Tigers range from India to Siberia and South East Asia. Today only about 5,000-7,000 wild tigers live across Asia.

Tigers are ambush hunters, stalking their prey, approaching as closely as possible, and then charging the animal from behind. They usually bite the neck or throat of their prey.

The neck-bite, which severs the spinal cord, is typically used on small or medium sized prey, while the throat bite, which causes suffocation, is used on larger animals.

Three of the eight subspecies have already become extinct, and other populations are also at high risk. Just 5 other subspecies remain, the Bengal, the Indochinese, the Sumatran, the Siberian tiger and the South China tiger.

Tigers live for 8-10 years in the wild and 26 years in captivity.
Tigers are the largest of the cat family, with the Siberian tiger being the largest of the species.

More than other big cats, tigers have a reputation as man-eaters. In truth, it is rare for a tiger to attack people. It is normally old or injured tigers who are the culprits, as they are less able to catch their usual prey.