10 most asked tiger questions—answered by a wildlife expert

Meet the experts

This episode features WWF conservation experts Dechen Dorji and Nilanga Jayasinghe, who discuss the importance of protecting tiger habitats and advancing practical, people-centered approaches to human-tiger coexistence.

• Dechen Dorji, Vice President for Asia, Wildlife Conservation
• Nilanga Jayasinhe, Director, Asia Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation

Learn more

• Learn more about tigers
• How tigers and their habitats are combating climate change
• Why protecting wild tigers benefits entire ecosystems
• How WWF is cracking down on illegal tiger trade

Transcript 

Callie: Hi, everyone! I'm Callie from World Wildlife Fund, and today, we're tackling your top questions about tigers. Welcome back to Wildlife Café. Grab a coffee or tea, and let's learn some things about these big, beautiful cats.

1. Where do tigers live? Tigers are found across 13 countries in South, Southeast, and Eastern Asia, as well as the Russian Far East.  This is only around 5% of their original historical range, which once spanned from Turkey all the way to the eastern coast of Russia and included the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali, too. Tigers have large home ranges of up to almost 25,000 acres and are very territorial. They need wide swaths of habitat for their survival to move, find food, and breed.
2. Do tigers roar?   Yeah, and their roar is so powerful that it can be heard from as far as two miles away.  But that's not all.  They also grunt, growl, moan, snarl, chuff, and hiss to communicate different things.  For example, a roar is often a sign of dominance, while a moan can indicate submission.
3. How big are tigers?  Tigers are the largest cat species in the world. The Amur tiger, also known as the Siberian tiger, found in far east Russia and northeast China, are the biggest and heaviest of all tigers, with males weighing up to 660 pounds.  On the other hand, the Sunda tiger, which only exists on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, is the smallest, with males weighing up to only around half that of Amur tigers.
4. What do tigers eat?  Tigers are ridiculously good hunters. In fact, they're the largest carnivorous terrestrial mammals on Earth. They prey mostly on hoofed mammals, called ungulates, like various deer species, buffalo, wild cattle, and wild boar.  But tigers aren't picky. As opportunistic predators, their diets can also include animals like monkeys, sloth bears, leopards, and even crocodiles, which says a lot about their confidence.  Tigers living in close proximity to humans may also feed on livestock, such as cattles or goats. This can cause serious problems for people, exacerbating something called human-tiger conflict, which we'll talk about more later.
5. How do tigers hunt?  Tigers are apex predators, meaning they're top of the food chain. Because of this, they play an important role in regulating the populations of prey and even other small predators. This role is critical in keeping ecosystems balanced by preventing overgrazing and enhancing biodiversity.  Tigers hunt primarily at night using their exceptional night vision and hearing to identify prey. They also prefer hunting in dense vegetation as their striped coats help them blend into their surroundings, while their soft toe pads help them move silently before ambushing their prey. Interestingly, tigers don't usually eat their prey on site. Instead, they prefer to consume their kill somewhere more hidden or away from other animals that might steal it.
6. Can tigers swim, and do they like water?  Unlike house cats who are known for their disdain for water, tigers actually love it. They're often found near water sources like rivers and streams, where they like to hang out, cool down, or wait to ambush prey.  Thanks to their large webbed paws and muscular bodies, tigers are surprisingly great swimmers.
7. Can tigers climb trees?  They can. In addition to being good swimmers, tigers are also at home in the trees. What can't they do?  That said, as the largest big cats in the world, they aren't as good at climbing as other species like the leopard. But they will still climb trees with the help of their retractable claws and powerful legs to eat, sleep, and use as a hiding spot when hunting.
8. Are tigers endangered, and how many are left?  Yes, tigers are endangered. Only around 5,500 remain in the wild, when at the beginning of the twentieth century, there were perhaps one hundred thousand tigers. However, thanks to concerted conservation efforts, including a decades-long push to double tigers in the wild known as TX2, tiger populations have increased since their all-time low of 3,200 back in 2010.  In some of their range countries like India, Nepal, China, and Bhutan, their numbers are increasing, doubling or even tripling in some cases.  Sadly, this success isn't consistent across their ranges. Many tiger populations in Southeast Asia are still struggling, in decline, or even gone completely, like in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
9. Can tigers be domesticated?  Short answer, not anytime soon.  Domestication and taming are not the same thing. Domestication is a long-term selective breeding process of wild animals bred over generations for genetic traits that benefit both them and humans. Think of livestock.  Taming, by contrast, is just behavioral. An individual animal learns to tolerate people. So, being born or raised in captivity doesn't make an animal domesticated because the animals keep their natural instincts.  They may be tame, but they're still genetically wild. This means captive large carnivores like tigers can be unpredictable and dangerous. Their complex needs are also really difficult to meet in captivity, and as a result, tigers and other captive wildlife can suffer from health and welfare issues.  Besides the fact that taming tigers isn't safe or humane, captive tiger facilities, particularly tiger farms in East and Southeast Asia, can fuel the illegal wildlife trade and threaten wild tiger populations.
10. Okay, rapid fire time. Six titillating tiger facts.

