Whenever asked which animal I would prefer to become if reincarnated, I have two: the polar bear and the tiger. What would be your choice(s)?

Meanwhile, here is a portion of an article by Abhishek Gurung for India’s Ranthambore National Park’s website.

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Tigers are often looked as being one of the most beautiful yet ferocious animals and perhaps this is a sole driving factor that makes them even more interesting creatures. But sadly, they have come to a verge of being categorized as endangered, thanks to the human sloppiness and prudence. As a wildlife lover with keen interest on large cats, I enjoy visiting wildlife sanctuaries but the question remains, how well do I or we know about this exotic animal? We’re often clouded by many misconceptions with other large cat species, but hopefully, you’ll learn something about them through this blog where I’ve listed some facts about tigers.

[Here are the first ten.}

1. Tigers are the largest among all wild cats.

You probably knew this that Royal Bengal Tigers are the largest amongst other wild cats but did you also know that the male Tigers weigh up to 300 kilograms. Jezz! That’s like weighing a group of six average human. All they have to do is sit on top of you licking their paws, you’d be dead instantly.

2. A punch from a Tiger can kill you.

Leaving aside Tigers enormous body size, just look at their front-hands/legs, if you have a pet Tiger and a brutal enemy, you might as well send them for a fist fight. Kidding, you cannot have a pet tiger, it illegal! It is said that one swipe from a Tiger’s front hand is enough to kill a person or an animal, or at least break one’s bones.

3. Tigers are nocturnal animals.

It is not necessarily true that all Tigers are nocturnal but yes, they do prefer engaging in most of their hunting activities at night. The reason behind this is that Tigers prefer avoiding human conflict during daylight and also patrol around their territory at night.

4. Tiger cubs are born blind and only half of the cubs survive.

The saddest part is that Tiger cubs are born blind and only a few survive. Literally, the newborn cubs can’t see anything, they only follow the scent of their mother. Since they are born blind and can’t keep up, most of them die of hunger or cold. Some even get eaten by male Tigers to make the Tigress available for mating. That’s just insane!

5. Tigers love to swim and play in the water.

Unlike the domestic cats, its larger version enjoy spending time in the water and they love to swim for hours. Since cubs, female Tigers encourage or help learn the art of hunting, they even have the ability to kill in the water. And as adults, it is said that they can swim for several kilometres and even have reported one to swim for 30 km in just a day.

6. Tigers live for about 25 years.

The life expectancy of Tigers is between 20-25 years whether they are kept in captivity or in the wild. However, most die before the age of 20, like for instance, the death of a nineteen-year-old Machli in Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan, India. The oldest living Tiger so far was 25-year-old Flavel, a circus-rescued, sheltered in a zoo in Tampa, Florida.

7. A group of Tigers are called an ambush or streak.

The Tigers are forced into unnatural situations where they are to share or stay-put under certain areas in a man-made environment, that’s when they are called as ambush or streak, even a Tigress with their cubs is called an ambush.

8. Tigers can mate with other big cats.

Tigers can also mates with other big cats, for example, if a male Tiger mates with female Lion, the hybrid born animal is known as Tigon. They are the largest cat species and can grow bigger thanLiger which is a mix breed of male Lion and female Tiger. The height of a Liger is about 4.5 feet while on all four legs and about 6 feet tall when standing.

Note: You can find Tigons in at least nine countries that include USA, Czech Republic, China, Iran, Russia, India, UAE and Argentina. Cross breeding of tigers are banned in Taiwan.

9. Tigers have antiseptic saliva.

Perhaps, a good side of Tigers is that they have antiseptic saliva, so whenever you get a bruise and want to disinfect them, visit the doctor Tiger, just kidding! Usually what they do is, they tend to lick the area in order to prevent any infection.

10. Tigers can sprint at over 60 kilometre/hour.

Not the fastest runner in the animal kingdom but the fact that Tigers have very strong legs makes them sprint more or less than 60 kilometres per hour, but it is only possible for short distances.

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Here is a direct link to the complete article, including a number of stunning full-color phonographs..

Note: In order to show content or calmness, these species tend to close their eyes (even domestic cats) showing their comfort level and a safe feeling.

With regard to the 20 facts about Tigers you just read, did it give you something to talk with your friends later? I hope it did. These creatures are simply beautiful and super cuddly as cubs but I’d prefer to wave at them from my safari jeeps. Despite all the tiger fact talks, why do we need to save these giant cats you ask? Well, look back and think again. Let us read how can we save the Tigers from poaching and hunting.

You can obtain information about these and other issues by clicking here.