What Do You Know About The Tiger? Tigers are the largest cat species and an animal that kids love because of their large size, their distinctive striped fur, and their big teeth. They are also called “the king of the jungle.”
The tiger is one of the most recognizable animals in the world and a very popular subject for children’s art, but let’s get to know some fun surprising facts and find out more about this impressive animal.
If you’re looking to introduce kids to this majestic feline, these facts are guaranteed to inspire.
And, if you were wondering, International tiger day takes place on July 22nd
Fascinating Facts about Tigers for Kids
What are some amazing Tiger facts? Check out this list of awesome Tiger facts for kids.
- Just like human beings have unique finger prints, tigers have unique stripes – no tiger is exactly the same!
- Each tiger has over 100 stripes
- Tiger cubs are born blind. These baby tigers only open up their eyes one or two weeks after birth.
- Tigers are born with no teeth, although fully grown tigers have 30 teeth and very strong jaws.
5. The reason tigers are so good at jumping is because their front legs are stronger than their back legs. Tigers can jump a distance of 6 meters!
6. Bengal tigers normally have green or yellow eyes, but white bengal tigers have blue eyes.
7. Tigers are very competent swimmers, unlike domestic cats who don’t like water.
8. Tigers have a lot of speed. They can run as fast as 40 miles per hour!
9. Tigers do not have any known predator, other than humans. This puts them at the top of the food chain.
10. The average tiger life span is around 12 years in the wild but up to 25 years in captivity, and a typical tiger pregnancy lasts only 3.5 months
11. Tigers hunt primarily using sound and sight, rather than scent.
12. A group of tigers is called a streak of tigers, although tigers are solitary creatures and normally prefer to live alone.
13. There are many different types of tiger. The most common is the Bengal tiger. The largest is the Siberian tiger also known as the Amur tiger and the smallest is the Sumatran tiger.
14. Siberian tigers live in forests, and prefer cold climates. Today they are mostly found in Russia.
15. Despite the name, the extinct species of Saber tooth tigers are not closely related to tigers
16. Tasmanian tigers are also not tigers, they were a type of marsupials.
17. As lions and tigers are so similar, they can sometimes cross breed. An animal with a tiger father and lion other is called a liger, whereas a lion mother and tiger father is called a tigon. These are both rare and sometimes the result of zoo breeding.
Are Tigers Endangered?
18. Yes, all types of tigers are endangered and one of the most endangered type are the Sumatran tigers.
19. Sumatran tigers are one of the rarest types of tiger, and these are critically endangered.
20. Maltese tigers are another extremely rare type of tiger. These are also known blue tigers because of their grey slate blue coat. None these currently exist in zoos.
21. Species of tiger who have already gone extinct include the Baili tiger, Javan tiger, and Caspian tiger.
22. Tigers were once very common across Asia, but are now endangered due to habitat loss and poaching.
White tiger Facts for Kids
23. White tigers are produced by rare recessive genes when two orange tigers both pass on this recessive allele. They are not albino tigers, however.
24. White tigers often do not survive well in the wild. There are currently only around 200 white tigers out in the wild, but there are more in captivity.
25. White tigers occur in around 1 in 10,000 wild tiger births.
26. They have a similar face shape to orange Bengal tigers, the difference is mostly in color.
27. White tigers are said to be more aggressive than orange Bengal tigers
Find out even more about tigers with the WWF (World Wildlife Foundation)
Documentaries about Tigers to watch with kids
My ten year old boy loves watching nature documentaries about all kinds of animals, especially Big Cats. His top pick for tigers is the show “The Secret Life of Big Cats.
The Secret Life of Big Cats is a high quality documentary which can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. It has one episode focusing on each of the big cat species – lion, tiger, cheetah, leopard, puma and so on. Kids can learn a lot from watching the episode The Secret Life of Tigers.
This documentary is available on Curiosity Stream, and if you search for tigers within this streaming service you will find a few more tiger documentaries to check out with the kids.
You could also check out the 2010 BBC documentary “The Lost Land of the Tiger” which is a three part series.
The National Geographic back catalogue is available via Disney+ and this is also a great resource for kid friendly animal documentaries.
Non Fiction Books About Tigers
Want to keep learning? Check out some of these informational books about tigers for kids, available on Amazon (affiliate links)
Tigers (Explore My World)
DKfindout! Big Cats
National Geographic Kids Mission: Tiger Rescue: All About Tigers and How to Save Them (Mission: Animal Rescue)
Tigers: Amazing Pictures & Fun Facts on Animals in Nature (Our Amazing World Series Book 10)
Safari Readers: Tigers (Safari Readers – Wildlife Books for Kids)
Easy Tiger Craft
Want to make a tiger craft with the kids? Try this simple toilet paper roll tiger craft, it’s fun to paint these tigers and play with them afterwards.
More Animal Facts for Kids
Want to learn amazing facts about more animals? Check out these
Arctic Animal Facts with printables
Share
Go ahead and share our interesting tiger facts for kids post with friends and family. Why not pin it to your Pinterest Board so you’ll have these handy for a tiger topic or project, for homeschool or in the classroom?
Have fun learning, with all of these roar-some tiger facts!
Here a few great quality tiger figures that your kids may enjoy, available on Amazon (affiliate links). Schleich animal figures are so much fun!
Schleich 14729 Tiger
Schleich 14730 Tiger cub
Schleich 14731 White Tiger
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
Lovely post – I really enjoyed reading this. It took me back to when I spent a month in Nepal (many years ago) working in conservation with these magnificent animals 🙂
I teach a unit on Animals to kids and I will use your page!