International Tiger Day: Tigers on the brink | All media content | DW | 29.07.2016

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Global Ideas

International Tiger Day: Tigers on the brink

The majestic tiger is one of the most admired animals in the world. But the species is in danger of extinction. On International Tiger Day, we give you the lowdown on the iconic animal.

  • Tigerin zieht in Großkatzen-Station
    More

    The biggest of them all

    Tigers are the biggest cat species and the only large cats with stripes. They can weigh up to 300 kilograms and can live up to 26 years, according to wildlife conservation group, WWF.

  • Sibirischer Tiger

    Chowing down

    Tigers are built for predation. They have knife-sharp claws, powerful forelegs and huge teeth and jaws which in an instant work together to strike down prey. And they need a lot of meat to fuel their activities. The predator can eat nearly 40 kilograms of meat in one sitting.

  • Sibirischer Tiger

    A solitary life - mostly

    Tigers are typically nocturnal and tend to stalk and ambush their prey. They are usually solitary - apart from females and their cubs - and roam a large territory. The animals aren't too fussy about the kind of habitat they occupy, though, and are found in tropical, mangrove and evergreen forests, woodlands, grasslands, savannah and rocky terrain, according to WWF.

  • Tiger Wasser Schwimmen

    Like a tiger to water

    Your house cat may do anything to avoid being touched by even the slightest drop of water but tigers like to take a dip. In fact, they are pretty good swimmers and can even catch prey while having a paddle.

  • Java-Tiger

    A smaller range, fewer in number

    About a century ago, about 100,000 tigers roamed an area that spread from Turkey through southern and Southeast Asia to the far reaches of China. Now their range is much smaller and their numbers are down to between 3,000 and 4,000 in the wild. Three of the nine tiger subspecies are considered extinct. Pictured here is the Javan tiger, a now extinct subspecies that inhabited the island of Java.

  • Tiger

    Why are tigers disappearing?

    Habitat loss is a major factor. Expansion of cities and agriculture has caused tigers to lose 93 percent of their natural habitat, which equals less territory for the animals and makes them more vulnerable to poachers. Tigers and humans are also competing for space. That means people are more likely to come into conflict with the animals who usually ending up killed or captured.

  • Tiger in den Sundarbans

    Climate change a culprit too

    In the the Sundarbans, for instance, a large area of mangrove forest on the coast of Bangladesh and India, rising sea levels are threatening to wipe out the tiger's remaining habitat. A WWF-led study said mitigation efforts are urgently needed if the tigers there are to be saved. Here a tigress wearing a radio collar is pictured wading through a river in the Sundarbans.

  • Bengaltiger
    More

    Saving tigers

    But it's not all bad news. Conservation groups aim to double wild tigers by 2022. According to data published in 2016, there are nearly 3,900 tigers in the wild up from 3,200 in 2010, thanks to conservation efforts in countries such as India, Russia and Nepal. Still, some say outdated methods for surveying populations leads to unreliable estimates. Pictured here are two white Bengal tigers.


  • Tigerin zieht in Großkatzen-Station
    More

    The biggest of them all

    Tigers are the biggest cat species and the only large cats with stripes. They can weigh up to 300 kilograms and can live up to 26 years, according to wildlife conservation group, WWF.

  • Sibirischer Tiger

    Chowing down

    Tigers are built for predation. They have knife-sharp claws, powerful forelegs and huge teeth and jaws which in an instant work together to strike down prey. And they need a lot of meat to fuel their activities. The predator can eat nearly 40 kilograms of meat in one sitting.

  • Sibirischer Tiger

    A solitary life - mostly

    Tigers are typically nocturnal and tend to stalk and ambush their prey. They are usually solitary - apart from females and their cubs - and roam a large territory. The animals aren't too fussy about the kind of habitat they occupy, though, and are found in tropical, mangrove and evergreen forests, woodlands, grasslands, savannah and rocky terrain, according to WWF.

  • Tiger Wasser Schwimmen

    Like a tiger to water

    Your house cat may do anything to avoid being touched by even the slightest drop of water but tigers like to take a dip. In fact, they are pretty good swimmers and can even catch prey while having a paddle.

  • Java-Tiger

    A smaller range, fewer in number

    About a century ago, about 100,000 tigers roamed an area that spread from Turkey through southern and Southeast Asia to the far reaches of China. Now their range is much smaller and their numbers are down to between 3,000 and 4,000 in the wild. Three of the nine tiger subspecies are considered extinct. Pictured here is the Javan tiger, a now extinct subspecies that inhabited the island of Java.

  • Tiger

    Why are tigers disappearing?

    Habitat loss is a major factor. Expansion of cities and agriculture has caused tigers to lose 93 percent of their natural habitat, which equals less territory for the animals and makes them more vulnerable to poachers. Tigers and humans are also competing for space. That means people are more likely to come into conflict with the animals who usually ending up killed or captured.

  • Tiger in den Sundarbans

    Climate change a culprit too

    In the the Sundarbans, for instance, a large area of mangrove forest on the coast of Bangladesh and India, rising sea levels are threatening to wipe out the tiger's remaining habitat. A WWF-led study said mitigation efforts are urgently needed if the tigers there are to be saved. Here a tigress wearing a radio collar is pictured wading through a river in the Sundarbans.

  • Bengaltiger
    More

    Saving tigers

    But it's not all bad news. Conservation groups aim to double wild tigers by 2022. According to data published in 2016, there are nearly 3,900 tigers in the wild up from 3,200 in 2010, thanks to conservation efforts in countries such as India, Russia and Nepal. Still, some say outdated methods for surveying populations leads to unreliable estimates. Pictured here are two white Bengal tigers.


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