Tigers are mammals of the Felidae family and one of four "big cats" in the Panthera genus.
They are predatory carnivores and the largest and most powerful of all living cats.
Most tigers live in forests or grasslands, for which their camouflage is ideally suited, and where it is easy to hunt prey that are faster or more agile.
Among the big cats, only the tiger and jaguar are strong swimmers; tigers are often found bathing in ponds, lakes, and rivers.
Tigers hunt alone and eat primarily medium to large sized herbivores such as sambar deer, wild pigs, gaur, and water buffalo.
However, they also take smaller prey on occasion.
Old and injured tigers have been known to take to easier prey such as humans or domestic cattle and are then termed as man-eaters or cattle-lifters which often leads to them being captured, shot or poisoned.
Humans are the tiger's only true predator, as tigers are often poached illegally for their fur.
Also, their bones and other body parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine for a range of purported uses including pain killers and aphrodisiacs.
Poaching for fur and destruction of habitat have greatly reduced tiger populations in the wild.
Carnivore A carnivore is an animal that eats a diet consisting mainly of meat, whether it comes from live animals or dead ones (scavenging). Some animals are ... >
read more
Canada Lynx The Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a close relative of the Eurasian Lynx. Some authorities regard both as conspecific. However, in some ... >
read more
Mountain Zebra Mountain Zebra consist of two species, namely the Cape Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra) and the Hartmann's Mountain Zebra (Equus hartmannae). Previously ... >
read more
Wild Cat The wild cat (Felis silvestris), sometimes "wildcat" or "wild-cat" especially when distinguishing from other wild species of felines, is a small ... >
read more
Leopard The leopard (Panthera pardus) is an Old World mammal of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four 'big cats' of the genus Panthera, along with ... >
read more
Whooping Crane The Whooping Craneis a very large crane. It is the tallest North American bird.
Adults are white; they have a red crown and a long, dark, pointed ... >
read more
Great albatross The great albatrosses are seabirds in the genus Diomedea in the albatross family. Great albatrosses are the largest of the albatrosses and are ... >
read more
Wood Bison The Wood Bison is a distinct northern subspecies of the North American Bison. Reduced by hunting from a total population of about 168,000 to less ... >
read more
Bowhead Whale The Bowhead Whale, also known as Greenland Right Whale or Arctic Whale, is a marine mammal of the order Cetacea. Bowhead Whales are the only baleen ... >
read more
Cottontop Tamarin The Cottontop Tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), also known as the Pinche Tamarin, is a small New World monkey weighing less than 1lb (0.5 kg). It is an ... >
read more