Striped through and through! A tiger's stripes also appear on the skin as dark marks. The same is true about a leopard's spots or a jaguar's rosettes.

Bad boys of the jungle? In the race for most awesome predator, the lion loses out to the larger, more powerful tiger. The only serious competition was the grizzly bear, which is larger and stronger. But the tiger's speed and agility tip the balance in favor of stripes.

How big is big? The largest race of tiger is the Amur Tiger (also incorrectly called the "Siberian" Tiger). The largest males weigh up to 675 pounds--some record breakers go above 700, and the record male Amur Tiger weighed 1025 pounds! That's what makes their birth weight all the more astounding: a mere two to three pounds.

And strong too! Pound for pound a tiger has five times the pulling strength of a trained human athlete because of the muscle mass and shape. A 600-pound Amur Tiger would be evenly matched in a tug-of-war by fifteen average sized men.

A dim view of the world? Tigers can see about six times as well in the dark as a human. However a human has better vision than a tiger during the day.

A tiger's life begins in a litter of two to five cubs. They are born blind, weighing only about two to three pounds. They nurse their mother for six to eight weeks before they develop a lifelong passion for meat. They usually make their first kill around 18 months. Tigers stay with their mother from 18 months to three years, depending on whether the mother has another litter of cubs. They then go to form their own territories which may be from 10 to 30 square miles. Amur Tigers may range up to 120 square miles. These differences in size reflect the availability of prey.

Nine lives? In the wild, if they are lucky enough not to fall prey to poaching, sport hunting, or habitat destruction they may live from 10 to 15 years, but in captivity 16 to 20 years is more likely. One is said to have lived over 30 years!

Hungry? A tiger may go days between kills, so it may eat over 40 pounds of meat at a setting when it is available. Zoo tigers with regular feedings eat 10 pounds of meat per day, but they get that regularly. (These cats are trained professionals--kids, don't try this at home!) Of course captive tigers may also eat prepared diets that are similar to dry cat food, but balanced for their nutritional needs. Like your domestic tabby, tigers also eat a little grass from time to time, presumably to aid digestion.