Where do Tigers Live

The streaks, the speed, the agility, the characteristic walk and the athletic build make the tiger, the most sought after cat. Tigers can run great distances, climb difficult vertical slopes, swim their way through and leap better than any predator. A tiger can pull five times a greater force than a well built human. But, I guess, you've only seen tigers in Jungle Book or in comics like Calvin and Hobbes. Have you ever wondered, where do real tigers live? Let's find out where do tigers live, what is the tigers habitat and why.

Where do Tigers Live?
Wild tigers are found in Asia. In fact, they are scattered all through eastern Asia. Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, Indonesia (Sumatra), and the Russian far east are some of the countries where tigers are found.

Why do Tigers Live Here?
Now, you maybe wondering why do tigers live there. Tigers are water lovers and they incredibly enjoy cool areas. All the aforementioned places are tropical regions, which makes them abundant with rain, water and water bodies. This is the main reason why tigers live in places mentioned above. In fact, the national animal of India and Bangladesh is the Royal Bengal Tiger.

What do Tigers Eat?
Though tigers are carnivorous in nature, they feed on herbivores. Tigers hunt for elks, deer, wild pigs, and buffaloes to feed on. These solitary hunters stay close to the ground and look out for locations that can hide them, as this keeps them hidden from their prey. Like all predators, tigers, chase the prey, pounce on it, to injure them and final make the kill with a terrific fight. Tigers always make an attack from behind. Thus, the people who stay close to the tiger populated areas, wear, face paintings on the back to avoid an off guard tiger attack. Tigers are also known to hunt peacocks.

What do Tigers Look Like?
Tigers are built like any other cat breed, however, they are much bigger in size. This is what makes them powerful too. The Royal Bengal Tiger is the quintessential orange wild cat with black stripes. These uneven stripes is what helps the tiger camouflage itself while hunting for its prey. The stripes help in camouflage, amongst dense cover of trees or in tall and thick grass. Interestingly, no two tigers have similar stripes. They say, that if you ever shave a tiger (that's if you ever!), you'd see the stripes on the skin too. The other type of tigers are, white tigers or albino tigers. They are white in color with sometimes a tinge of gray. Their stripes are either black or very dark blue in color. These are the found in snow clad regions, like Siberia.

Reality of Tiger Lands
We need to wake up to the reality of endangered tigers. Due to the supreme quality of fur and looks they are often hunted. Other than that, tigers are hunted for their use in traditional medicines. The bones, fat, liver and penis of a tiger are known to have medicinal uses. As a superstition goes, tiger's whiskers are an alluring aphrodisiac in Indonesia, deadly poison in Malaysia and a help during childbirth in India and Pakistan. It is due to this, that the tigers have become one of the endangered species of the world. There are innumerable programs designed to save tiger sanctuaries, tiger habitats for tigers. Today the population of tigers in India stands at a timid figure of 4000. Tigers are a very essential part of our ecosystem, which we cannot lose to the selfish interests of a handful of poachers.

So are you still wondering what part of the world do tigers live in?! Knowing in detail where do tigers live is very important to be able to take an action to save them. They are already an endangered species, so I hope, I have helped you understand the tiger habitat and there the reality of their dwindling numbers. So unless we don't want to see them figure in the list of extinct animals, let's work towards preserving the habitats of this majestic beast.