Tiger

Panthera tigris

The tiger, Panthera tigris, is the largest living cat and an apex predator of Asian forests, grasslands, mangroves, and snowy northern woodlands. Its orange coat with black stripes is individually patterned, with a powerful forequarter build, rounded ears marked by pale spots, and white underparts. Depending on the authority, living regional forms include Bengal, Amur, Sumatran, Malayan, Indochinese, and remnant South China lines, while several island and Central Asian forms are extinct. Tigers are solitary hunters that rely on cover, water, and large prey such as deer, wild pigs, and bovids.

Tigers are not suitable private pets, and possession is tightly restricted or prohibited in many places. Accredited zoos, rescue sanctuaries, and conservation breeding programs manage them with secure shift dens and outdoor yards, protected-contact routines, balanced meat and whole-prey diets, veterinary planning, and enrichment for stalking, scent marking, swimming, and climbing. Conservation work centers on anti-poaching, prey recovery, habitat corridors, conflict reduction with livestock communities, and careful population records. Buyers or donors should be wary of cub-petting operations and color-focused breeding; white tigers are a captive color variant, not a separate conservation population.