Celebrate with Me: It's International Tiger Day! - Animal of the Week (Week #9)

Happy International Tiger Day! I'm practically screaming in this post for my joy for these beautiful tigers. There are so many types of animals out there, but I love how this one is an international holiday because it shows that it truly means something to not only a specific country or nation but to everyone!

Terrific, majestic, and beautiful are just some of the many words I can use to describe tigers, and because of this, I wanted to dedicate an animal of the week to them. So here it is: on this special day celebrating tigers, here is a post that talks about five interesting facts on tigers! Also, stay tuned for the end where I discuss a call to action on ways you can help tigers. 

1) 3,900 Left - According to WWF, there are only 3,900 tigers remaining. It's no surprise that tigers are endangered, but their numbers are increasing in some areas. Specifically, in the countries of Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Russia, we are seeing increased conservation efforts having amazing effects on tiger populations. Here's a great read on how their populations are rising. 

2) Tigers are Bigger Than Lions - You read that right! Tigers are the largest cats on Earth. Yet, it is especially important when using the term "biggest" to bring up the fact that not all tigers are bigger than all lions. There will always be variability between these two big cats, but one, on average, will prove to be bigger. Find out more by checking out this source, which presents an interesting article on this topic!

3) Beyond the Roar: How Do Tigers Communicate? - We've all seen it: the camera focusing in on what appears to be a vicious tiger roaring before catching its prey. This classic clip may be one included in a variety of documentaries, but in what other ways do tigers communicate? It turns out that their form of communication is very similar to humans in that they can show other tigers what they mean through multiple senses, such as visually shaking their tails to display their aggression.  According to this source, they also spray urine to help indicate their territory. I really recommend that SeaWorld article - again, an awesome read!

4) Tigers are Nocturnal - Tigers are most active during night hours, and according to this source have excellent night vision. This makes a lot more sense when you hear about tigers camouflaging using their stripes - the nighttime darkness adds the extra effects needed for a tiger to blend in with its surroundings. 

5) Tigers can Mimic Other Animal Sounds - As the Hindu describes it in their article, we aren't too sure if one of the calls the tiger makes (that sounds exactly like a Sambhar deer) is to fool prey or is coincidentally similar-sounding to prey. So far, more research need to be done in this area, but we have seen other wild cats mimicking prey sounds to lure them in. What do you think? 

What Can We Do? TBE's Call to Action Center: 

As usual, I'll be presenting an organization + article you can use to help contribute to tiger conservation! And the article featured this time is from none other than WWF India!

WWF India's Article  presents a great read on ways people can help save tigers, and one I really liked is being a responsible tourist. As they describe, it can be a lot of help to respect animal habitats and leave them the way they are, which includes picking up after yourself if you drop things and keeping distance to not disturb habitats. '

Read the article here! 
https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/priority_species/bengal_tiger/what_you_can_do/

I hope you enjoyed this post on tigers, and Happy International Tiger Day again! Contributing to online forums and talking about tiger conversations are great ways to stimulate the first steps in thinking of solutions. We should bridge the gap of what people think they know about tigers, and how awesome these creatures really are! 

Stay tuned, and S.P.A.T.!

- The Bookish Elephant