The Tiger is the largest member of the cat family. Admired and feared one roar echoing through the forest will stop anyone in their tracks filling them with wonder and caution. The Tiger, once widely spread throughout the forest regions of Asia, has always been prominent in art, religion and myth. The Tiger is a symbol of beauty, grace and power.

Several sub species divided by regions

There are five subspecies of tiger living today. The Amur, or Siberian, Tiger. The Bengal, or Indian, Tiger. The Sumatran Tiger, only found on the Island of Sumatra. Indochinese and the South China Tiger. Scientists estimate that fewer than 10,000 of these beautiful animals still exist compared to over 100,000 only a century ago. Three other Tiger subspecies are already extinct and the remaining five have rapidly declining numbers due to over hunting and habitat loss. These subspecies are closely related and the differences are subtle. In the wild Tigers live 10-15 years, slightly longer in captivity.

Tigers are solitary animals and mark their territories to ward off other Tigers of the same sex and to attract mates. The males usually have larger areas which will border on the territories of several females. The ideal Tiger territory is a large area with dense forest, plenty of water and abundant in large mammals to eat, such as Swine and Deer. This combination allows the Tiger to thrive in diverse habitats such as hot, tropical rainforests, cool pine forests, Tall grass jungles and coastal mangroves.

Tigers need a territory of 15-30 square miles to provide enough prey to support them. The size of this area often depends on the amount of prey available. Tigers use stealth to stalk their prey. The usual method of killing is to ambush the animal from behind biting into the neck killing the animal. The meal is then dragged to a safe area to eat where a tiger can eat 40lbs. of meat in one sitting. These animals will sometimes share their catch with other Tigers and may go several days without eating again.

The fight to head off the extinction of these fine animals is a crucial one. Habitat destruction is pushing the Tiger to a point of no return.