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Tigers are fierce wild cats. These majestic cats are known for their strength and speed. The way they move and prey is a fascinating sight for children and adults alike. We bring you some interesting tiger facts for kids in this post. If your child has been watching tigers on television or seeking information on this wild animal, you would want to quench their curiosity. So, plunge into this post for some captivating information on the tiger and share it with your child.
87 Interesting Facts About Tigers For Children
Let’s begin with the common facts about this ferocious species of cats.
- The scientific name of a tiger is panthera tigris.
- Tigers have been on earth for a long time. Scientists in China have discovered fossils of tigers that date back to 2 million years.
- Tigers are the world’s largest wild cats as they measure up to 6ft in length.
- Adult tigers can weigh up to 363kg. Male tigers are heavier than female tigers.
- Tigers can easily jump over 5m high.
Image: IStock
- They eat only meat, and that is why they are called carnivores. They mainly hunt and eat the flesh of animals like buffalo, deer and wild pigs.
- A tiger’s jaw usually has 30 teeth that are designed primarily for tearing flesh. Their strong front paws that can bring down a prey in no time. They keep their claws sharp by pulling them inside while walking.
- The upper canines of tigers measure up to 3in in length.
- Tigers hunt alone and generally go about searching for food only at night. Their vision is six times better than humans’ at night.
- Unlike other animals, tigers first stalk their prey — smell and follow them ― until they are close enough to pounce upon.
- Less than 10% of tigers can hunt successfully.
Did you know?
Image: IStock
- Female tigers give birth to 2-4 cubs at a time. They can do so every two years.
- Tiger cubs leave their mothers at two years of age to find a domain of their own.
- Tigers are known to live up to 10 years in the wild. In zoos, they live longer.
- Survival of cubs is challenging, and about half of the cubs do not live for more than two years. They fall prey to wild animals like dogs, snakes, or leopards.
- Tigers that breed with lions give birth to hybrids called ligers and tigons.
- Tigers do not live in groups, except for the tigress with her cubs. They usually roam across vast areas, which are known as their “home ranges.” The size of their home range depends on the availability of food.
- Tigers do not patrol. They mark their domain with their feces and urine that has a distinctive smell to let other tigers know that the space has been taken.
- Tigers are great swimmers and often cool themselves off in lakes and pools and can swim up to 6km.
Image: IStock
- When tigers roar, they can be heard from as far as 3km.
- A group of tigers is called a streak or an ambush.
- Tigers use their tails to communicate with each other. If a tiger is relaxed, the tail hangs loose. When they are aggressive, they move their tail rapidly from one side to another.
- Tigers are extremely fast. Although they are large and heavy, they can run at a speed of up to 65km/hr.
- No two tigers have the same stripes. Scientists use camera traps to click photos of each side of a tiger to identify which subspecies it is.
- Now, only five subspecies of tigers are found in the world. They are Bengal tigers, Siberian tigers, Indochinese tiger, Malayan tiger, and South China tiger.
- Three subspecies of tigers – Bali, Javan, Caspian – have become extinct.
- Less than a hundred years ago, about 100,000 tigers were found all over Asia. According to the WWF estimates, there are only 3,400 today due to hunting and poaching by humans.
- Of the 3,400 surviving, only 1,000 are breeding tigers which makes it clear that they are in danger of extinction.
- One primary reason for the dwindling population of tigers is habitat loss because of cutting down of trees and forests.
- They are also illegally hunted for their fur and body parts used for preparing traditional medicines.
Quick fact- Contrary to the belief, tigers do not attack humans as long as they can satisfy their hunger. Some of the man-eating tigers are either old or have no teeth to hunt.
- According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, 12,000 tigers are kept as private pets in the US, which is much more than the number of free tigers in the wild.
- In the black market, an adult dead male tiger can be sold for $10,000 or more.
Next, let’s know the facts about the various variants of tigers.
Bengal Tiger Facts
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- The scientific name of a Bengal tiger is panthera tigris tigris.
- Bengal tigers are found in India and are popularly called Indian tigers.
- The Bengal tiger is the national animal of India and Bangladesh. Bangladeshi notes also have pictures of the Bengal tiger.
- The average life cycle of a Bengal tiger in the wild is 8 to 10 years.
- They measure up to 5 to 6ft tall and weigh about 108 to 227kg.
