第1个回答 2006-09-10
Tigers:
Tigers are members of the cat family. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, and house cats are also members of the cat family. Tigers are the largest cats, and the only cats with stripes. They live in large forests in southern and southeastern Asia.
A tiger’s short fur is usually colored dark orange with black stripes. Each tiger has different stripes, and you can use them to tell tigers apart. The stripes make a tiger stand out if you see them in the open. In the forests where tigers live, however, the stripes make them almost invisible.
Like house cats, tigers have soft pads on the bottoms of their paws. These pads allow tigers to move silently through the forest. Tigers have long, sharp claws at the ends of their feet. They pull the claws in until they need them. When needed, the claws pop out like knives.
Their big, yellow eyes give tigers sharp sight to help find prey. Tigers see as well as people during the day, and much better than people at night. They also hear very well. They can turn their ears toward sounds.
Tigers have explosive speed. They have strong muscles and long legs that help them move extremely fast over short distances. Their long tails give them balance while running fast. Powerful jaws and sharp teeth help tigers grab and kill prey once they catch it.
Some tigers in zoos and circuses are white with blue eyes. People bred these tigers because white tigers fetch more money from tourists. In the wild, white tigers are very rare. Zoos no longer breed tigers to be white.