Tigers

Good morning, everyone, it’s a cold morning here it should warm up, but we will see. Last week we looked at lions so this week it is tigers, why is it I wonder that I link lions and tigers together.

The tiger is the largest member of the cat family and like lions they are thought of as awesome big cats. Sadly, there are only a few thousand left in the wild, around 4,500, this is due to them being hunted for their amazing fur.

Tigers can be found in the forests of Asia as well as tall grasslands, swamps and marshes. Think places like the hot rainforests of Malaya, the dry thorn woods of India and the cold snowy spruce forests of northern China. You will rarely find them in open spaces just not their thing.

They like to mark their territory with urine or claw marks as well as rubbing their tail against trees or rocks.

Also did you know that they can run really fast for a short distance, and they can leap nearly 9 meters or 30 feet but once it starts to feel tired it gives up and goes have a rest.

We all know what they look like with their orange or brownish yellow coat and strips and their white chest and belly. Also, most should know their strips allow them to blend into the long grass they like to walk through.

Tigers like to hunt at night and will follow animal tracks along streams and with its good hearing and eyesight as well as their sense of smell will often lay in wait for the right moment to pounce. It will dig its claws in and drag their victim to the ground.

Once they have killed their prey, they will make sure to eat everything except the stomach and bones. Often, they will not chew their food but bite of a chunk and swallow, after a meal they like a long drink and a nap.

They prefer large prey such as deer, antelope, wild oxen and wild pigs. They will even attack elephant calves.

They love the water and are good swimmers also they can climb trees if they feel they really need to.

More next week.