- They are the most common tigers and form about half of all the tigers roaming in the wild.
- Of any living cat, the Bengal tiger has the largest canine teeth.
- They can eat up to 40kg of meat in a single sitting.
- Bengal tigers are found in places like Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
- The mangroves of the Sundarbans between India and Bangladesh are the only forest where these tigers are found. But due to climate change and a rise in the sea level, even this forest is under threat.
- Bengal tigers dwell in marshes, tall grasslands, and tropical rainforests.
- In recent years, the Bengal tiger is also under risk due to hunting and poaching.
White Tiger Facts
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- The white tiger is a rare type of Bengal tiger with a unique gene. This unique gene gives them the white color.
- A white tiger is not a sub-species of the tiger because they are all Bengal tigers with a specific gene.
- White tigers are born when two Bengal tigers carrying that specific gene breed together.
- The scientific name of a white tiger is the same as that of a Bengal tiger.
- Although white, it is not an albino. Albino is the condition where hair and skin pigmentation do not happen and humans or animals become white in color.
- The white tiger has a light cream color with gray and faint brown stripes. Its nose is pink. Its stripes make great camouflage especially in long grass or wooded forests.
- Their eyes are usually blue but they can be amber or green too.
- A white tiger lives between 10 and 20 years.
- White tigers were found in the forests of India.
- Sadly, no white tigers are left in the wild. All the white tigers in the world are now in captivity.
- The first recorded sight of a white tiger was in between 48-1000AD.
- The first sighting in India was mentioned in the famous Akbarnama, which was a chronicle maintained by the Mughal emperor Akbar.
Siberian Tiger Facts
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- Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, are the world’s largest cats.
- The scientific name of the Siberian tiger is Panthera tigris altaica.
- They primarily live in the birch forests of eastern Russia. However, some are also found in China and North Korea.
- The northern climate is very harsh but is also an advantage for them as this region has the lowest density of the human population.
- They mostly hunt musk deer, moose, wild boars, and gorals.
- Siberian tigers can mate at any time of the year. The female tigers leave their smell to communicate with the male tigers.
- The gestation period (the time between conceiving a cub and its birth) of Siberian tigers is 3 to 3.5 months.
- After mating, the males leave the females. So the responsibility of the offspring or the family is on the tigress.
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the Siberian tiger as a critically endangered animal.
Sumatran Tiger Facts
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- Sumatran tigers are the smallest surviving tiger subspecies on earth.
- They are distinguished by black thick strips, and their coat is orange in color.
- They weigh about 74 to 140kg and measure about 86 to 99in in length.
- Their scientific name is Panthera tigris sumatrae.
- The IUCN has marked this subspecies as critically endangered.
- They are less than 400 in number, living in the forest patches of Sumatra.
Despite their endangered status, tigers are still being illegally hunted. In a report by Traffic, in the period between 2000 to 2018, 2361 tigers were seized by authorities around the world. However, seizure does not mean tigers were always found alive. In many cases, the authorities only found parts of the tiger, such as its skin. Tiger seizures peaked at 288 cases in 2016 and dropped to 101 in 2018.
Physical activity undertaken by children
Source: The 2018 United States Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth; National Physical Activity Plan/NSCH
TriviaTasmanian Tiger Facts
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- The Tasmanian tiger is commonly known as thylacine.
- Its scientific name is Thylacinus cynocephalus.
- The wolf-sized carnivorous marsupial was once found in Australia.
- The species became extinct 3,000 years ago on the mainland. But some of them existed until later on the southern island of Tasmania.
- Marsupials are a type of mammals whose offspring are not born completely developed. So they are typically carried and suckled in a pouch on the belly of the mother.
- Marsupials are found mainly in New Guinea and Australia. The most common examples of marsupials are Kangaroos and Koalas.
- The Tasmanian tigers looked and behaved a lot like wolves.
- Humans hunted them down to supposedly protect their livestock. But this drove them to extinction in the early 20th century.
- The last known Tasmanian tiger died in 1936 in Hobart Zoo, Australia.
- The species was declared extinct in 1982.
- Scientists wanted to study the thylacine genes to understand why these tigers were so similar to wolves. And it was found that the wolves and these tigers shared a common ancestor dating back to some 160 million years.
