“The tiger is the largest of the big cats, reaching an extraordinary length of 4 meters and 350 kilograms in weight, equal to 100 domestic cats!” ("Tiger Facts" 1). This is a big cat! You might think that such a large predator would thrive, but tigers are a critically endangered species, and have been for years. “Intelligent and agile, big cats are ideally designed for hunting, with sharp teeth and claws, strong jaws, powerful bodies, excellent eyesight, keen hearing, and a good sense of smell” (“Tiger Facts” 1). They are also very beautiful; These are some of the reasons why tigers are used in circuses, exhibited in zoos, seen at fairs, and even kept as pets. Keeping tigers in captivity can be good or bad taking into account food and nutrition, veterinary and health care, the environment, pros and cons and the fact that it is an endangered species. Wild tigers live mainly in Asia. “The population is distributed across six countries: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar.” (Sinha 57). However, they can be found all over the world in captivity. There are eight different tiger breeds; “they are the Siberians, the Chinese, the Indochinese, the Sumatrans, the Javanese, the Balinese, the Caspians and the Indians (also known as Bengal). Of these eight, the Balinese, Javanese, and Caspian/Persian tigers are extinct” (Ives 139). This means that there are only 5 tiger breeds left, maybe less, and they all fall into the category of endangered species. “Under the law, endangered species are those that are in danger of extinction throughout all or part of their range” (Williamson and Henry 11). In other words, today's tigers are disappearing fast and the question is: why? All living things need to eat to survive and sometimes that means eating more... middle of paper... making an effort to save it. endangered species, but it's hard work and they can't do it alone. Tigers also need our help. Works Cited Sinha, Vivek. The missing tiger. London: SalamanderBooks, 2003. Print.Ives, Richard. Of tigers and men. New York: Nan A. Talese, 1996. Print. Rabinowitz, Alan. "A question of balance." NationalGeographic April 2004: 98-117. Print."Tiger Facts." Born free. Network. October 9, 2009.Williamson, D.F. and L.A. Henry. 2008. Paper tigers?: The role of the captive tiger population in the United States in the tiger parts trade. TRAFFIC North America, Washington DC: World Wildlife Fund. "Management and conservation of tigers in captivity". 5 tigers. Network. October 23, 2009..Rives, Shannon. Personal interview. January 8 2010.