150 Pictures of Tigers - Sleeping, Swimming, with Cubs, and More!
Table of Contents - Jump to Section
- Pictures of Tigers
- Pictures of Tigers' Faces
- Pictures of Tigers Sleeping
- Pictures of Tiger Cubs
- Pictures of White Tigers
- Pictures of Tigers in Water
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Pictures of Tigers
The tiger is the largest cat species and is recognizable by its characteristic orange fur and black stripes. Like humans and fingerprints, no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes. Researchers believe that tigers’ stripes serve as camouflage, concealing them in forest shadows as they hunt their prey.
Once numbering over 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century, the tiger has become an endangered species with 3,000-4,000 currently living in the wild, mainly in northeastern China, Korea, Russia, and parts of India and the Himalayan region. This dramatic population reduction is a result of habitat destruction and poaching for fur and body parts. Most tigers live in zoos, with the largest captive populations in the United States (about 4,700) and China (about 4,000).
In descending order of population, the six subspecies of tiger living today are the Bengal tiger, the Indochinese tiger, the Malayan tiger, the Sumatran tiger, the Siberian tiger, and the South China tiger. The Bengal tiger, also called the Indian tiger, is the most numerous subspecies. They have coats ranging from yellow to light orange in color and stripes that are either dark brown or black. Males weigh 180-260 kg (400-570 lb), with females a bit smaller.

Bengal tiger lying in the grass and yawning at Raubtierpark Subingen
Tambako the Jaguar, CC BY-ND 2.0, via Flickr

Indochinese tigers are smaller and darker than Bengal tigers, and they live in forests in mountainous or hilly regions. These Indochinese tigers are at Tierpark Berlin.
Lotse, CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Malayan tigers are found on the Malay Peninsula and are similar in appearance to Indochinese tigers. These are two Malayan tigers at the Cincinnati Zoo.
bobosh_t, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr

The Sumatran tiger, found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, is the smallest tiger subspecies. Males weigh just 100-140 kg (220-310 lb). This photo is of a Sumatran tiger at the Melbourne Zoo.
__Wichid__, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

The Siberian tiger, also called the Amur tiger, is the largest living cat, with some males weighing as much as 177 kg (390 lb). This Siberian tiger is at the Buffalo Zoo.
Dave Pape, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Siberian tiger yawning (Buffalo Zoo). Siberian tigers have thicker coats, a paler golden color, and fewer stripes than other subspecies.
Dave Pape, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Elena, a Siberian tiger at the Zürich Zoo in Switzerland
Tambako the Jaguar, CC BY-ND 2.0, via Flickr

Siberian tiger at Aalborg Zoo, Denmark
Malene Thyssen, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Malene, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Two young male Siberian tigers at the Leipzig Zoo in Germany
Appaloosa, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A tiger at Franklin Park Zoo, Massachusetts, USA
By Eric Kilby from USA (YAWN Uploaded by Snowmanradio), CC-BY-SA-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Brocken Inaglory (self-made(Sharpened, contrast corrected by Arad)),CC-BY-SA-3.0,viaWikimediaCommons
Pictures of Tigers’ Faces
Bengal tigers, the most numerous tiger subspecies, have the longest canines of any large cat. Their canines can be as long as 10 centimeters (4 inches)! You can see these teeth up close in some of the photos below. Also notice that stripes around tigers’ eyes tend to be symmetrical, but stripes around the face are often asymmetrical.

Closeup of a golden tiger, also called golden tabby tiger or strawberry tiger. Golden tigers are not a distinct subspecies; their color is the result of a rare genetic variation. There are fewer than 30 golden tigers in the world, all in captivity.
Dcoetzee, CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, via Wikimedia Commons

The white tiger is a genetic variation of the Bengal tiger. Like golden tigers, white tigers are not a distinct subspecies. Though extremely rare in the wild, white tigers are popular in zoos because of their unique coloring.
Tambako the Jaguar, CC BY-ND 2.0, via Flickr
Pictures of Tigers Sleeping
Tigers spend most of their time sleeping and resting. On average, they spend about 16 hours per day sleeping, twice as much as humans! Why do tigers spend so much time sleeping? Tigers live in a continual cycle of hunting, eating, and resting. A tiger’s hunt for prey uses a lot of energy, and only about one in every 10-20 hunts is successful. So, when they're not hunting, you'll usually see tigers resting and conserving energy.

