Eight Fun and True Facts on Tigers
1. The tiger is one large cat – The tiger happens to be the biggest member of the cat family, with the Bengal tiger being the largest of the eight subspecies of tigers. The tiger is also the largest land mammal whose diet is exclusively meat based that exists today.
2. The tiger has clean saliva – The tiger’s saliva happens to be antiseptic, allowing the tiger to easily disinfect its cuts and wounds.
3. The tiger loves meat – On average, the tiger eats 30 to 40 pounds of meat per day, but has been known to eat up to 60 pounds of meat in just 24 hours. The tiger primarily eats wild boar, deer and wild cattle with the male tiger traveling up to 20 miles per night in search of its next meal.
4. The tiger has distinct fur – The tiger is known for it’s beautiful orange and black stripes. These stripes serve to camouflage the tiger in long grass and weeds, keeping it hidden from its prey until the final pounce. These stripes are also similar to the human fingerprint – each tiger has a distinct pattern of stripes that allows conservationists to distinguish one tiger from another.
5. The tiger has strong senses – The tiger’s most powerful sense is its hearing capabilities. Additionally, the tiger’s night vision is very developed – it is six times greater than a human’s night vision, allowing the tiger to keep watch, even in complete darkness.
6. The tiger has a paralyzing roar – The tiger’s roar can be heard up to 2 miles away and has the ability to rattle and paralyze its prey due to the very low sound frequencies produced.
7. The tiger maintains a large territory: The tiger’s territory can be as large as 100 square miles. To map out its territory, the tiger will urinate on surrounding foliage as well defecate in visible areas. Additionally, the tiger will create deep scratch marks on trees. The combination of these tactics warns other tigers that they are approaching another tiger's territory and also communicates to potential mates.
8. The male tiger is quite the stud: The male tiger’s territory will usually overlap between one and seven females. Additionally, the male tiger is able to copulate as much as six times in just one hour!
Tiger Watch - Why Tigers Continue to be Poached
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Because of habitat loss and large-scale incidences of poaching, the number of Bengal tigers in the wild has fallen dramatically over the past century. Of the eight sub-species alive in 1900, three are now extinct, and over 90 percent have been lost. - Kids For Tigers - Saving Tigers - You can save the Tiger
Participate in the Save the Tiger campaign, collect signatures on a petition sheet to send to the Prime Minister of India... - The Save the Tiger Fund