11 Interesting Facts about Tigers

Tigers are iconic animals beloved for their signature Stripes everyone has heard of tigers and many people have seen tigers at zoos or sanctuaries however there are a lot of interesting facts about tigers that aren’t well known learning about tigers is important to understand more about these impressive Felines and why conservation efforts are critical .

Facts about Tigers

Tigers are Excellent at Camouflaging

Tiger stripes allow them to camouflage and blend in with their environment to hide from their prey. This is known as disruptive coloration as the stripes break up the solid figure of the tiger this makes it harder for prey to spot the tiger while it’s lurking around a tiger stripes further provide camouflage by mimicking the appearance of sunlight on grass and trees.

It imitates the shadows and dappled light of the Sun in the environment to conceal the tiger even though this is all impressive you may be wondering why tigers are bright orange. since they typically live in jungles or Forest environments it seems as. If orange would be a dead giveaway in the midst of all that green and brown but scientists have an answer. While Tigers May stand out against their environment in our eyes the same may not be true for their prey much of the prey that tigers hunt Have diagrammatic Eyes this means that their eyes have two types of cone cells and can therefore see two primary colors usually blue and yellow .

This results in the perception of mostly blues and greens humans on the other hand Have trichromatic Eyes meaning that we can see three primary colors blue yellow and red humans it seems are among the few mammals that have trichromatic eyes dichromacy is viewed as the default for mammals humans some monkeys and some marsupials are the exceptions interestingly many colorblind humans have dichromatic eyes. So depending on the type of color blindness some colorblind people may see tigers similarly to how their prey sees them .

Tiger Stripes are as Unique as Fingerprints

Just like individual humans have unique fingerprints tigers have unique Stripes this means that no two tigers have the same stripes and every tiger is different. This helps researchers and conservationists to identify and track certain Tigers to learn more about the species and protect them it also AIDS in getting accurate population estimates while each tiger is unique some general Trends can be observed in Tiger populations depending on location for example tigers in More Southern regions tend to be darker in color with more stripes. Tigers in the northern regions tend to be the opposite overall the pattern color and number of Stripes vary from Tiger to Tiger.

Tigers are Good Swimmers

As almost every cat owner will know house cats often don’t like water most cats tend to strongly dislike getting wet and being submerged in water is out of the question .Tigers however do not feel the same as their smaller domestic counter Parts Tigers love swimming and they are great at it they have been observed playing and relaxing in streams and rivers. Since Tigers tend to live in very hot environments the water provides a nice relaxing way to cool down on hot days. Tigers are even evolutionarily Adept at swimming they have webbed toes that allow them to swim with ease .

Tigers have a Paralyzing Roar

Tigers can produce booming Roars that can induce a state of paralysis in their prey a tiger’s Roar is around 114 decibels which is around 25 times louder than a lawnmower. This incredible Roar is used to Ward away threats and intimidate prey however it isn’t just the volume that makes a tigers roar powerful .

Tigers produce very low frequencies when they Roar so low that the human ear cannot detect them it is these low frequencies that produce a paralyzing effect in the Tiger’s Target as a side note Roars aren’t the only sound that tigers can make however.Tigers have a versatile set of vocalizations at their disposal Tiger has and growl chuff his Bellow snarl and grunt .Tigers will produce these different noises for different purposes mostly for communication they can be social creatures and makes different sounds like chuffs to greet and communicate with other Tigers other sounds like snarls growls or hisses are used as warning sounds to scare or ward off other creatures .

Tigers Can’t Purr

Purring is a thing that all cats do right well not so much you may be surprised to hear that unlike our domesticated feline friends Tigers can’t purr interestingly .Tigers can’t purr because they can roar cats that can purr have free hyoid bones that they use to vibrate their larynx and create a purring sound tigers on the other hand do not have free hyoid bones a tiger’s hyoid bone is against thick strong cartilage cartilage is what allows the tiger to Roar but it is also what prohibits the tiger from purring with this reasoning in mind the same is true for other big cats. Other cats that can roar such as Jaguars and lions can’t purr on the other hand cats can’t Roar such as Bobcats and cougars can purr pretty interesting right .

Tigers have Existed Longer than Humans

While our ancient ancestors have existed for millions of years the first anatomically modern humans Homo sapiens did not emerge until around 200 000 Years Ago .By that point Tigers had already existed for almost 2 million years in fact tiger remains found in the Gansu Province in China date back to 2.15 to 2.55 million years ago .

