15 Roaring Facts about Tigers

Male Panthera tigris (tigre) by Appaloosa – Wikipedia Commons

15 Roaring Facts about Tigers

It’s hard to balance beauty and ferocity but tigers make it work. The majestic big cat is one of the most beautiful yet menacing animals in the world. I mean on seeing one, you kind of want to pet it but at the same time run from it. Interesting creatures they are.

In the wild, tigers are only found in Asia. These creatures are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List all thanks to human activities. They are the largest living cat species and can be recognized by their unique dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside.

Below are some interesting facts about Panthera tigris (the tiger).

1. Largest Wild Cats in The World

Bengal Tiger by Hollingsworth, John, and Karen – Wikimedia Commons

The largest member of the cat family is the tiger with lions and Jaguars coming in as second and third respectively. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), tigers can grow to be between 6 and 10 feet (2 to 3 meters) long and up to 660 pounds (300 kilograms) in weight. To put this in perspective that’s the total weight of about 6 average humans!

According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, lions can reach similar body lengths as tigers but are smaller, weighing up to 550 pounds (250 kg). The largest tigers are Amur tigers, often known as Siberian tigers, whereas Sumatran tigers are the smallest, reaching a maximum weight and height of 8 feet and 310 pounds, respectively.

2. Tigers Are Mostly Nocturnal

A common misconception is that Tigers are nocturnal creatures. They are NOT! However, it is true that they prefer engaging in most of their hunting activities during the night.

Although many people view tigers as diurnal creatures, they are more active during the night and rely on the camouflage provided by their stripes to stalk and ambush their prey. These magnificent creatures often sleep or groom themselves during the day, rising only when necessary. Their affinity to being active during the day is said to be their way of avoiding human contact.

3. Sleep for About 65% Of Their Life Cycles

Sleeping tiger by Gerhard from Pixabay

Tigers normally sleep for 65.8% of their entire life cycle. This percentage translates to roughly 15.8 hours each day spent relaxing or sleeping. Tigers spend their spare time doing other things like eating, prowling their territories, and hunting.

Due to their more active lifestyles, other animals tend to have far shorter sleep cycles than humans, therefore this amount of sleep may seem excessive. However, tigers need this prolonged period of rest to stay strong and healthy.

4. Tiger cubs are born blind

A tiger with 2 cubs by Gerhard from Pixabay

Yes, you read that right! A tiger cub is born blind and cannot see until its eyes open at around 6 to 12 days from the date of birth. Despite, their eyes opening, the tiger cub has limited and partial vision which improves gradually over a few weeks until they attain the full vision.

In this period, for as long as the first 2 months of their lives, tiger cubs are completely vulnerable and reliant on their mother, the tigress. When taking care of young cubs, the tigress is exceedingly cautious. For instance, if the environment is disturbed or threatened, she will promptly shift the cubs to a new location.

5. Tigers Are Territorial and Solitary Creatures

Due to their fierce territoriality, tigers frequently claim a sizable territory as their own. Tigers lead primarily solitary lives. They rarely live or hunt in groups. Wandering over its territory at night to look for other tigers or potential predators is one of the tiger’s most intriguing habits.

Male tigers typically have domains that are up to 15 times larger than those of females, which can range in size from 75 to 385 square miles for females. Tigers scan the edges of their home range while on the prowl to look for any potential rivals or threats.

6. Love to Play in Water and Swim

A tiger in water by Andreas Breitling from Pixabay

If you have a domestic cat or have interacted with one, you know that they do not like water all too much. Their big wild cousins, tigers, on the other hand, love water bodies. They use water bodies as hunting grounds or to just have a swim and cool off.

Since they are raising cubs, mother tigers support or teach their young how to hunt, and they can even kill in the water. And it is said that they can swim for several kilometers as adults; one has even been seen swimming for 30 kilometers in a single day.

7. Live Up To 15 Years in The Wild

A cub gains complete independence from the tigress at about 2 years of age. At ages 3-4 and 4-5, female and male tigers have sexually matured.

In the wild, half of all cubs born do not survive. However, the surviving tigers in the wild live up to 15 years with some reaching 20 in very rare cases. Their life expectancy in captivity is between 20 to 26 years. This is due to the fact that they are no longer concerned with food seeking or exposure to severe weather.

