9 interesting facts about the tiger: the biggest wild cat whose pee smells like popcorn

You seem to read and love our articles about wild cats, so we thought we'd bring you some interesting facts about all the species of the genus Panthera, the lion, jaguar, leopard, tiger, snow leopard and the only member of the genus Acynonix, the cheetah.

sLet’s see now which are the 9 interesting facts that about the striped big cat, the tiger.

1.) The tiger is an endangered animal

It’s strange to think about, because the tiger is so much a part of the public consciousness that we can’t imagine the huge challenges this animal faces when it comes to survival. The largest member of the Panthera genus, with an estimated 5,574 individuals in 2023 in the wild. A 20. Since the beginning of the 20th century, tiger populations have lost at least 93% of their historic habitat.

They have also been extirpated from western and central Asia, the islands of Java and Bali, and areas of Southeast and South Asia and China. India has the largest tiger population, but unfortunately, habitat destruction and poaching are decimating the population at a horrific rate.

2.) There are only two subspecies… roughly

In 1758, Carl Linnaeus first described the tiger in his Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis tigris. In 1929, the British taxonomist Reginald Innes Pocock placed the species under the genus Panthera and gave it the scientific name Panthera tigris. Following Linnaeus’ description in the 19th and 20th century, scientists have proposed several subspecies.

Most of them distinguished subspecies by coat length, colour, striping pattern and size.
Interestingly, the morphological differences between specimens from different regions were also very small, and it was finally agreed that only 2 subspecies should be officially recognised. This became the P. t. tiger In mainland Asia and the P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands (A group of islands forming part of the Malay Archipelago).

This proposal for two subspecies was confirmed in 2015 by a comprehensive analysis of the morphological, ecological and molecular characteristics of all putative tiger subspecies. Although the World Conservation Union adopted the two subspecies division in 2017, many researchers still insist on a different division, which would distinguish a total of 9 subspecies (Bengal, Siberian, South China, Indochinese, Malay, Sumatran), 3 of which are now extinct (Caspian, Javanese, Bali).

3.) The lion is not the closest relative

The closest living relatives of the tiger were previously thought to be the lion, leopard and jaguar, but recent genetic analyses have shown that the tiger and snow leopard lineage split from the other Panthera species around 2.88 million years ago, so it is thought that they are the two closest relatives.

This makes them one of the most ancient animals currently living in the world. Results of a phylogeographical study show that all tigers alive today had a common ancestor 108 000 to 72 000 years ago. For us, it is fascinating to see such data, which not only shows how ancient a creature we are dealing with, but also highlights the heights to which science has reached.

4.) There is also a hybrid tiger

Shockingly, at one time there was an attempt to create hybrids by mating lions and tigers, called liger and tigon. These individuals had both the external and internal characteristics of both parents. Given the low numbers of individuals, the procedure is no longer supported.

A liger is created by crossing a male lion and a female tiger. These animals have grown enormously, as the male lion inherits a growth-promoting gene, but the female tiger lacks a growth-restricting gene.

The tigon is a cross between a male tiger and a female lion. Some females are fertile and have occasionally given birth to litigonswhen mated with a male Asiatic lion.

5.) The striped coat is like a fingerprint

Colour and pattern of the tiger also helps it to hide. The tiger’s prey have dichromatic vision, which in humans is known as colour deception. These orange stripes thus appear greenish to them, i.e. they blend in with the vegetation. It is not yet known why this pattern has evolved in this species, as the spotted pattern is more common in felines.

There are three other colour variations – white, gold and almost streak-free snow-white – which are now virtually non-existent due to the decline in wild tiger populations, but can still be observed in captive populations. The pattern in each specimen is completely unique and would be visible even if the animal were shaved.

However, this is not due to skin pigmentation but to the colour of the hair follicles.
In many wild cat species you can see the colour of the hairs on the back of the ears white spot on the back of the ears which proudly worn by tigers. It is thought to play a role in communication between conspecifics and also signals to cubs.

6.) The eating habits are also interesting

Tigers have an approximate hunting success rate of 10%, which seems surprisingly low when compared to domestic cats (32%) or the black-footed cat (60%) and lion (17%). It is fortunate that a large hunted animal can provide enough food for 1 week for a single specimen. Unlike lions, they only hunt alone.

Surprisingly rarely attack humans mostly only when they feel threatened. An average of 40-50 tiger attacks are reported in India each year. To give you an idea, for elephants this number is around 350.

7.) His voice paralyses his prey

It’s a cat, so it’s not surprising that it meows, growls, hisses and howls in order to get along with its fellow cats. But the tiger cannot purr, nor can the jaguar or the lion. They also make a sound similar to a purr, which can be heard when they exhale, but it is not made in the same way as a real purr. We wrote more about this here. In humans and other animals, the vocal cords form a triangle at the point where they join the airway.

In the tiger and lion setae, it is square. This shape allows them to be louder than average.
The roar of a tiger can be 3 kilometres away. One of the most secret elements of their vocalisation the low frequency soundswhich can paralyse prey. In principle, it is also effective on humans. It is only used when the prey decides not to give in and fight.

8.) The tiger’s pee smells like popcorn

The smell is caused by a chemical compound called 2-AP which, shockingly, is also responsible for the smell of freshly-popped corn.

9.) The tiger is a polite animal

Tigers basically live and hunt alone, but that doesn’t make them rude. For example, males have also been observed to let females and pups eat first. The loss of their habitat causes individuals living close to each other or in a group to behave socially.