• Tigers have insane night vision. Despite being born blind and not opening their eyes until up to two weeks after birth, tigers can see six times better at night than humans can. This is because they have reflecting retinas to help them see in the dark.
• Tigers are apex predators, but it's estimated only one out of every 10 hunts is successful. Thankfully, a large deer can provide a tiger with one week's worth of food.  But it just goes to show: even the fiercest predators fail sometimes.
• No tiger wears the same stripes. That's to say: each tiger stripe pattern is unique, like a human fingerprint.
• There are as many as 5,000 captive tigers in the US, which is almost equal to the amount of tigers left in the wild, 5,500.
• Despite what some may say, white tigers are actually not their own species of tiger. Instead, they are just normal tigers with a rare genetic color variation called leucism. Actually, most white tigers are bred in captivity, often through inbreeding.  In the US, all white tigers originate from a single male.  Having a white coat would actually be a hindrance in the wild, as it messes with a tiger's camouflage and reduces their chances of survival.
• Protecting tiger habitats protects not just tigers but other animals and people too.  Tigers share ranges with iconic and threatened wildlife like Asian elephants, orangutans, and rhino. So protecting tigers also protects these amazing animals as well.  What's more, the forests, mangroves, and grasslands that tigers inhabit provide us with a host of resources we rely on, from food and clean water to medicine to supporting livelihoods.  Lastly, tiger habitats are critical to helping us fight climate change. That's because the ecosystems they live in are effective carbon storers. For example, in Asia, protected forests in tiger landscapes sequester carbon more efficiently than any other land management initiative.

So, why are tigers in trouble?  Like we learned earlier, tigers are endangered, and their biggest immediate threat is poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. Nearly every part of a tiger is in demand, from bones for traditional medicine to skins, teeth, and claws sold as ornaments or talismans. Even live cubs are trafficked for the pet trade, fueling continued poaching.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are also major threats. Deforestation, infrastructure development, and growing human populations are shrinking and dividing tiger habitats.  Because tigers need large territories, this leaves them isolated with fewer prey and mating opportunities. In search of space or food, they may enter human areas, leading to conflict that puts both people and tigers at risk.

So, what is WWF doing?  First, we work to protect, connect, and expand tiger habitats. With about 95% of tigers' historical range lost, protecting the remaining habitat is essential. But, just as critical is making sure this habitat is large and connected, so that tigers can move, hunt, and reproduce without conflict with people. To do this, we map tiger movements using GPS collars, camera traps, ranger patrols, and community monitoring to identify critical corridors.

WWF also supports efforts to expand tiger ranges. That can happen naturally as tigers return to parts of their historic habitat or through carefully planned reintroductions in places where tigers once lived.  For example, tigers have been reintroduced to Kazakhstan, where they disappeared in the mid-twentieth century, by translocating individuals to rebuild a wild population.

Finally, WWF works to mobilize large-scale financing. While this might not sound super exciting, the reality is conservation requires long-term investment to sustain and scale progress.  In 2024, governments, world leaders, and partners, including WWF and other members of the Tiger Conservation Coalition, committed to mobilizing one billion dollars over the next decade to secure tiger populations and their landscapes. Including governments and local people in tiger conservation is essential for its success and longevity. Here to speak on this is Dechen Dorji, WWF's Vice President for Asia. Hey, Dechen!

