Species Spotlight: Tiger

Tiger and cub in grasslands of Ranthambhore, Rajhasthan, India

Questions and Answers

How do tigers keep their environment healthy?
As top predators and an ‘umbrella species’, tigers help to keep their environment healthy. Tigers prey on other herbivores or plant eaters such as deer, but without enough tigers to eat them, herbivores can overgraze and damage the land, disrupting the balance of the local environment.

Which country has the most tigers?
India is home to more wild tigers than any other country, from the Terai Arc Landscape in the north to the Western Ghats in the south.

How does climate change affect tigers?
Habitat changes due to climate change can bring tigers closer to human communities, leading to increased conflict as people and wildlife compete for space and resources.

Habitat

Tigers are found in amazingly diverse habitats in Asia: rain forests, grasslands, savannas and even mangrove swamps.
Diet

Tigers are carnivores and can consume more than 80 pounds of meat at one time.
Threats

Across their range, tigers face unrelenting pressures from poaching, retaliatory killings, and habitat loss.
Interesting Fact

Since 2017, IUCN has recognized two tiger subspecies, commonly referred to as the continental tiger and the Sunda island tiger.