Tigers

=Bengal Tigers= Bengal tigers live in the rainforests of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. They are endangered.

They are the largest of the big cats and are not afraid of anything. They prowl through the plants that grow on the rainforest floor, looking for prey in the grass and the bushes. They like water and can swim for long distances.

Tigers are powerful hunters. They are carnivores. They have huge, strong heads with powerful teeth. They use their front teeth to stab their prey and their side teeth to slice through the meat. They grow up to 3.1 metres long and weigh up to 300 kilograms.

Tigers are hard to spot in the grass because of their stripes, and they can sneak up quietly on their prey because of their soft paws. To kill their prey they grab it with their teeth and claws and crush its windpipe so it can't breathe. Then the tiger drags it under a bush so that it can eat in peace.

They prey on mammals, especially animals with hoofs like water buffalo, wild boar, and deer but they also eat leopards, wolves, jackals, foxes and even crocodiles. if they are very hungry, they attack and sometimes kill humans for food.

Source: Wikipedia [] and Dangerous Creatures of the Tropical Rainforests, by Helen Bateman and Jayne Denchire, Macmillan Library, 2005