The oldest known male tiger was named Guddu, a Bengal tiger that died at age 26 in Kanpur Zoo. Before him, Flavio and Ramu held the record having reached age 24. The oldest known female tiger was known as The Machali tigress who died at age 20.

8. A Tiger’s Roar Can Be Heard from As Far As 3 Kilometers

Tiger roaring by Gerhard from Pixabay

Tigers have a wide range of vocalizations, including grunts, growls, roars, moans, snarls, chuffs, hisses, and gasps. It is believed that each vocalization conveys a different message.

These messages include scaring threats, marking territory, or even calling out for a mate during mating season. A Tigers roar is one of the most frightening sounds you will hear. At its loudest, a roaring tiger can be heard from as far as 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) away.

9. There Are 5 Tiger Subspecies Currently

Bengal Tiger spotting at Pench Forest Reserve in central India near Nagpur by Alok Chand – Wikipedia

Originally, there were 8 tiger subspecies in the world. However, like most animals, Tigers have been significantly affected by Industrialization and other human activities.

These impacts include the eradication of some species as well as a significant reduction in the tiger population over the years. Today, the Bengal tiger, Sumatran tiger, South China tiger, Indochinese tiger, and Siberian tiger are the five-surviving subspecies of tigers. The Java, Bali, and Caspian tigers are all extinct.

10. Can Mate with Other Big Cats

Photo of female and male ligers by Hkandy – Wikipedia

Tigers are capable of mating with other big cats bringing to life a Panthera Hybrid. A Panthera hybrid is a crossbreed between individuals of any of the five species of the genus Panthera: the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard.

For instance, the hybrid animal known as a Tigon is produced when a male Tiger mates with a female Lion. They are the biggest species of cat and have the potential to grow larger than the Liger, a cross between a male Lion and a female Tiger.

There are at least nine nations where you can locate tigons, including the United States, the Czech Republic, China, Iran, Russia, India, UAE, and Argentina. Taiwan forbids the crossbreeding of tigers.

11. The Stripes Are Unique for Every Tiger

The image of tiger’s facial marking (Sultan or T72) by Dibyendu Ash – Wikimedia Commons

Do you know how no one has fingerprints similar to yours in the world? It’s the same for tigers and the stripe patterns on their bodies.

No two tigers share a similar stripe pattern in the entire world. Another fact is that these stripe patterns are not only found on their fur but on their skin as well. So, if you ever come across a bald tiger, confirm this if you can get close enough.

12. They Can Imitate the Sounds Made by Other Animals

Other than being beautiful and powerful, it turns out tigers are talented too. Apparently, they can mimic the calls of other animals. This skill is particularly helpful when they are hunting.

Animals have an added edge when they hunt by mimicry. According to legend, Tigers’ similar to sambhar-sounding “pook” call lures defenseless animals into their ambush traps.

13. More Than Half of The World’s Tiger Population Lives in India

In the past, tigers roamed areas as diverse as eastern Turkey, Transcaucasia, the Sea of Japan coast, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, and Bali. They now only make up less than 6% of their historical distribution.

This is due to their extirpation from much of Southeast and East Asia, as well as Southwest and Central Asia. They now mostly occur in the Russian Far East, Sumatra, the Indochinese Peninsula, and the Indian subcontinent.

Thanks to government efforts in India, the tiger population in the country has increased significantly. India is currently home to over 50% of the world’s tiger population. India, Bangladesh, South Korea, and Malaysia all have tigers as their national animals.

14. Can Run to Speeds of Up To 65 km/hr

Tigers are by far not the fastest runners n the kingdom. However, do not make any mistakes, they are not slow either.

They have very strong and powerful hind legs that help it to make large leaps. This helps the tiger run to attain maximum speed faster. Tigers can run at speeds reaching 40.4 miles per hour (65 km/hr.). However, this speed is only maintained for a short period of time

15. Antiseptic Saliva

Perhaps one of the wildest things I found out about these majestic creatures is that they have antiseptic saliva. An antiseptic prevents the growth of disease-causing microorganisms, especially on a wound.

So, the next time you have a persistent wound/bruise, find the nearest tiger and one or two licks and you should be good. Just kidding! The antiseptic saliva is actually helpful to tigers as they can lick their wounds (literally!) until they heal.