No two tigers have the same stripe pattern. When you look at this big cat, the bright orange and black stripes seem so distinctive you wonder how the animals that tigers prey on fail to see them. It turns out that spotted deer and four-horned antelope, two animals on a tiger's dinner menu, are color blind. The pattern that seems so obvious to our eyes is a pattern of black and grey to a four-footed herbivore. A tiger's striped pattern actually makes for excellent camouflage in the forest and jungle. Check out the two pictures below. Unless you are color blind, the tiger on the left (color) is easy to spot. If you were a herbivore, you would see something more like the image on the right. It is much more difficult to make out the tiger unless you are paying attention.

Most herbivores–animals that eat plants–have their eyes on the sides of their heads. Most carnivores–animals that feed on other creatures–have their eyes in the front of their face like the tiger. The reason for this adaptation is that herbivores want to be able to see anything coming at them from a variety of directions, thus the side placement of their eyes to take in as much terrain as possible. The tiger on the other hand has eyes in front which make it more accurate in judging distance and answering questions like, how far is dinner away from me, can I make that distance with a spring or a quick run, or do I need to sneak up a little closer before I make my move? So what kind of eye placement do humans have?

Tigers in India have been seen chasing samba deer into the water and fully submerging with their prey. This is one cat that is not afraid of the water.