Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright Trivia Quiz

Answer: Asia

The tiger lives across Asia but more specifically India, Bangladesh, Russia, Sumatra, Burma, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and China. The tiger, jaguar, leopard and lion are the only cat species that roar, due to the structure of their hyoid bone at the back of their neck. Tigers have distinctive stripes across their body which they use as camouflage in tall, long grasslands. No two tigers are identical.

Answer: Swift

The word tigris roughly translates to mean "swift" or "arrow", describing the speed in which something is being driven along. Tigers are very fast land mammals, reaching 35-40 miles per hour to catch their prey. The Tigris river through south west Asia joins the Euphrates River before flowing into the the Persian Gulf.

It is an important feature for transport and survival for the indigenous people living in the desert.

Answer: Bengal

The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) has made its home in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. It is believed there are less than 2,000 of these tigers left in the wild, with the majority being in India. They tend to have a red-orange coat with dark brown or black stripes and a white underbelly.

The white tiger with black stripes can be seen in captivity, but these are not pure bred, but a cross between a Bengal and Siberian tiger. Bengals eat deer, wild boar and they have also been known to eat a human if no other food is available!

Answer: Amur

The Amur is the 10th longest river in the world and runs between China and Russia. It was the main habitat for the Siberian tiger until its decline in numbers due to poaching and habitat destruction. The Amur, or Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), has been known to weigh up to 700 lb, although their chunky body stands on fairly short legs.

The rusty yellow colour fur with dark brown/black stripes is thicker in winter as insulation against colder climes. They feed on deer, wild boar and brown bear.

They live in remote areas to keep away from humans although hunting still takes place. It is believed there are under 450 Siberian tigers left living in the wild.

Answer: True

Sumatra is an island in the Indian ocean with a land mass covering approximately 182,800 square miles. The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is the smallest subspecies of tiger, due to the limited amount of prey on the island. Their orange bodies have more black stripes than other species and there is more fur around the neck and cheek area.

A white spot just behind each ear is deceiving to their prey as they think they are tiger eyes. The Sumatrans are excellent swimmers, and have webbing between toes which speeds up their movement when they chase after prey.

There are around 500 of these big cats left in the wild.

Answer: Deer, wild boar and livestock

We know the least amount about the Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) than any other tiger because the subspecies was only classified in 2004. They were named after Peter Jackson, a tiger expert who contributed towards the 1999 conservation book "Riding the Tiger".

The Malayan people call the animal "pak belang" which literally means "Uncle Stripes"; the name repeated through generations in old folklore stories. Only about 500 Malayan tigers remain living in the wild.

Answer: Medicine

The Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) can be found in south west China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. They have a deep orange coat with thin black lines and can be located in remote hilly terrains which make it an additional challenge for the poacher to catch them. Conservationists are fighting against old Chinese myth and tradition as it is believed the ground down bones of tigers have strong healing properties. Access is restricted to explore the Indochinese tiger habitat but there could be as few as 300 living in the wild.

Answer: 0

The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is virtually extinct as none of these subspecies have been seen in the wild for over 20 years. The tiger was considered a pest by the Chinese people and approximately 3000 of them were killed between 1950 and 1980. Any surviving tiger has been moved out of its habitat and into captivity but the numbers are very low.

Answer: No

The sabre tooth tiger was not in fact a tiger, although it looked similar with its dark golden coat, faint stripes and sharp front maxillary canine teeth. Both sabre tooth tiger and our current tiger both belong to the Felidae (true cats) family, but this is where the similarity ends. The sabre tooth tiger belonged to the sub family Machairodontinae which were part of the Smilodon genus. Our current tigers belong to the genus Panthera. Another difference was its habitat. The sabre tooth tiger lived in the Americas whereas our current tiger evolved in Asia.

Three subspecies of our current tiger have become extinct in the last 75 years due to hunting and loss of habitat. These are the Bali, Javan and Caspian.

Answer: It is a Year of the Tiger in the Chinese calendar

Many zoos and wildlife parks run a breeding programme to save the tiger from extinction. There are also charities set up throughout the world to help fund breeding of these majestic animals. Actions are being taken to save the tiger, but is it too late?

http://www.savetigersnow.org/