Tigers
Scientific Name: Panthera tigris
Habitat
Tigers live in two places, the first being in zoos around the world. The second is in rainforests in Asia. They live with other animals like monkeys, deer, insects, exotic birds, worms, reptiles, amphibians, jaguars, panthers, domestic buffalo, wild boars, occasionally bears, sloths, wild horses, antelopes, camels, and other tigers. They prefer to live near water, where prey is easier to catch, but they also like to live by dense forestry, so that they can be sneaky and successfully catch their prey.
Diet
Tigers eat a very big list of things, since they have such a variety in the rainforests that they live in. They feed on the medium-sized animals to smaller-sized animals such as rodents, small birds, deer, domestic buffalo, wild boars, antelopes, monkeys, wild horses, and sometimes camels. They catch their prey with quick and swift biting and clawing. Tigers are also awesome pouncers, so that also helps when catching prey. Also, sometimes two or more tigers will meet and decide to catch huge prey together, like a big monkey or a large deer. Then they will work as a team to bring whatever it is they're hunting down to the dining hall, where the tigers will share a great meal together.
Description
Tigers are a little like large household cats, except for a few things. The first is tigers are HUGE with a capitol H! They are the biggest big cat (or any cat) in the world! Also, they have big paws, very sharp teeth and claws, and have different coloring. Tigers are usually either bright orange or white. Then they all have black stripes (kind of like a zebra's) all over their bodies that continue down their long tail. Their ears are small and rounded, but their hearing is remarkable. They also have extremely good eyesight, even during both day and night. Tigers also usually have a wide cat-like face with big, fanning tufts of white white hair sticking out the sides. See, just like your common household cat, but also nothing like your common household cat.
Types
There are actually no different species of tiger, but their are different sub species of the tiger. Here's a long list: the Bengal or Indian tiger, the Siberian or Amur tiger, the Indo-Chinese tiger, the South China tiger, the Sumatran tiger, and the Malayan tiger. All have a little bit different look, but are all tigers.
Fun Facts
- Tigers have the brightest eyes of any animal in the world. At night in a torchlight, all you would see is two breathtaking amber disks of mystery.
- Tigers are the second loudest roarers in the world. As you may know, the first is the lion, and because tigers can roar, unfortunately they cannot purr whatsoever.
- Tigers often have the Chinese mark of Wang or King in stripes on their foreheads.
- A tiger's paw prints are called "pug marks". Isn't that weird?
- Tiger cubs are born blind and eventually get vision as they get older.
- All tigers have bright, yellow irises except for one. The Siberian tiger has bright blue irises to complement its icy white fur.