It is said that there are more tigers in captivity in the USA than there are tigers living freely in the wild, and indeed, this formidable animal is considered one that is endangered. However, many people are working for its conservation in various ways. One of them is by documenting it through photography, in a special project to create a book called "Remembering Tigers" to raise awareness of the issue, in which 88 of the world’s top wildlife photographers participated. It is estimated that there are currently only about 5,500 tigers in the wild, in about 10% of the territories they once roamed throughout history. While their numbers are increasing in certain areas thanks to conservation efforts, their future remains uncertain. You are invited to view 15 of the photos created for this project, as well as learn a few more fascinating facts about these formidable and beautiful tigers.
Click on the images to view them in full size
#1 Taken in Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, India
#2 Taken in Ranthambore National Park, India
#3 Taken in the Land of the Leopard Nature Reserve, Russia
The tiger is quite an ancient animal, having existed in our world for about 2 million years. However, in the last 150 years, the tiger population has decreased by about 95%, and now there are more tigers in captivity than in the wild. India is home to most of the wild tigers, with about 3,700 free-roaming tigers.
#4 Taken in Ranthambore National Park, India
#5 Taken in Ranthambore National Park, India
#6 Taken in Jim Corbett National Park, India
Every night, tigers travel a distance of 10-20 kilometers in search of prey, and they also hunt during the day, with the stripes on their bodies helping them to camouflage themselves in dense vegetation. They usually hunt deer, and one deer can suffice for a tiger for a week, but they can also catch and eat wild boar, birds, fish, rodents, reptiles, and even insects.
#7 Taken in Khabarovsk, Russia
#8 Taken in Ranthambore National Park, India
#9 Taken in Bandhavgarh National Park, India
Tigers usually do not eat their prey at the location where they caught it but rather drag it to a place where they can hide it under leaves or rocks, for example, when they go to drink water.
#10 Taken in Ranthambore National Park, India
#11 Taken in Bandhavgarh National Park, India
#12 Taken in Jim Corbett National Park, India
Like our fingerprints, each tiger has a unique stripe pattern. They also have white spots behind their ears, which they can use to communicate with each other. For example, they signal their offspring of danger by flattening their ears and exposing the white spots.