- The most amazing fact is that wolves and Tasmanian tigers shared very similar lifestyles.
- Scientists are trying to work on feasible DNA samples hoping to resurrect an extinct animal one day
- This belief led three Australians, called the Booth Richardson Tiger Team or BRTT, to take up research to prove that these tigers are still alive. They came up with a video as evidence of the existence of the tiger.
- Although the authenticity of the video has not been officially established, you can watch it on National Geographic.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are tigers afraid of?
Tigers may avoid confrontation with significantly larger and heavier animals, such as a full-grown rhinoceros or elephant. In some regions, tigers might avoid human settlements, especially if the humans have been involved in hunting or trapping tigers or other wildlife.
2. What is unique about a tiger?
A unique attribute is the presence of a white patch at the tip of each ear. These patches resemble eyes and create an illusion that the tiger is watching. It may help the tiger avoid potential predators.
3. What is distinctive about the cultural and symbolic significance of tigers?
For centuries, tigers have been revered across cultures. In India, tigers symbolize magnificence, power, and fierceness. They hold both a stately designation as the national animal of the country and a religious one as the vehicle of Goddess Durga, a prominent Hindu deity. In Chinese culture, a tiger is a symbol of masculine energy and is considered the king of animals (3).
4. How do tigers play a role in tourism and economic activities in certain regions?
Tigers play a crucial role in tourism and economic activities and in supporting other species and ecosystems. Ecotourism is the fastest-growing tourism sector in developing countries, generating significant revenue through safaris and other ventures. When tigers are poached, it has an immediate detrimental effect on the poor and vulnerable communities dependent on the forest ecosystems. Therefore, it lies in the interests of the local inhabitants to protect tigers as they create alternative livelihoods linked to tourism (4).
5. How does a tiger adapt for survival?
Tigers’ striking stripes aren’t just visually captivating but serve as a natural camouflage in the jungle. It’s not just about looking good but being invisible to unsuspecting prey. They survive with their exceptional sense of hearing too. Tigers are attuned to infrasound, those low-frequency waves below our audible range. It allows them to communicate across long distances, even through dense forests and challenging terrains like mountains. So, the combination of their stripes and hearing positions help them adapt for survival (5).
Children are often fascinated by tigers. These animals can be identified by their stripes and reach about 6 feet in length. Due to progressive loss of jungles, the Bali, Javan, and Caspian tigers have become extinct. The white tigers are no longer seen in the wild, and the other species are dwindling in population. These interesting tiger facts for kids may help them understand the importance of saving wildlife and respecting other living beings on earth. It may also make them interested in learning about other wild animals or other famous species of the cat family, including lion facts for kids. Learning these facts about different animals will make them more aware of the natural world around them and, eventually, they will grow to have a deep appreciation for all life.
Infographic: What You Can Do To Save The Endangered Tigers?
This magnificent animal may go extinct if poaching and habitat loss continue at the pace happening currently. Therefore, we must stay aware of the many steps we can take to protect tigers. This infographic sheds light on the simple yet impactful ways to do that and protect the majestic and beautiful tigers for the generations to come. Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Do you have anything to say about tigers? Let us know in the comments section below.
Key Pointers
- The scientific name of a tiger is Panthera tigris, and they have been present on Earth for millions of years.
- The tiger is the largest wild cat, with male tigers growing up to 6 feet in length and weighing up to 363 kilograms.
- Tigers are carnivores and primarily hunt and consume wild pigs, buffalo, and deer.
- Tigers are skilled swimmers and use urine and feces to mark their territories.
- Tigers are critically endangered, with only 3,400 remaining due to illegal hunting and habitat loss.
Illustration: Fun And Interesting Tiger Facts For Kids
Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team
Discover fascinating facts about tigers in this fun educational video for children! Explore tiger cubs, their size, habitat, and our vital role in preserving their thriving environment.
References
- Top 10 facts about tigers;
https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/tigers - Sumatran tiger facts;
https://conservewildcats.org/resources/sumatran-tiger-facts/ - Frequently Asked Questions – Tiger;
https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/priority_species/bengal_tiger/ - Protecting Tigers;
https://eia-international.org/wildlife/saving-tigers/protecting-tigers/ - The art of camouflage in the tiger’s world.
https://www.lionstigersandbears.org/the-art-of-camouflage-in-the-tigers-world/
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