Tigers are found in India and most of the countries of South-east Asia. They live in forests and grassy plains, where there are plenty of other animals for them to hunt for food.

If you see a tiger in the zoo, you may think its coat is brightly collared and easily seen, but in the jungles and grassland where it lives, a tiger is hard to see. The sunlight, shining through leaves and branches, makes patches of bright light and shadow. A tiger's golden collared coat mixes so well into these patches of sunlight and shadow that it is not easily seen. When it walks through the long forest grass, it is also hard to see, for its hair is the same colour as the blades of yellowish grass and patches of deep shadow.

This camouflage, as we call it, is very important, because tigers are hunters and catch other animals for their food. If the animals could see a tiger coming, they would quickly escape. It has strong, sharp teeth which it uses for seizing and eating the animals it catches. A tiger's chief food is deer, wild pigs, monkeys and other small animals, but it will also kill cows. A tiger is also very strong and if it kills a deer or a cow, it will often drag the dead animal several hundred yards to the shelter of some bushes, where it can eat its meal in peace. Tigers usually hunt and eat at night, and during the daytime they lie resting, hidden in the long grass.