Tiger

Tiger facts at a glance

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Behavior

Unlike lions, tigers are solitary and territorial, coming together only to mate. They are powerful swimmers and, unusually for cats, enjoy water, often cooling off in rivers and lakes. Tigers communicate through scent marks, scratch marks, and vocalizations that can carry for kilometers.

Diet and hunting

Tigers are ambush predators that hunt deer, wild boar, and other large mammals. They stalk silently and use their immense strength to overpower prey, often dragging carcasses far heavier than themselves to cover. A tiger may eat up to 35 kg (77 lb) of meat in one night.

Habitat and range

Tigers once roamed across much of Asia. Today they survive in scattered populations from the snowy forests of the Russian Far East to the mangroves of the Sundarbans and the tropical forests of India and Southeast Asia.

Conservation

Wild tiger numbers crashed in the 20th century due to poaching and habitat loss, with as few as 3,200 remaining around 2010. Intensive conservation has since helped numbers begin to recover in some countries, but tigers remain Endangered.

Subspecies and size

The tiger is the largest living cat. Surviving subspecies include the Bengal, Siberian (Amur), Sumatran, Indochinese, Malayan, and South China tiger. The Siberian tiger is the biggest, with large males exceeding 300 kg (660 lb), while island-dwelling Sumatran tigers are the smallest.

Hunting and territory

Unlike lions, tigers are solitary and ambush prey alone, relying on their stripes for camouflage in tall grass and forest. Each tiger defends a large territory marked with scent and scratch marks, and a single adult may range over dozens of square kilometers in search of deer, wild boar, and other large prey.

Did you know? Tiger facts

• The tiger is the largest living cat, with big Siberian males exceeding 300 kg.
• No two tigers share the same stripe pattern — it is as individual as a fingerprint.
• A tiger's roar can carry up to 3 km and is used to advertise territory.
• Tigers are strong swimmers and often cool off in water, unlike most cats.
• Wild tiger numbers fell to around 3,200 by 2010 before recovering in some countries.
• Tigers hunt mostly by ambush, killing with a bite to the throat or nape.

Diet & feeding

Tigers prey chiefly on large ungulates such as deer (sambar, chital) and wild boar, occasionally taking larger prey like gaur; an adult can eat tens of kilograms in a sitting and may kill once a week.

Adaptations

• Striped camouflage breaks up the body outline in tall grass and dappled forest light. (Nowak 1999)
• Powerful forelimbs and retractable claws pull down prey far larger than the tiger itself.
• Padded paws and flexible spine allow a near-silent stalk before an explosive charge.
• Night vision roughly six times better than a human's supports nocturnal hunting.

Behaviour & ecology

• Tigers are solitary and territorial, with males holding ranges that overlap several females.
• They scent-mark and scrape boundaries to space themselves out and avoid conflict.
• Cubs stay with their mother for about two years, learning to hunt before dispersing.
• A tiger may drag a large kill to cover and return to feed over several days.

Communication

• Roars and moans advertise presence and reproductive state over long distances.
• Scent-marking with sprayed urine and scrapes signals territory ownership.
• Facial expressions and the 'prusten' chuff are used in close, friendly contact.

Habitat & range

Tigers occupy a range of habitats from Siberian boreal forest to tropical mangrove and rainforest across Asia, needing dense cover, water, and abundant large prey; their range is now fragmented into a fraction of its historical extent.

Ecological role

As the apex predator across Asian forests, the tiger regulates populations of deer and wild pigs and serves as an umbrella species whose protection conserves entire ecosystems.

Conservation status of the Tiger

Sources & references

This guide is compiled and reviewed against established zoological and conservation references. Key sources for the Tiger:

• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

  Conservation status (Endangered) reflects the IUCN Red List category for Panthera tigris, most recently assessed in 2022.

• Goodrich, J. et al. (2022). Panthera tigris. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

  Conservation status (Endangered) and population trend.

• Mazák, V. (1981). Panthera tigris. Mammalian Species, American Society of Mammalogists.

  Morphology and subspecies.

• Nowak, R. M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World (6th ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press.

  Measurements and biology.

• Global Animal Guide editorial standards

  How we research, source, review, and update every guide for accuracy.