Tigers have always been fascinating to
people, often embodied in culture and religion. The
earliest evidence comes from 5,000 years ago, sculpted
on seals of the Indus Valley civilization of Harappa
and Mohenjo-Daro, now in Pakistan. Frequent references
to tigers appear in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
epic poems of the Aryan peoples who entered India from
the northwest 4,000 years ago also mention the tiger.
The tiger appears as a symbol of beauty, power, and
ferocity. Hinduismís female deity, Durga, is depicted
riding on a tiger. Her image is widely displayed and
can often be seen painted on the sides of trucks.
EYES: Typical orange tigers have round pupils and yellow irises. Due to a retinal adaptation that reflects light back to the retina, the night vision of tigers is six times better than that of humans. Don't be caught out jogging late when the tigers are out. : )
CLAWS: Like domestic cats, tiger claws are retractable. Tigers often mark their territory by scratching on trees.
STRIPES: No one knows exactly why tigers are striped, but scientists think that the stripes act as camouflage, and help tigers hide from their prey. Tiger stripes are very much like human fingerprints. no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes.
TAIL: A tiger's tail is 3 to 4 feet long, about half as long as its body. Tigers use their tails for balance when they run through fast turns. They also use their tails to communicate with other tigers.
Territorial Size: The size of a tiger's territory depends on how much prey there is to eat. For example, in some parts of India where there is plenty of prey, a male tiger only needs eight to sixty square miles . In Sumatra, where there is less prey, a male tiger may need as much as 150 square miles. And in Siberia, where there is little prey to be found, male tiger territories are as large as 400 square miles
Description: All wild tigers live in Asia. Tigers live in thick forests or areas with tall grasses to hide in and plenty of prey to eat. They don't like open grasslands. Most kinds of tigers live where it is warm but Siberian tigers live where it gets very cold.