Along with lions, tigers are the largest members of the cat family. One of the most feared animals of the jungle, the tiger has no enemies except man. Tigers are native to the Asian continent.
Although many peoples have legends to explain the tiger’s stripes, the reason is really the animal’s adaptation to its environment. This adaptation occurred over millions of years of evolution. The tiger’s stripes are its camouflage, an adaptation in most animals which serves to protect them.
You may wonder why tigers, the largest members of the cat family along with lions, should need to be camouflaged. After all, they are the most feared animals of the jungle and have no enemies except man. It is simply that tigers, as supreme hunters, live and hunt in tall grass and tangled undergrowth. By blending in with these areas, they can sneak up on their prey, undetected.
Most scientists believe that many wild animals are color blind, or do not see vivid colors. Instead, they see only shades. The tiger’s vertical stripes would then look like bands of shadow and light in the tall grass. The stripes break up and hide the outlines of its body as it hunts, making it hardly noticeable.
The leopard’s spots serve the same function. This animal hunts in bush country, and its spots help it blend in with clumps of plants and with leaves of trees which it climbs.
The tiger’s stripes may aid in making it the perfect hunter it is. But its beautiful striped coat is also one of the main reasons that the tiger has become an endangered species. The tiger is now protected in most Asian countries, but the numbers of tigers left in the wild are startlingly low.
Only 2,000 tigers roam wild in India today as compared to 40,000 at the turn of the century!
See also:
- How Difficult Is It to Breed Tigers In Captivity and Do Zoos Still Capture Tigers From the Wild?
- Why Are White Tigers an Endangered Species and How Many White Tigers Are Left In the Wild?
- If a Group of Lions Is Called a Pride, What Is a Group of Tigers Called and Why?
- Do Lions and Tigers Ever Meet In the Wild?
- Do Tigers Attack People?
38 Comments
i love tigers so much but you should add more facts about them besides their habbitats and what they eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
I love it i absoulutely adore it i go on it every day and i just live in a wee street called gleneagles gardens noone around this street could do anything like that
i love tigers they r my fave.<3!!(:
fromm chelsea babie♥ xoxo
jayson loveyoubabiecakes<3
i like tigers they are awesome i would like to have one as a pet because they could defend me from my enemies !
you only have some facts about the tiger why dont you add more like the daily life of the tiger or how it obtains it’s food
I love tigers they are just like cats but they are bigger. I would luv to own a zoo so that i couldhave my very own pet tiger
Yea i agree with you lovel 13
You can’t have a tiger for a pet, silly.
Tigers r the best, they r cool and u got to add more info! I’ll be check in. Go tigerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yo man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i agree
I agree baby i lv u
i LoVe ThIs WeBsITe!! It HeLpEd Me AlOt!!
i <3 tigers too. but the name needs to be shorter, like bsoaf.com or something
This was exactly what I was looking for for my class today. I’m so glad I found this information about the tiger’s stripes and why they are able to have orange without being greatly noticed.
These comments are absurd! Learn not to type with !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and AlTeRnAtInG CAPS, it doesn’t look cool or smart or cute!
awww tigers are sooo cute !!
ur rite
tigers are cats… and even if u owned a zoo i dont think they would let u pet the tigers…
it dosent have other facts because this article is about tiger’s stripes, not about tigers in general.
i really like it alot
i love tigers and lions they are so cute when i went to he zoo i feed a baby tiger it was like feeding a baby but liking you
i love them alot they are cute
i love them alot
no it not good dum girl
I LOVE TIGERS!
the name of the web sire is too long tigers rook
tigers rock love um XD
A.. It Would Kill You when it plays with u
haha i hate tigere lmoa
I love tigers and evangelina
wow people are rude learn to be nice!!!! I LoVE TiGErS!
i hate how people think they are so cool by being rude it just makes me sick!!! yeah you know who you are miss these comments are absurd. you should be ashamed!!!!
wow you just so freakin stupid anyone else would know that it would kill you when it plays with you. learn to be nice you stupid person
Some people are so rude on here! It makes me sick! But I do love tigers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love tigers! And I think it would be cool to go see them in real life! And I think besides them being able to atack you them would make great pets!
somebody needs to check their message before commenting.
especially when it makes no sense
i love tigers and i think it will be cool to help them see ya later tigers i love you so much!
do tigers live in an enviorment of camoflage yes or no because i am doing a project on them