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Tigers are found in many countries of Asia, such as
India, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. They are the
largest of all the big cats. A full grown tiger is about
3 meters long. Its beautiful colouring makes it one of
the most magnificent animals. Unlike most cats, tigers are not afraid of water. In
fact, they are frequently seen cooling themselves in
shallow water on hot days. During the rainy season when
the rivers are flooded, tigers have been seen to spend
most of their time in rivers catching fish and turtles
for food. They also take to the water in search of
stranded prey. Being very strong swimmers, tigers can
cross a swift river easily.
At other times, tigers hunt in the forest. Their power
and agility enable them to prey on almost any animal
they choose. Deer, antelope, wild cattle and even young
elephants make up a large part of their diet. They also
eat small animals such as hares and monkeys. Even crabs
and swarming insects like the locusts are edible to
tigers.
Unlike the lions, tigers hunt alone and not as a team. A
tiger does not hunt all the time. It makes a kill only
once or twice in a week and this is normally done at
night. During the day, it spends most of its time
resting in long grass or thick vegetation near a pond or
river.
A tiger resting quietly in the dense cover of the jungle
is not easily spotted. The stripes on its golden coat
blend naturally with the bright and shadowy patches of
the leaves or grass blades and that keep it well-hidden
or camouflaged. This ability to hide itself through body
colour and pattern matching with the surroundings
enables a tiger to creep close to its prey without
alerting it.
Occasionally, some tigers may turn to kill domestic
animals or even man. This happens usually when the tiger
is wounded or too old to hunt. A study showed that
tigers tend to disappear from an area when their wild
prey disappears, even though there may be abundant
domestic livestock around. |
