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• Some big cats, such as lions, live in groups. But adult tigers are generally solitary, with the exception of mother tigers with young cubs. Cubs leave their mother at about 18 to 24 months of age. • Tiger markings are known as "disruptive camouflage." Their stripes do not match the background, but break up the tiger's outline. This is especially effective at dusk, prime-hunting time for the tiger. • One way tigers mark their territory is to "gouge" a tree. This leaves a scent behind which is secreted through the paw. • There are several reasons why tigers are at risk, but the most serious threat to the tiger's extinction is the loss of prey. • Tigers can run fast, but only for a short period of time. The fastest recorded speed of a tiger is 35 miles (about 55 km) per hour. • Female tigers reach maturity when they at about 3 years old, while males mature at about 4 years. • Despite the tiger's speed and strength, it only succeeds in killing perhaps one in 20 of its intended victims.
• Tigers kill at least 50 people each year. • All tigers prefer the cover of forest, and each subspecies is adapted to its own habitat, whether the forest is in tropical Sumatra or frozen Siberia. • The beautiful and popular white tiger is actually a mutated strain of Bengal tiger. Rare but widely bred in captivity, all captive white tigers are descended from a male named Mohan, captured in northern India in 1951. • Tigers are very difficult to see in the wild, because they avoid human beings and live mostly in dense forest habitat. (Many scientists studying tigers get their information indirectly - such as by placing automatic cameras in the forest. Many in fact, have only ever seen a tiger in a zoo.) The best places in the world to see wild tigers in their natural habitat are Ranthambhore, Bandhavgarh and Kanha national parks in India and they have a thriving eco-tourism business as a result.
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Contrary
to popular belief, White tigers are neither a subspecies of tiger,
nor are they albinos, they are just white-colored Bengal tigers.
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With
the human population expanding into tiger territory, livestock sometimes
becomes a tiger meal, to the annoyance of impoverished farmers.
Though most tigers avoid people, ill or injured tigers, no longer
able to make bigger kills, have attacked humans.
