TOP 10 FACTS ABOUT TIGERS

Discover more information about tigers, the issues and threats they are facing, and what you can do to help.

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Portrait of a young Royal Bengal tigress from Bandhavgarh National Park© Suyash Keshari / WWF
1. TIGERS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE A WHILE
Tigers were around about 2 million years ago.
Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) Krishna in grass habitat, Ranthambhore, India.© naturepl.com / Andy Rouse / WWF
2. HOWEVER, THANKS TO HUMANS, TIGERS ARE NOW ENDANGERED
Over the last 150 years, the tigers’ range has shrunk by nearly 95%. There are estimated to be around 3,900 tigers left in the wild.
Close up of a tiger (Panthera tigris) laying on it’s back.© Richard Barrett / WWF-UK
3. CAPTIVE VS WILD
There are more tigers in captivity in the US than are left in the wild.
A tiger (Panthera tigris) resting in a watering hole.© Richard Barrett / WWF-UK
4. INDIA IS THE COUNTRY WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF WILD TIGERS
Around 3,000 of the world’s wild tigers are in India
A tiger in Bardia National Park, Nepal© Emmanuel Rondeau / WWF-US
5. SILENT HUNTERS
Tigers have soft toe pads which help them walk silently through their habitat. A tiger will typically travel 6-12 miles during a night’s hunting. During the day, a tiger’s stripes can act as camouflage, allowing it to blend in with its surroundings for stalking and ambushing its prey.
Tiger chasing a deer in Ranthambhore national park, India© Souvik Kundu / WWF
6. ONE MAIN MEAL A WEEK
Tigers primarily hunt deer, but as opportunistic predators, they can also eat wild boars, birds, fish, rodents, amphibians, reptiles, and even insects. A large deer can provide a tiger with one week’s food, but only one out of every ten hunts is successful.
Portrait of a tiger© Richard Barrett / WWF-UK
7. THEY’RE PROTECTIVE OVER THEIR KILL
Tigers don’t usually eat their prey at the kill site – but instead drag their prey into cover to feed. If a tiger leaves – say to get a drink – it will cover it’s kill by raking leaves, dirt, grass and even rocks over the carcass.
Bengal tiger© Sanskar Khedekar
8. CHATTY CATS
The vocal repertoire of tigers is vast – they grunt, growl, roar, moan, snarl, chuff, hiss and gasp. It’s thought that each vocalisation is used to communicate different things.
Yawning Tiger© Tommy Mitchell
9. RUMOUR HAS IT…
It’s been said that tiger urine smells like buttered popcorn
Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) walking at night© naturepl.com / Yashpal Rathore / WWF
10. WWF ARE WORKING TO PROTECT THE TIGER
WWF’s aim is to help double the number of wild tigers from 3,200 in 2010, to at least 6,000 by 2022 (the next Chinese year of the tiger), through conservation in 14 priority landscapes. Priority tiger landscapes can potentially support around 10,000 tigers – 2.5 times more than the current estimated population.