International Tiger Day • July 29
Tigers are famous for their powerful bodies and beautiful stripes. But there is much more to these big cats than what we usually see.
• Every tiger has its own stripe pattern. No two tigers have exactly the same markings. Researchers can even use these patterns to identify individual tigers.
• A tiger’s orange coat can actually help it hide. Deer and some other prey do not see colors the way humans do, so orange does not stand out to them as strongly as it does to us.
• A tiger’s tongue is covered with tiny backward-facing structures. These make the tongue rough enough to clean its fur and scrape meat from bones.
• Tigers have noticeable white spots on the backs of their ears. These spots are sometimes called ocelli.
• Tigers are excellent swimmers. They can easily cross rivers and lakes several kilometers wide. They also go into water to cool down.
• Tigers can make a sound called a chuff. It is a soft, breathy sound used as one way of communicating.
• Tiger cubs are born unable to see. Their eyes are closed at birth and begin opening after several days.
• A tiger can eat around 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of meat after a kill. However, a more typical meal can be much smaller.
• Most tiger hunts fail. Only a small number of hunting attempts end successfully. Even a powerful predator has to work hard for dinner.
• White tigers are not a separate kind of tiger, and they are not albinos. Their unusual color comes from a rare genetic trait. They still have dark stripes and other pigmentation.
• Some extremely rare tigers can look almost black. Their dark stripes are unusually wide and close together, creating a condition known as pseudomelanism.
• Wild tigers naturally live only in Asia. Africa has lions, leopards, and cheetahs, but no native wild tigers.
• Tigers once lived across a much larger part of Asia. They have disappeared from most of their historic range, and the Caspian, Javan, and Bali tiger populations are now extinct.
Those beautiful stripes may catch your eye, but don’t let them fool you. Behind them is a tiger full of surprises.
Turns out, stripes can hide more than a tiger.
⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