The Tiger

by William Blake

Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright
in the forests of the night,
what immortal hand or eye
could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
burned the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, and what art,
could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when the heart began to beat,
and what dread hand? And what dread feet?

What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
dare it's deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
and watered heaven with their tears,
did he smile his work to see?
Did he who make the lamb make thee?

Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright
in the forests of the night,
what immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

The Bengal Tiger

Size: male to 3 m (10 ft.), female to 2.7 m (9 ft.)

Weight: male to 225 kg (500 lb.), female to 135 kg (300 lb.); largest existing member of the cat family

Description: reddish orange with narrow black, gray or brown stripes, generally in a vertical direction. The underside is creamy or white; a rare variant has a chalky white coat with darker stripes and icy blue eyes.

Life span: average probably not more than 15 years in the wild; 16 to 18 years in controlled environments

Habitat: tropical jungle, brush, marsh lands, and tall grasslands in fragmented areas of Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Bhuton, and Burma

Diet: medium to large prey such as pigs, deer, antelopes, and buffalo

Fun Facts

1. Since tigers hunt mostly at dusk and dawn their stripes help them hide in the shadows of tall grasses. They stalk and pounce because they are not able to chase prey a long distance.

2. A tiger can consume as much as 40 kg (88 lb.) of meat in one feeding.

4. Tigers may drag their prey to water to eat. They are commonly seen in the shade or wading in pools to cool off.

5. Since white tigers have pigmented stripes and blue eyes, they are not albinos.

6. It is estimated that there are less than 3,000 Bengal tigers left in the wild.

Snow Globes by Tigress

Read to Learn More

Jackson, Peter. Endangered Species: Tigers Secaucus, NJ: Chartwell Books, 1990

McDougal, Charles. The Face of the Tiger London: Rivington Books, 1977.

Updated on May 14, 1999

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