It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes.

Since the early 20th century, tiger populations have lost at least 93% of their historic range and are locally extinct in West and Central Asia, in large areas of China and on the islands of Java and Bali.

Major threats to tigers are habitat destruction and fragmentation due to deforestation, poaching for fur and the illegal trade of body parts for medicinal purposes.

It was proposed to recognise only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely P. t. tigris in mainland Asia and the smaller P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands.

[11] This two-subspecies proposal was reaffirmed in 2015 through a comprehensive analysis of morphological, ecological and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) traits of all putative tiger subspecies.

[12] Results of a 2018 whole-genome sequencing study of 32 samples from the six living putative subspecies—the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South China, Siberian and Sumatran tiger—found them to be distinct and separate clades.

Results of genetic analyses indicate that the tiger and snow leopard are sister species whose lineages split from each other between 2.70 and 3.70 million years ago.

[39] However, as of 2023, at least two subsequent studies considered P. zdanskyi likely to be a synonym of P. palaeosinensis, noting that its proposed differences from that species fell within the range of individual variation.

[41][42] The earliest appearance of the modern tiger species in the fossil record are jaw fragments from Lantion in China that are dated to the early Pleistocene.

Prehistoric subspecies include Panthera tigris trinilensis and P. t. soloensis of Java and Sumatra and P. t. acutidens of China; late Pleistocene and early Holocene fossils of tigers have also been found in Borneo and Palawan, Philippines.

[47][48] It has five digits, including a dewclaw, on the front feet and four on the back, all of which have retractile claws that are compact and curved, and can reach 10 cm (3.9 in) long.

[50] The tiger's skull is robust, with a constricted front region, proportionally small, elliptical orbits, long nasal bones and a lengthened cranium with a large sagittal crest.

[47] As of 2022, it inhabits less than 7% of its historical distribution and has a scattered range in the Indian subcontinent, the Indochinese Peninsula, Sumatra, northeastern China and the Russian Far East.

[75] Population density in mixed deciduous and semi-evergreen forests of Thailand's Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary was estimated at 2.01 tigers per 100 km2 (39 sq mi); during the 1970s and 1980s, logging and poaching had occurred in the adjacent Mae Wong and Khlong Lan National Parks, where population density was much lower, estimated at only 0.359 tigers per 100 km2 (39 sq mi) as of 2016.

[77] Camera trap data show that tigers in Chitwan National Park avoided locations frequented by people and were more active at night than during day.

[47] Adult tigers lead largely solitary lives within home ranges or territories, the size of which mainly depends on prey abundance, geographic area and sex of the individual.

[97] Facial expressions include the "defence threat", which involves a wrinkled face, bared teeth, pulled-back ears and widened pupils.

[107][108] The tiger is a carnivore and an apex predator feeding mainly on large and medium-sized ungulates, with a preference for sambar deer, Manchurian wapiti, barasingha, gaur and wild boar.

[139] In Jigme Dorji National Park, tigers were found to inhabit the deeper parts of forests while the smaller predators were pushed closer to the fringes.

[163] A seven-year long study in Chitwan National Park revealed that 12 of 56 detected cubs and juveniles were killed by new males taking over home ranges.

[167] In the Tanintharyi Region of southern Myanmar, deforestation coupled with mining activities and high hunting pressure threatens the tiger population.

[170] Large-scale land acquisitions of about 23,000 km2 (8,900 sq mi) for commercial agriculture and timber extraction in Cambodia contributed to the fragmentation of potential tiger habitat, especially in the Eastern Plains.

[171] Inbreeding depression coupled with habitat destruction, insufficient prey resources and poaching is a threat to the small and isolated tiger population in the Changbai Mountains along the China–Russia border.

[176] Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park was considered the last important site for the tiger in Laos, but it has not been recorded there at least since 2013; this population likely fell victim to indiscriminate snaring.

[178] Poaching is also the main threat to the tiger population in far eastern Russia, where logging roads facilitate access for poachers and people harvesting forest products that are important for prey species to survive in winter.

[182] Seizure data from India during 2001–2021 indicate that tiger skins were the most often traded body parts, followed by claws, bones and teeth; trafficking routes mainly passed through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Assam.

[186] Tiger body parts like skins, bones, teeth and hair are consumed locally by wealthy Bangladeshis and are illegally trafficked from Bangladesh to 15 countries including India, China, Malaysia, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan and the United Kingdom via land borders, airports and seaports.

Methods to counter tiger attacks have included face masks worn backwards, protective clothes, sticks and carefully stationed electric dummies.

Another trainer was Clyde Beatty, who used chairs, whips and guns to provoke tigers and other beasts into acting fierce and allowed him to appear courageous.

[248] Most countries in the European Union have banned breeding and keeping tigers outside of licensed zoos and rescue centres, but some still allow private holdings.