Females are slightly smaller measuring a little more than 8 feet and weighing about 300 pounds. Males also have ruffs of hair around their cheeks. Although their orange coats with black stripes and white patches are very conspicuous in a zoo, tigers blend in well with their natural surroundings. The black lines serve to break up their body shape in tall grasslands. These stripes also serve as identifying markers because, just like human fingerprints, no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes.
Tigers are carnivores, or meat-eaters.
They prefer deer, antelopes, and wild pigs, but they will eat whatever they can catch. This might be animals as small as frogs, turtles, fish, or birds, or animals as large as water buffalo, elk, rhinoceros, or elephant calves. Tigers generally avoid contact with humans. Tigers are well-equipped for hunting. Their keen eyesight picks up even the slightest movement.