Explore the ‘wild cat’

When we say wild cats, we immediately think of carnivorous animals like lions, tigers, cheetah, jaguar, and leopard among others. However, lions and tiger need a special mention being the big animals of a jungle. Although lions are the kings of the jungle, tigers are certainly their counterparts and also national animal of India. There are 50 tiger reserves in India out of which six dedicated tiger reserves under the precincts of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. India has around 70% of the tiger population in the world and it has been increasing gradually over the years. We need to understand certain facts of this amazing animal.

The first and foremost fact is they do not attack human beings without any valid reason. Although there are incidents of a tiger attacking humans, not many cases have been recorded. However, staying away from them makes sense. The average life expectancy of a tiger is around 25 years of age. Tigers are largest in size among other cat families and a punch of a tiger can literally kill you.

Tiger can duplicate sounds of other animals which can be dangerous for other animals while hunting. Tigers have variety in diet and they hunt on bear, bird, rhino, antelope, deer, crocodile, buffaloes and leopards among others. Tiger does not roar on their group and respect their peers. Tiger is not amongst the fastest animal; however, he can run at 60 km per hour.  Tigers prefer solitude. They don’t like to roam in groups or same age tigers. They like their own walk and loneliness. Although the tiger doesn’t stay in a group; a group of the tiger is called ambush or streak. Tigers are nocturnal animals and they prefer to hunt at night thus avoid human beings. The government’s efforts in saving the tiger population can be seen as there is a dramatic increase in the tiger population in the last few years.