These remains belong to the long Dan tiger an ancestor that closely resembles the modern day tiger however the modern day tiger is larger than its ancestors likely because of an increase in the size of its prey .These remains Place tigers in the pleistocene era which is the geological period defined as 2.58 million to 11 700 years ago this means that Tigers lived through the ice age and existed at the same time as now extinct creatures like the woolly mammoth and other large mammals including giant beavers.

It also suggests that Tigers may have been around when the genus home first appeared the predecessor to modern humans it is thought that the first species of the homogeneous the Homo habilis existed around 2 million years ago .Many other species in the homogeneous would rise and fall throughout this period eventually leading to the homo sapien species which we today evolved from through all of that the Homo habilis the Neanderthals and eventually the modern humans Tigers were there.

A Tiger’s Skin is also Striped

Tigers are well known for their iconic striped pelts but it isn’t just their fur that is striped underneath the coat a tiger’s skin is also striped in case you’re curious this isn’t the case for every striped animal .Zebras another example of iconic striped animals have black skin underneath their stripes even striped house cats do not have striped skin it is suggested that tigers have striped skin because their hair follicles are deeply embedded into their skin. So much so that the outer layer of the skin exhibits the color of the hair even if the hair has been shaved .

Tigers are Very Adaptable

Tigers can be found in environments that drastically vary in climate many tigers live in warm humid environments and can endure high temperatures however tigers are also known to live in much colder mountainous regions. Believe It or Not tigers can live in climates that are hotter than 100 degrees Fahrenheit but have also been known to live in climates that are colder than minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit .

They can also live in varying degrees of humidity some tigers live in very humid rainforests While others live in dry grasslands .Surprisingly however tigers are not as tolerant of heat as some other wild cats like leopards yet many Tigers still live in very hot regions. This is possible because tigers are great at staying out of the heat when they can as previously mentioned .Tigers love to swim to cool off tigers are also primarily nocturnal so they are most active at night when it is much cooler during the day they find shade and shelter to sleep in and get out of the sun overall it seems that tigers go where they have the best chance of hunting prey this may be the hot jungle or the cold mountains.

An Iger’s Hunting Success Rate is 10 Percent

Tigers have evolved over thousands of years to be precise effective Hunters unlike their close associate the lion tigers hunt alone rather than in groups. They tend to hunt at night and have incredible night vision primed for detecting even the smallest movements in the dark a tiger’s physical form is designed for hunting tigers can run extremely fast in short bursts up to 40 miles per hour for comparison the average human running speed is only 6 miles per hour .Tigers also have larger hind legs than front legs meaning they can be incredibly powerful jumpers .

They can jump 16 to 20 feet this is especially impressive considering how large tigers are more on that soon despite how Adept they are at hunting Tigers only have a success rate of 10 percent this means that for every 10 animals they go after they will likely only successfully kill one.However one is often all the tiger needs even one large deer can provide a tiger with as much nutrition and energy as it needs for a whole week .So even though their success rate may seem very low tigers are very good at keeping themselves fed and healthy .

Tigers are The Largest Cats in the World

Even though there is some tough competition from lions tigers take gold for the largest cat species tigers can grow to an astounding 12.5 feet in length and can weigh up to 650 pounds Lions on the other hand can reach 6.8 feet in length and weigh up to 500 pounds however this doesn’t mean that all tigers are bigger than all lions and vice versa tigers and lions vary in size and weight. However it seems that tigers have a greater capacity for size and weight than Lions do but as a species tigers are larger than lions and are the largest cat species in the world .

Tigers are Endangered

Tigers face many threats that have led their population numbers to dwindle to the point where they are now an endangered species within the last century tiger populations have decreased by as much as 97 percent almost entirely due to human activity. Human activity has led to a substantial decline in habitat space that has made it difficult for Tigers to find enough prey.

Tigers also face threats from hunters and traffickers as of now more tigers are living in captivity than in the wild. Today it is estimated that only around 4 500 tigers are left in the wild however many positive efforts are being made around the world to help conserve the species organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and the wildlife conservation Society aim to raise awareness and funds to help support Tigers additionally many efforts are being made by local communities to preserve tigers in the wild .

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Hopefully these efforts will be successful and tiger populations will begin to flourish once again to see what you can do to help with tiger preservation consider visiting or donating to an accredited Wildlife Society .Overall tigers are fascinating creatures that boast unique skills and adaptations that help them navigate the wild we hope these facts not only showcase how incredible these creatures are but also the importance of conservation efforts.