Tigers are fascinating creatures. They’ve been living side by side with us, the humans, for centuries. However, as odd as it might sound, we know almost nothing about them. Sure, the scientists and the animal fans dedicate their lives to studying them, but the regular people, like you and me, only know the basics: they’re big, scary and have stripes. That’s pretty much what 99% of folks will tell you. So, that’s why today we’ll try to break the spell, so to speak, and check out the craziest facts about tigers. We only see them in the zoo with our kids, or in a documentary/cartoon on TV, but the big cats can surprise you – just give them a chance to do that! Hey, there’s always time to learn about something new!
– You heard about panthers, right? Well, believe it or not, but “Panthera tigris” means tiger in Latin. So, how come we know them as tigers, while the other species is called panthers?!
– This is a well-documented fact: tigers live up to 25-26 years, both in the wild and in the zoo. Considering the pressure they’re under all the time, I’d say that’s pretty impressive :).
– Awesome fact about tigers: the length of an adult tiger is 10-11ft (that’s including the tail). As for the body mass, some well-fed tigers weight around 650lbs.
– There are 6 tiger breeds on planet Earth, including Siberian, Bengal (the national animal of India and Bangladesh), Malayan, Sumatran, Indochinese and South China. There used to be three more – Caspian, Javan and Bali – but they’re extinct now. We killed them. That’s definitely one of craziest facts about tigers.
– Tigers live in grasslands, forests and swamps, as far away from us as possible. They have a special bond with water and love to swim a lot. By the way, they say that the stripes on every single tiger are unique (aha, just like our fingerprints and the snowflakes).
The Craziest Facts About Tigers – What They Eat, Why We Hunt Them And More
– An adult tiger can survive for 2 full weeks without eating. They are known to eat horses, camels, fish, antelopes and other mammals.
– Interesting fact about tigers: the cubs are born with their eyes closed and only open them after 14 days. Sometimes it takes a tiger cub more than 2 years to become independent. What, you thought the human babies are the most vulnerable ones?
– Tigers are hunted for their fur, meat, for medicine and for the heck of it. That’s just human nature – kill for fun.
– These amazing creatures can make leaps of up to 32-33 feet!
– Here’s how tigers hunt: they stalk the prey, ambush it, take it down, and only then bite it. By the way, tigers get threatened by our behavior and that’s why they attack. So, it would be a good idea not to get close to a hungry, angry tiger :).
– The craziest fact about tigers: the weretiger is a terrible, scary creature in the Asian folklore (it’s kinda like the distant relative of the werewolf from the European culture).
– Did you know that there is this Save China’s Tigers organization that is breeding tigers and setting them free in the wild? They’re pretty amazing!