Tigers are unique animals with orange skin and black stripes. Mostly found in Africa and Asia, tigers are very good hunters and runners.
APPEARANCE
Tigers have reddish orange coats with prominent black stripes, white bellies and white spots around the ears, making them unique animals. Like a human fingerprint, no two tigers have the exact same markings. Because of this, researchers can use stripe patterns to identify different individuals when studying tigers in the wild. The fur of most tigers can range from light yellow on the belly to deep yellow or orange on the back. Dark stripes cover the head, body, and legs. There are also black rings on the tail. Some tigers are white with black stripes or they may also be completely white.
DIET
Tigers eat a variety of prey ranging in size from termites to elephant calves. However, an integral component of their diet is large-bodied prey weighing about 20 kg or more, such as moose, deer, pigs, cows, horses, goats, etc. Tigers eat between 10 to 25 kg flesh per day and mostly thrive on raw meat. An essential part of their eating habit is that they have to drink water after every meal to digest the raw meat that they eat. You must be thinking that tigers eat nothing but meat. But that is not true! Tigers also chew on wild berries. They aren’t that picky at choosing food, it is just that they prefer flesh over fruits. They do not eat plants or grasses. Being officially colorblind to the red colour, tigers are unable to spot any orange prey.
HABITAT
Tigers most likely live in rainforests, grasslands, savannas, and even mangrove swamps. As a large predator, the tiger plays a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. A habitat is important to tigers because they need an area to live and survive. Tigers mostly live in watery areas. Did you know that in the year 1900, India had the largest extent of global tiger habitat with 300,508 square km , followed by Russia with 195,819 square km. Tigers are also found abundantly in Africa, Malaysia etc.
TIGERS in DANGER
Did you know that there were only 3,900 tigers left in the whole world in 2024? This is happening because of human activities like animal trading, making products out of tigers, poaching, etc. Tigers are also being pushed out of their habitats due to various reasons. In some countries people use them as pets by keeping them in enclosed cages. Tigers are also being killed mercilessly because people think that the tigers are going to kill and eat them. Also, the kind of raw meat that tigers need is not easily available so, many tigers are dying of starvation as well.
In conclusion, tigers are unique animals who need to be protected. People all over the world should come together to restore their natural habitats so that they can live for many years to come.
Writer : Vedaant Sharma
Grade : 5 (Year 2025)
Place : Sydney, Australia
