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International Tiger Day 2020: Date, history and facts about big cats you never knew

International Tiger Day is celebrated every year on July 29.

By Newsd
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International Tiger Day 2020: Date, history and facts about big cats you never knew

Tiger is regarded as the most fierce species of cats. To raise awareness about a gradual decline in the tiger population leaving them on the brink of extinction, and to encourage tiger conservation, International Tiger Day is celebrated every year on July 29.

According to the latest WWF estimates, there are only 3,890 tigers left in the wild, whilst at the beginning of the 20th century, their number exceeded 100,000.

Back in 2010, tigers became a subject of concern for people across India, as the national animal was under the list of endangered animals. With concerted efforts to bring the number of tigers up, independent activists, government policies, amendments to the Wild Life Protection Act, and raising awareness increased the number of tigers to 2,226 in 2014 Census report.

History of International Tiger Day:

International Tiger Day was created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia to raise awareness about the decline of wild tiger numbers, leaving them in the brink of extinction and to encourage the work of Tiger conservation. In the Summit, a declaration was made that Governments of tiger populated countries had vowed to double the tiger population by 2020.

Facts about the big cats you never knew:

  • Tigers are the largest cat species in the world and the third-largest carnivore on land–only polar and brown bears are larger.
  • The Sumatran tiger is the smallest, with males only weighing up to 310 pounds. Females generally weigh less than males in all subspecies.
  • It is said that one swipe from a Tiger’s front hand is enough to kill a person or an animal, or at least break one’s bones.
  • Tiger cubs are born blind and only a few survive. The newborn cubs can’t see anything, they only follow the scent of their mother. Since they are born blind and can’t keep up, most of them die of hunger or cold.
  • Tigers have antiseptic saliva. They tend to lick the area to prevent any infection.
  • A tiger’s favourite way of taking down its prey is to lunge at the animal’s neck and hold on tight with its powerful jaws. The prey will normally die from suffocation, but some might bleed out first if the tiger’s canines sever an artery.

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