10 Lesser Known Facts About Tigers

Big cats are crowned the rulers of the jungle. Be it anywhere in the world, they are one of the most talked about, admired, loved, and feared creature. Among all other big cats, tigers are widely known for their wild and fierce nature. There are many different varieties of tigers such as the Bengal tiger, Siberian tiger, Malayan tiger, and others. It is the national animal of not one or two, but six countries – India, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Siberia. Here are ten more astounding facts about tigers you probably never knew.

1. Tigers have striped skin not just striped fur. The stripes are like fingerprints and no two tigers have the same pattern.

Tiger skin
Image Source: Muffyns / Imgur

Tigers have very distinct and graceful stripes on their fur. The stripes not only exist on the fur but also exists on the skin beneath the fur. These stripes are a result of skin pigmentation. So, if you shave off a tiger’s fur, you will see a fur-less but striped tiger!

Also just like we humans are born with unique fingerprints, tigers too have unique stripe patterns. No two tigers have stripes with the same pattern. This makes it possible for them to identify each other.(1,2)

2. A tiger’s tongue is so coarse, it can lick flesh down to the bone.

Image Source: 1,2

A tiger’s tongue has small, sharp, thorn-like protuberances called “papillae”. Papillae are small, hard, hooked bumps that cover the entire tongue of the tiger. These papillae make the tongue so rugged and rough, if a tiger licks you a couple of times, it may scrape off your skin and lead to bleeding. It also helps tigers to tear the flesh and feathers off their prey’s body. Also, the more a tiger rolls up its tongue, the sharper is the lick.(1,2,3)

3. A tiger’s roar can paralyze its prey.

A tiger’s roar is thunderous and has the capacity to paralyze an animal that hears it. Big cats have thick vocal folds just below their vocal cords. Their distinctive roar is the result of vibrations of these vocal folds. Tigers produce two types of roars, one that humans can hear and the other that humans cannot hear. The one that we cannot hear is low-pitched and of a low frequency. Such sound is known to travel long distances through buildings, thick forests, mountains and even bones. It can produce chills, and thus has the strength to rattle and paralyze other creatures. Thus, a full-blown, loud roar can paralyze animals and sometimes even humans.(1,2,3)

4. Even though tigers and lions look to be the same size, Tigers weigh up to 300-lbs/136-kgs more than lions due to their muscle density.

Tiger and lion
Image Source: wallpaper-gallery.net

Though the two big cats, tigers and lions, appear to be of the same size and strength, tigers are more fierce than lions. Tigers weigh around 800 pounds, whereas lions weigh around 550 pounds. The reason why tigers are stronger than lions is that they have a denser muscular and leaner body compared to lions who have a fatter body. There have been many incidents where tigers have proven their power by beating lions in a fight. One incident of a tiger getting into a lion enclosure resulted in the tiger severing the lion’s jugular vein in one swipe.

Tigers and lions have different fighting styles. Tigers are known for their speedy and precise attacks and have an intention of killing, whereas lions are more interested in brawling and bullying their prey.(1,2)

5. A tiger’s night vision is six times stronger than humans. Also, their eyes are the brightest of any animal in the world.

Tiger vision
Image Source: www.thecuttingedgenews.com

Tigers have a very strong night vision. They are nocturnal hunters which give them an advantage over their prey whose vision gets reduced in darkness. Their eyes have more rods (enable vision in low light) and fewer cones (enable color vision and function better in bright light). Compared to humans, tigers can see six times better at night, but the daylight vision of tigers is poorer than humans.

Tiger eyes are the brightest among all the animals. Their eyes have a special membrane that reflects light with tremendous intensity through the retina. Unlike many other animals, tiger’s eyes are located on the front of the head which enables a three-dimensional vision and gives an edge while hunting.(1,2)

6. Siberian tigers are known to hunt bears. Hairs of bears were found in several tiger scat samples.

Tiger and bear
Image Source: www.youtube.com

Siberian tigers are the largest animals in the “big cats” family. They weigh around 670 pounds and are around 3 feet tall. But bears are larger than tigers. They weigh around 750 pounds and are 4 feet tall. Notwithstanding the size and weight, Siberian tigers are known to prey on brown and black bears. Both animals are equally forceful while striking, but tigers are more adept at fighting. Also, both animals have similar fighting techniques. Both of them go up on their hind legs and whip with their paws. In fact, it is a herculean task to get a grip on bears because their lardy bodies shield them from major injuries. But tigers, being agile and clever, always have an upper hand in a fight.(source)

7. Tigers are solitary creatures. They like to spend most of their time alone.

Tiger's solitary nature
Image credit: Pixabay

Tigers are not social creatures and live alone in their defined territory. Being solitary is one of the reasons why tigers lost the crown of “King of the Jungle” to lions. You will usually find a tiger living alone and guarding his territory. It’s only the first eight to ten weeks after a tigress gives birth to cubs that they stay together under the mother’s protection. Once they are able to be on their own, they leave their mother and find their own way. The male tigers travel in search of new territories and mating partners, whereas females usually stick to their territories. Thus, tigers live a clandestine life and avoid socializing.(1,2)

8. There exists “tigons”. They are the cross between a female lion and male tigers.

Tigon breed
Image credit: PROBentley Smith via flickr

Though tigers and lions are categorized as big cats, they belong to two different species. However, sometimes they happen to cross-breed which results in “tigons” or “ligers”. A cross-breed of a male tiger and female lion is called “tigon”, and that of a male lion and female tiger is called “liger”. This is not a natural phenomenon because tigers and lions do not mate with each other in the wild.

Tigons are smaller in size and weigh around 400 pounds. They are very aggressive in nature and show quite conflicting characteristics since lions are social and tigers are not. They are prone to many diseases and have a shorter life span.(1,2)

9. Between 1800 and 2009, tigers killed an estimated 373,000 humans.

Tigers killed humans
Image credit: Pixabay

No other big cat kills humans as often as the tiger does. However, studies also show that tigers do not tend to enter a human habitat in search of their prey. It is only when humans enter the jungle that the man-eaters attack them. Aging tigers, who gradually lose their strength and vigor to hunt for a prey, are the most the most likely tigers to become man-eaters. Apart from this, another reason for tiger attack is the growing intrusion of people in their habitat. Out of this almost unbelievable number – 373,000 – most of the attacks have been South and Southeast Asia.(1,2)

10. The markings on a tiger’s forehead closely resemble the Chinese character for “king”, giving tigers a cultural status as a regal animal.

Image Source: 1,2

Though each tiger has unique stripes, the marking on their forehead is similar in almost all tigers. This marking resembles the Chinese character “王” that represents “the King”. Thus, the Chinese regard tigers as royal, fearless, and strong animals. The tiger is a very special animal in the Chinese culture and they are have been worshiped in the Chinese culture for over 5,000 years. Young, energetic people are compared to tigers. A student who has studied quite hard for achieving a goal is fondly called “tiger kid”.(1,2,3)