Tigers

Information about Tigers:

Tigers are large, predatory mammals of the Felidae family. Of the four ‘big cats’ (tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard) they are the largest. There are six extant subspecies of tiger, mostly living in eastern and southern Asia, and three species that are extinct. Tigers hunt large mammals such as sambar, wild boar, deer, water buffalo, other cats like leopards, sloth bears and even some reptiles like boas and crocodiles. Occasionally they will kill domestic animals, which often leads to conflict with humans.

Generally, tigers hunt at night, but there have been instances where they’ve been seen during the day stalking prey. Like other big cats, tigers will clamp down on the throat in order to bring down their prey via strangulation. Tigers have been hunted for centuries, and this coupled with habitat loss has greatly diminished their numbers and sent some subspecies to extinction. All tiger species are endangered, but the most at risk is the critically endangered South China Tiger, with no species in the wild and only 59 in captivity (which are all descended from 12 animals, so lack of genetic diversity may doom this subspecies.)

Extensive and wide-reaching conservation programs have helped stabilize the tiger’s numbers in some areas, but poaching and the low birth rate has kept many populations scant and on the edge of disappearing altogether.