This majestic animal is a tiger - the largest of all the big cats on your planet. It is also one of the most powerful hunters. There are five different species of tiger, which live in different places around the world. There used to be eight subspecies but sadly three are now extinct.

My data on tigers tells me that the Amur tiger (which lives in the Russian Far East) is the largest of all; the Bengal tiger (which lives in India and the surrounding countries) is the most numerous; and the Sumatran tiger (which lives in Indonesia) is the smallest. There is also the Indochinese tiger and the South China tiger.

Although the different subspecies of tiger vary in size and colourings they all share some common features. Their stripy coat, which helps them blend in with their forest home, razor-sharp teeth, a long tail to help them balance, and enormous claws.

Tigers hunt a variety of different animals depending on where they live, although deer and buffalo are their favourites. I have watched these animals closely and, unlike some other big cats, a tiger does not chase its prey. Instead it stalks it carefully, creeping closer and closer, until it is within a few metres of it – at which point it pounces.

A female tiger normally gives birth to two or three cubs, but there can be as many as seven! When tiger cubs are very small, they are easy prey for eagles or jackals, so the mother is very protective towards them. If she feels they are in danger she will move her cubs by carrying them carefully in her mouth.

Tiger cubs grow up very fast and by the age of two years old they already know how to hunt and look after themselves. It is at this point when they leave their mother to start a life of their own.

There are some people who believe that tiger bones and some of their other body parts have special healing powers, and as a result wild tigers are still regularly killed for this purpose. In addition the tigers' homes are dwindling, as people cut down the forests to use the land for housing or farming.

WWF is the largest funder of tiger conservation projects in the world. Its aim is to protect the key areas where tigers live by encouraging people to use the forests in ways that do not destroy them, and providing funding and equipment to rangers who stop tigers from being killed by poachers.