Tiger Facts
for Kids

As of 2023, approximately 4,500 wild tigers remain — up from a low of roughly 3,200 in 2010. India holds the majority (over 3,100), with smaller populations in Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. This represents a 95% decline from the estimated 100,000 wild tigers that existed in 1900.

The Siberian (Amur) tiger is the largest subspecies, with males averaging 180–310 kg and measuring up to 3.3 metres from nose to tail tip. The now-extinct Caspian tiger was comparable in size. The smallest living subspecies is the Sumatran tiger, with males averaging 100–140 kg.

Tigers face three primary threats: habitat loss from deforestation and agricultural expansion (they've lost 95% of their historic range), poaching for the illegal wildlife trade (tiger bones, skins, and organs are used in traditional medicine), and depletion of their prey base from overhunting by humans. Human-tiger conflict also increases as villages expand into forest areas.

No — tigers are almost entirely solitary. Adults maintain large home ranges (females: 20–400 km², males: 60–1,000 km²) that they mark and defend with scent, scrapes, and vocalisations. The only social unit is a mother with her cubs, who stay with her for 2–3 years before dispersing to find their own territories.

Yes — tigers are excellent swimmers and one of the few cat species that actively enjoy water. They regularly swim across rivers, wade into pools to cool down in hot weather, and even hunt prey in water. Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans mangrove delta are known to swim between islands and hunt in tidal waterways.