Deer cannot see red, so a tiger's orange coat looks green to them. A tiger has a reddish-orange coat with dark stripes. No two tigers have the same stripes. The stripes help a tiger blend into its surroundings. Amur tigers have paler orange coats and fewer stripes than other tigers.
Tigers eat deer and wild pigs. Tigers hunt when their prey are most active, and tigers hunt mostly at night. A tiger's eyes reflect light back, which helps it make a better picture in dim light. Tigers find their prey by using sight and sound. Tigers are ambush hunters that rely on stealth, and a tiger moves slowly and quietly when it stalks.
The San Diego Zoo and the Smithsonian's National Zoo count six living subspecies of tigers. The Amur tiger is the largest kind of tiger, and the Sumatran tiger is the smallest kind. Sumatran tigers weigh up to 140 kilograms. Amur tigers live in snowy forests in eastern Russia and northeastern China. Tigers live in Asia, in many kinds of places, such as forests, mangrove swamps and snowy mountains.
Tigers once lived across much of Asia. The Bali, Javan and Caspian tigers have become extinct. As of November 2026, tigers are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Tiger cubs are born small and helpless. A tiger mother is pregnant for about three months, and she usually has 2 or 3 cubs at a time. The cubs stay with her for about two years. Wild tigers usually live 10 to 15 years.
Words to know
- extinct: gone forever
- cubs: baby tigers
- subspecies: a kind
- Endangered: at risk