Dechen: Yeah, uh, thanks, Callie. The long-term recovery of tigers depends not only on protecting the animals themselves but increasingly on working in true and meaningful partnership with local people who often share these same landscapes.  Local communities and local governments are really at the heart of conservation success. They are the stewards of forests, as we all know, the first responders to all kinds of threats, and the key stakeholders in shaping how land is managed and governed.  So by investing in their leadership, their livelihoods and their capacity, we can better protect and reconnect tiger habitats, restoring the important ecological corridors that tigers and many other species need to succeed and thrive.

At the same time, we must also find practical ways for people and tigers to coexist by reducing and mitigating conflict and creating economic opportunities and ensuring that local communities see real tangible benefits from protecting and conserving tigers and their habitat.  So, when conservation works for local people, it always works for tigers, as I have seen through decades of my work on the ground.  And I can assure you, Callie, that results are far more impactful, enduring, and sustainable with these kinds of approaches and really good intentions.

Callie: Thanks so much, Dechen. When we protect tiger habitats, we're not only helping tigers; we're also helping protect forests, freshwater, and the natural resources that millions of people rely on every day.

Second, WWF strives to reduce human-tiger conflict and promote coexistence. As pressures on habitats grow,  people and wildlife are increasingly competing for space and resources. WWF works to find solutions that reduce the risks and cost to both people and wildlife so that a level of coexistence can be reached.

One way WWF is supporting coexistence in tiger landscapes is through an approach called C2C. At the heart of C2C is a collaborative step-by-step process that promotes the long-term management of human-wildlife conflict.  It recognizes the complexity of the issue so it can be adjusted over time and tailored to each community's cultural, environmental, and social context.  Let's go to Nilanga Jayasinghe, WWF's Director of Asian Species, to tell us a bit more about how C2C is being used in a tiger landscape in Bhutan. Hey, Nilanga.

Nilanga: Hi Callie, thank you for having me. So Bhutan is actually one of the first countries where we started piloting the C2C approach back in 2023.  So three years later, close engagement with partners on the ground and co-designing management approaches with them has led to deep buy-in from all partners,  especially those impacted by human-wildlife conflict.  We're also seeing increased capacity of partners to manage the conflicts on the ground, improve livelihood benefits for them, and reduced conflict levels over time.  Back to you!

Callie: Thanks, Nilanga.  Lastly, WWF works to reduce poaching and illegal wildlife trade. We partner with governments and law enforcement and work closely with the private sector to strengthen anti-poaching efforts, support investigations, and dismantle trafficking networks.  As illegal wildlife trade shifts online, WWF and partners co-founded the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online, working with major platforms like Meta, TikTok, and YouTube to disrupt sales. This collaboration enables the detection of issues like captive tiger trade in the US, and since 2018, has blocked 63 million listings and sellers of protected wildlife.

We also work to reduce demand, the driving force behind illegal wildlife trade. Through behavior change campaigns and awareness efforts in major Asian markets,   we aim to curb demand for wildlife products and shut down tiger farms across East and Southeast Asia that fuel and conceal illegal trade.  In the US, where there are no tiger farms but a large, often privately owned captive population, we discourage keeping tigers as pets and support stronger enforcement to better regulate ownership and prevent these animals and their parts from entering illegal trade.

So what can you do?  Even if you don't live anywhere near tigers, you can still help protect them.

First, never buy products made from tiger parts such as skins, teeth, claws, whiskers, or bones.  If you see them online, report them to the platform or  through the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online.

Second, avoid roadside zoos or any exhibits that let you touch or interact with tigers and other wild animals.  These facilities often don't support conservation and can involve poor welfare and exploitation. Not visiting them helps discourage them.

Third, speak up. Urge your representatives to support and fund laws that protect tigers and their habitats.  Finally, visit our website to learn more. And if you're a student or an educator, you can also explore our Wild Classroom tiger resources.

If you care about wildlife, make sure to like, follow, and share this video.  Now go out and dazzle your friends with some transformative tiger facts.   We'll see you again for our next Conservation Coffee Chat on Wildlife Café.  Have a favorite tiger fact we didn't mention today?  Let us know in the comments!