Tiger taking a nap at Secret Garden Las Vegas
Jennifer R. Graevell Photography, CC BY-ND 2.0, via Flickr

A tiger sleeping at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida
Cropped by me; Original by Raul654, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Another tiger sleeping at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida
Raul654, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A white tiger sleeping at Busch Gardens safari park in Tampa, Florida
Cary Michael Bass, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A pair of Siberian tigers napping at Zoo Landau in Germany
4028mdk09, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pictures of Tiger Cubs
A female tiger gives birth to a litter of about 2-3 cubs. She gives birth to her cubs in a sheltered den, such as a thicket or cave, and she rears her cubs alone. Cubs are born blind and helpless and don’t open their eyes until they are 1-2 weeks old. At age 3-6 months, cubs travel with their mother as she roams her territory, and she teaches them how to hunt. Cubs don’t separate from their mothers until they are about 2–2½ years old.

Tiger cub at the controversial "Tiger Temple" in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand
Pavel Sigarteu, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr
The next set of photos shows Siberian tiger cubs at the Buffalo Zoo in New York.
The next set of photos is of Siberian tiger cubs at the Zürich Zoo in Switzerland. A male named Lailek and two females named Luva and Liska were born on May 15, 2011 at the zoo.

Liska (left) and Luva (right) drinking together at a pond
Tambako the Jaguar, CC BY-ND 2.0, via Flickr

Mother Elena was playing with one of her cubs and the cub put his paw into her mouth
Tambako the Jaguar, CC BY-ND 2.0, via Flickr

Tiger cubs playing aggressively (Don't worry, none of the cubs got hurt!)
Tambako the Jaguar, CC BY-ND 2.0, via Flickr
The next set of photos is of Sumatran tiger cubs at the Frankfurt Zoo in Germany.
Pictures of White Tigers
Though some people mistakenly believe that the white tiger is its own subspecies, it is actually a rare genetic variation of the Bengal tiger. The white tiger’s color is a recessive trait caused by a lack of red and yellow pigments that produce the tiger’s normally orange color. White tigers are occasionally spotted in the wild, but they are more common in captivity. There are several hundred white tigers in captivity around the world, most of which have been deliberately bred. In addition to their unusual color, white tigers tend to be a bit larger than normal tigers.

Two white tigers at Zoo Safaripark Stukenbrock in Germany
Christine und David Schmitt (flickr.com), CC-BY-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A pair of White Bengal Tigers at the Haifa Educational Zoo in Israel
Zvi Roger, CC-BY-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

White tigers playing in the water (Singapore Zoo)
Ankit Mehta at Incomposition, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A pair of affectionate white tigers (Singapore Zoo)
chensiyuan, CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

White tiger at the New Delhi Zoo, India
Santosh Namby Chandran, CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Two white tigers resting at Bannerghatta National Park in India
Amol.Gaitonde, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Céréales Killer at French Wikipedia(Transferred from fr.wikipedia),CC-BY-SA-3.0,via WikimediaCommons
Pictures of Tigers in Water
Tigers and jaguars are the only cats that enjoy swimming and resting in water. Tigers are such strong swimmers that they can swim up to 29 kilometers (18 miles) in a single day. Tigers will go into the water to hunt prey, swim for fun, or cool off on a hot day.

Tiger shaking off water after a swim at Raubtierpark Subingen in Switzerland
Tambako the Jaguar, CC BY-ND 2.0, via Flickr

A tiger getting in the water at Wuppertal Zoo in Germany
Christoph Matthias Siebenborn, CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, via Wikimedia Commons

A tiger at the San Diego Zoo
Dirk (originally posted to Flickr as DSC_4823a), CC-BY-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Siberian tiger swimming at Wuppertal Zoo in Germany
Cropped by me; original by Christoph Matthias Siebenborn, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Malayan Tiger swimming at Zoo Dortmund in Germany
Hans Stieglitz, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Informational References
- Tiger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Animal Diversity Web: Panthera tigris: INFORMATION
- Tiger sleeping habits
Comments
Ava on January 03, 2019:
Cute, tigers are my favorite animals
MoonByTheSea (author) on January 13, 2014:
Thanks for the kind words, both of you. This hub was a lot of fun to put together.
TurtleDog on January 13, 2014:
Wow! I have never, ever, ever seen so many pictures (and nice ones too) on a Hub. I think you set a record. Nice hub, voted up.
ANIL KUMAR UPADHYAY from INDIA, UTTAR PRADESH STATE, KANPUR CITY on January 12, 2014:
Wow, moonbythesea, what a lovely info hub. Appreciated it too much. Thanks for sharing it. Voted it up too.