CREATURE FEATURES

Power and grace

The tiger is the largest of all cats. It is built for power rather than speed, with a deep chest to accommodate large lungs. The legs are relatively short, but highly muscular, and the body is long and narrow, with a sinuous grace that allows the tiger to move almost noiselessly through the forest despite its great size. The head is large and the compact, broad dimensions of the snout give maximum power to the jaws.

Super senses

Tigers have keen eyesight and their night vision is six times as good as a human's. They also possess superb hearing and an acute sense of smell. Scent is used to track prey and as a means of communication - tigers recognise each other bysmell and use scent to mark their territory.

Whiskers at least as wide as its body provide a valuable extra sense when moving about in dense vegetation

Heavily muscled shoulders and front limbs supply the power to pull down prey

Powerful hind legs enable the tiger to leap up to 10m (33ft) in a single bound

The long tail is usually curled up to prevent dragging on the ground. When the tiger is tense it will switch at the end, and when meeting other animals it is often held almost upright as a sign of caution

Ferocious jaws

The tiger's massive jaws normally hold 30 teeth. Long canine teeth are used for rapidly stabbing and killing prey.

White behind the ears

The white spots behind the Bengal tiger's ears help other tigers to identify it in the gloom of the jungle.

Killer claws

The immense paws can knock prey down with a single blow. The claws are hooked and lethally sharp, and the tiger keeps them so by retracting them into the paws when not in use.

FACTS AND FIGURES

STATUS: Endangered
SOCIAL UNIT: Individual
LENGTH: 1.4-2.8m (41/2-91/4ft)
TAIL LENGTH: 60cm-1m (2-31/2ft)
SHOULDER HEIGHT: 90cm-1m (35-39in)
WEIGHT Up to 220kg (480lb)
SEXUAL Female: 3-4 years;
MATURITY Male: 4-5 years
BREEDING SEASON: November to April
GESTATION PERIOD: 95-112 days
NUMBER OF YOUNG: 1-6 (usually 3 or 4)
BREEDING INTERVAL: 2-21/2 years
DIET: Deer, buffalo, wild pigs, gaur and monkeys
LIFESPAN: 25 years or more in captivity, rarely more than 13 in the wild
JUVENILE MORTALITY: High; 60% die in the first three months