International Tiger Day is July 29th. It seems like only yesterday we were all quarantined and watching Tiger King on Netflix. In honor of these fierce creatures here are 5 facts about tigers.
- Most tigers are nocturnal
Tigers prefer avoiding human contact, so they do most of their hunting at night. They also patrol their territory. Their night vision is up to six times greater than ours.
2. Tiger cubs are born blind
They follow their mother’s scent around, but because of how difficult survival is as a blind animal, they often die. The tiger cubs’ eyes will open sometime between six to twelve days. They will not have their full vision for a couple of weeks.
3. Tigers crossbreed in the wild
Tigers can also mates with other big cats, for example, if a male Tiger mates with a female Lion, the hybrid-born animal is known as Tigon. They are the largest cat species and can grow bigger than Liger which is a mixed 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. You can find Tigons in at least nine countries that include the USA, Czech Republic, China, Iran, Russia, India, UAE, and Argentina. Crossbreeding of tigers is banned in Taiwan.
4. Tigers saliva can heal wounds
They have antiseptic saliva which helps heal wounds. They lick the area to speed up the healing process.
5. White tigers aren’t a different breed
White tigers are not a separate subspecies nor are they albino. They are leucistic, the result of a recessive gene from each parent that affects pigmentation. White tigers typically have blue eyes.
Tigers are a key species; they are integral to the health of their ecosystems. As apex predators, they keep prey species populations under control. This helps maintain the integrity of the streams, forests, and cropland by protecting vegetation. Protecting these provides people from all over the world with clean air, water, food, and financial benefits.
