About Tigers : 25 Interesting & Fun Facts

•      Tigers belong to “Cat” family of animals & is the  largest (in size) in cat family , the 2^nd  one is Lion.

•       It is the third largest land carnivore (behind only the Polar bear and the Brown bear)

•      It is assumed that  word tiger came from the Greek work “ tigris ", which has been derived from a Persian word which means  “an arrow”

•       Its most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark black stripes on golden yellow skin.

•      The pattern of stripes is unique to each tiger, these unique markings can be used  to identify individuals .It is like finger-prints in human-beings

•      There are 9 subspecies of tiger, 3 of which are extinct now.

•      Tigers tend to live alone .

•      To mark his territory , the male marks trees by spraying of urine  as well as marking trails with faeces. 

•      Tigers are strong swimmers, and are often found bathing in ponds, lakes, and rivers.

•      They may also cross rivers up to 6 to 7 km across and can swim a distance of up to 29 km  in a day

•      Tigers don't like when it is too hot, they generally spend really hot days lying in pools and streams

•      Tigers normally are nocturnal predators, hunting at night . They have good night vision.

•      Tigers have a very poor success rate as hunters, their average is 1 kill out of every 20 attempts.

•      Male tigers (unlike Lions ) will allow the females and cubs to feed on the kill first. 

•       An adult tiger can go up to 2 weeks without eating but then it can eat up to 34 kg (75 lb) of food at one sitting.

•      They  hunt alone

•      A tiger takes many days  to finish eating its kill. It eats until it's full, and  the rest  is hidden with leaves and dirt. When it's hungry again, comes back to feed some more, until all the flesh is over.

•      It eats small animals such as turtles & frogs, as well as large ones such as buffalo & a large antelope.

•      A Tigers footprints are called 'Pug Marks”

•      It retracts its claws as it walks, so no claw marks  can be found in its tracks.

•      A group is tiger is called “streak”

•      Tiger vision is 6 times better than humans.

•      A tiger roar can be heard from 2 kms .

•      A tiger length can be 6 feet & the tail can be as long as 3 feet.

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Lions : 25 Fun & Interesting Facts about Lions

•      Lions belong to “Cat” family of animals & is the 2^nd largest in cat family , the 1^st one is Tiger.

•      A group of Lions is called “Pride”

•       The average pride consists of about 15 individuals, including five to 10 females 

•      Male lions are the only members of the cat family to have a mane.

•      Lions live for 10–14 years in the wild, while in captivity they can live longer than 20 years.

•      Lions may hunt at any hour, but they typically go after large prey at night.

•       They hunt in a group to increase their chances, as larger animal can be difficult to catch and can outrun a single lion.

•      The lions fan out in a broad front or in a  semicircle to slowly attack on prey. Once with within striking distance, they join together among the startled animals and  knock one down. They sneak up to the victim until they reach a distance of around 30 metres (98 ft) or less.

•       Females do >85%  of the pride's hunting as they are more aggressive,  the males patrol the territory and protect the pride, for which they take the "lion's (major)share" of the females' prey.

•      Lions are not always successful in the job, 50% of times their hunting adventure fails too.

•      Females do 85 to 90 percent of the pride's hunting, while the males patrol the territory and protect the pride, for which they take the "lion's (major) share" of the females' prey.

•      The male lions  eat first even before the cubs as well as hunters (lioness).

•      Lions are the laziest of the big cats. They usually spend 16 to 20 hours a day sleeping and resting, spending the remaining hours to hunting,  protecting their territory.

•      Lions are also called “Nocturnal” animals, this means sleeping during day-time & working in night.

•      Lions  spend an average of  2 hours a day walking and 50 minutes eating.

•      Lions make many gestures towards each other .Rubbing head, face and neck against another lion—seems to be a form of greeting.

•      Most lions drink water daily if available, but can go 4-5 days without it. Lions in dry areas obtain required moisture from the stomach contents of their kill.

•      The lion’s worst enemy -is a surprise, it is a porcupine.

•      Though a lion can't actually roar until it's 2 years old

•      When adult, a lion’s roar can be heard from as far as 5 miles away.

•      A lion is the only one having a tassel on the tail. It's often used to signal to other members of the pride, with messages like, "this way

•      Lions don’t have much  stamina, thus, they only run fast in short bursts.

•      A lion can run for short distances at 50 miles per hour and can leap as far as 36 feet.

•      A lion’s heels don’t touch the ground while walking.

•      When males take over a new pride, they usually kill the cubs

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All about Penguins - 21 Interesting & Fun Facts

• •      There are between 17-20 living species of Penguins.
• •      The largest living species is the Emperor Penguin- on average adults are about 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) tall or more.
• •      The King Penguin  is the second largest species of penguin.
• •      The smallest penguin species is the Little Blue Penguin  also known as the Fairy Penguin.
• •      The yellow-eyed penguin is believed to be the rarest penguin species, with only approximately 5,000 birds surviving , though population numbers fluctuate.
• •      Winter arrives in Antarctica in March. Nearly all creatures leave except for the Emperor Penguin, the only animal that spends the winter on Antarctica's open ice.
• •      Penguins are warm-blooded birds as humans but still lay eggs.
•       Interestingly, male Penguin takes care of the chick. To keep eggs warm away from cold they balance their egg on feet and cover them with their belly flap..
• •      After laying the egg, female Penguin leaves for about 65 days for feeding  towards open seas, males stand, for about 65 days, through icy temperatures, cruel winds, and blinding storms. And they eat nothing that whole time.
• •      After females return, the males eagerly leave for their own fishing session at sea, and the mothers take over care of the chicks for a while.
• •      There are about 17-20 different species of penguin and around 100 million penguins are there  in the world.
• •      Penguins seem to have no special fear of humans. This is probably because penguins have no land predators in Antarctica.
• •      Typically, penguins do not approach closer than about 3 meters (10 ft) at which point they become nervous. This is also the distance that Antarctic tourists are told to keep from penguins
• •      Another interesting  thing about them is if they lose a chick they steal from other mother.
• •      Penguins can walk faster than humans even when they seem to waddle while walking.
• •      Penguins know Yoga ! They can hold their breath for 20 minutes under water and can leap in water while swimming.
• •      Penguins love to store stones that help them to float in water.
• •      It is really funny that penguins steal stones from each other & there are sometimes fight among them for this.
• •      Penguins  can’t fly ,but their powerful flippers and streamlined bodies make them very good swimmers. They are the fastest swimming and deepest diving species of any birds. 
• •      Penguins’ eyes work better underwater than they do in the air, giving them good eyesight to spot prey while hunting, even in cloudy, dark or murky water.
• •       Emperor penguins and king penguins do not make any sort of nests.