Tigers

     Tigers are amazing creatures. They are very beautiful and strong. The tiger is the largest member of the cat family. They have long, thick reddish coats with white bellies and white and black tails. Most scientists think that the stripes on the tigers are made for camouflage.  Tiger stripes are like human fingerprints; no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes. A tiger’s tail is 3-4 feet long. Tigers are amazing animals and I’m glad that we have a tiger as our mascot.  The tiger is a fierce animal and intimidating towards others. Tigers can weigh up to 600 pounds. They are territorial and generally solitary animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey demands. Three of the nine subspecies of modern tiger have gone extinct, and the remaining six are classified as endangered, some critically so. The word "tiger" is taken from the Greek word "Tigris”. In the past, tigers were found throughout Asia, from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea to Siberia and Indonesia. Compared to the lion, the tiger prefers denser vegetation, for which its camouflage coloring is ideally suited, and where a single predator is not at a disadvantage compared with the multiple felines in a pride. Among the big cats, only the tiger and jaguar are strong swimmers; tigers are often found bathing in ponds, lakes, and rivers. Tigers are amazing animals.