curls its lip, bares its upper canines, and wrinkles its nose—are common during scent detection, particularly among males examining scent marks or detecting an estrous female. The “defense threat” expression, involving bared teeth, flattened ears, and dilated pupils, is seen during confrontations or attacks.
Tigers also rely heavily on vocalizations, which include roars, growls, snarls, moans, grunts, mews, hisses, and “chuffing” (a friendly, low-frequency snort-like sound). Each vocal cue serves a specific purpose—roars, for instance, are used to assert dominance and communicate location, while moans can signal submission. Their ability to roar comes from a flexible hyoid apparatus and specialized vocal folds with thick fibro-elastic pads, enabling their calls to travel long distances.
Home range size varies with prey density. Female Bengal tigers (P. t. tigris) have home ranges ranging from 200 to 1000 square kilometers, with some recorded as large as 9252 km². Males have home ranges 2 to 15 times larger than those of females. Within these territories, tigers maintain multiple dens in secluded spots such as caves, beneath fallen trees, or in dense vegetation. While tigers often defend exclusive ranges, they may share overlapping territories without direct conflict, especially when dominance hierarchies are established.
Tigers usually live 8 to 10 years in the wild but can live into their 20s under ideal conditions. In captivity, lifespans range from 16 to 18 years, with some individuals living up to 26 years. The leading cause of adult tiger mortality is human activity, including poaching and habitat loss. However, they may also die from injuries caused by large prey. Young tigers face high mortality, particularly during dispersal when they leave their mother's territory—some estimates suggest only 50% survive this phase. Cubs may fall victim to starvation, accidents, or predation by adult male tigers.
Tigers have no natural predators, with humans being their primary threat. However, adult tigers can be dangerous even to one another; infanticide and territorial disputes are part of their natural behavior.
Diet[]
Tigers are obligate carnivores, relying entirely on meat for their sustenance. Their diet primarily consists of large ungulates such as sambar deer, chital, hog deer, barasingha, barking deer, nilgai, blackbuck, wild pigs, gaur, banteng, and water buffalo. They also prey on elk, sika deer, roe deer, Eurasian elk, and musk deer across different parts of their range. In some areas, domestic animals such as cattle, goats, horses, and domestic water buffalo are occasionally taken, especially where wild prey is scarce.
Although tigers prefer larger prey, they are highly opportunistic and capable of killing a wide variety of animals. They have been known to hunt sloth bears, Asiatic black bears, brown bears, leopards, pythons, crocodiles, dogs, monkeys, hares, turtles, porcupines, large birds like pheasants, fish, rats, frogs, and even, in rare cases, tapirs, young elephants, and rhinoceroses. Some individual tigers, typically those injured or old, may become man-eaters, though this is uncommon.
Tigers typically hunt at night, aligning their activity with that of their nocturnal ungulate prey. According to a study by Schaller (1967), they are most active before 08:00 and after 16:00. They rely more on sight and hearing than smell to locate prey, using a stealthy and deliberate approach. Tigers move silently, keeping low to the ground and using natural cover such as rocks, trees, and tall grass to remain unseen. They rarely give chase, preferring to ambush their prey at close range.
When it comes time to kill, tigers use different tactics based on the size of the prey. Small animals, typically those weighing less than half the tiger's body weight, are killed with a bite to the back of the neck. The canines are inserted between the vertebrae, severing the spinal cord. For larger prey, tigers use a throat bite to crush the trachea and cause suffocation. This method minimizes the risk of injury to the tiger during the struggle.
Despite being formidable hunters, tigers are only successful in 1 out of every 10 to 20 hunts. Once a kill is made, it is usually dragged to a secure, secluded area to be consumed. Tigers begin feeding on the hindquarters, using their sharp carnassials to tear into the carcass. They avoid certain internal organs like the stomach and do not consume every part of the animal. A single kill may be revisited over several days until the tiger has had its fill.
Tigers typically consume between 18 and 40 kilograms of meat in one sitting when feeding on large prey, but they do not hunt or eat every day. Their ability to gorge and then fast for days is an adaptation to their solitary lifestyle and the unpredictable nature of hunting in the wild.
Reproduction[]
Tigers are polygynous and solitary animals, coming together only briefly for mating. Males do not form lasting pair bonds with females and provide no parental care. Instead, local males may compete for access to females when they come into estrus, which occurs every 3 to 9 weeks. The female remains receptive for only 3 to 6 days during each cycle. Mating most commonly takes place between November and April, though it can occur year-round.
Following mating, gestation lasts about 103 days, with a range from 96 to 111 days. A female may give birth to anywhere from 1 to 7 cubs, though the average litter size is typically 2 to 3 cubs. In Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica), the average is 2.65 cubs per litter. The newborn cubs are altricial—born blind, helpless, and weighing between 780 and 1600 grams. Their eyes open between 6 and 14 days after birth, and their ears begin to function around 9 to 11 days of age.
For the first couple of weeks after birth, the mother spends nearly all her time nursing and protecting her young. Weaning begins around 90 to 100 days after birth, though the cubs continue to rely heavily on their mother. By about 2 months of age, cubs begin following their mother outside the den and start eating small amounts of solid food. At 5 to 6 months old, they begin to participate in hunting trips, though they do not become proficient hunters until much later.
Cubs typically remain with their mother until they are between 18 months and 3 years old. During this extended period of dependency, they learn critical survival skills such as stalking, ambushing, and killing prey. A mother tiger with dependent cubs must increase her hunting efforts significantly—often by as much as 50%—to provide enough food for herself and her offspring.
Sexual maturity is reached at about 3 to 4 years of age for females, and at 4 to 5 years of age for males. Once mature, young tigers disperse from their mother’s territory to establish their own, often traveling great distances to do so.
Population[]
Population threats[]
Major reasons for the tiger population decline include habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, and poaching. Tigers are also victims of human-wildlife conflict, particularly in range countries with a high human population density.
Population number[]
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the tiger is 3,726-5,578 individuals or 2,608-3,905 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are decreasing.
Ecological niche[]
Tigers play a crucial ecological role by regulating populations of large herbivores, such as deer and wild pigs, which would otherwise exert excessive pressure on plant communities. As apex predators, tigers help maintain the balance of the ecosystems they inhabit, making them important keystone species. Their presence influences the structure and health of the entire ecosystem, from prey species to vegetation.
Tigers are also hosts to a variety of parasites, including nematode, trematode, and cestode worms, which may affect their health and are part of the broader ecological web in their environments.
Trivia[]
- Did you know that a tiger's coat pattern is still visible when it is shaved? This is not due to skin pigmentation but to the stubble and hair follicles embedded in the skin.
- Tigers also have a prominent white spot on the back of their ears, surrounded by black. These spots are thought to play an important role in communication between individuals.
- Tigers can cross rivers up to 7 km (4.3 mi) wide and can swim up to 29 km (18 mi) in a day.
- When tense, tigers will moan; this sound is similar to a roar but more subdued and made when the mouth is partially or completely closed. Their moaning can be heard 400 m (1,300 ft) away!
- After killing their prey, tigers sometimes drag it to conceal it in vegetation, grasping with their mouths at the site of the killing bite. This, too, can require great physical strength. In one case, after the tiger had killed an adult gaur, it was observed to drag the massive carcass over a distance of 12 m (39 ft). When 13 men simultaneously tried to drag the same carcass later, they were unable to move it. An adult tiger can go for up to 2 weeks without eating and then gorge on 34 kg (75 lb) of flesh at one time.
