Scientific name: Panthera tigris tigris
The two specimens on display, an adult and a cub, were born in captivity at Tiger Experience in Campolongo Maggiore, near Venice.
The tiger is the largest living feline, and the Bengal and Siberian tigers are the largest subspecies of tiger. The Bengal tiger is a solitary animal that primarily hunts large ungulates and drags its prey to secluded places to devour them in peace. It can eat up to 18 kilos of meat in one meal and then fast for several days. The tiger is an excellent swimmer and often strikes its prey as it drinks.
The species features in a wide variety of habitats, such as grasslands, woodlands, rainforests and mangrove swamps. Its striped fur allows it to blend in with the light and shadow of tall grasses. The most common tigers are honey-coloured, but there are also white specimens with black stripes and blue eyes, such as the two on display, and even rarer specimens that are all white, with no stripes and with silvery eyes.
The tiger is the most endangered of the larger carnivores. The fragmentation of its habitat causes the isolation of populations. The small number of specimens in each population forces consanguineous mating, resulting in decreased variability. Tigers are also the victims of extensive poaching: their bones are a common ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, while their fur and other body parts are sold by Indian traffickers to China.
