Big Cats
Meet the fabulous felines that make audiences roar with delight.
Tigers are known as "big cats." They are members of the
feline family, a category that includes 36 species of mammals ranging
from the lion, leopard and jaguar to the common house cat.
The big cats showcased at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®
have a relationship with their trainers based on mutual trust and
respect. However, our trainers never forget that these animals are
incredibly strong and fierce. For this reason, the big cats always
perform behind a barrier.
Yipes, stripes! The terrific tiger!
The
tiger is one of the largest predators in the world – and one of the rarest. Due
to the beauty of its coat and loss of its habitat, the tiger has become an
endangered species. Tigers are the most endangered of all the big cats and need
our help so that they can continue to live in the wild. Tigers can live in
almost any climate; they require only shade, water and food. They prefer to
hunt for food at night then bring down their prey with a swipe of their
powerful forelegs and sharp claws.
One hundred years ago, as many as 100,000 wild
tigers roamed the forests and grasslands of Asia. But today, fewer than 3,200
tigers remain in the wild. Tigers now live in less than seven percent of their
historic range.
In the past 80 years, three subspecies of tigers have gone extinct. The six
remaining subspecies - Amur, Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, South China, and
Sumatran - live only in Asia, and all are threatened by poaching and habitat
loss. The Greatest Show On Earth® features Bengal tigers in four color phases
ranging from white to orange, striped in black.
All the tigers you see at The Greatest Show On Earth were bred in captivity and
act as ambassadors to raise awareness of and help us conserve their species in
the wild. Guests of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus can see
first-hand how magnificent these big cats are, and get to see more tigers
interact together than anywhere else.
Fascinating Facts