The Truth About Tiger Stripes
In The Truth About Tiger Stripes, evolutionary biologist Ben Garrod explains why these big cats' stripes are orange and black. Learn how melanin, the pigment responsible for skin and fur color, creates the distinctive camouflage patterns of a tiger’s coat. Discover the ways tigers use their stripes for survival in the wild, blending into their surroundings to avoid predators and enhance their hunting capabilities. This video is excerpted from Secrets of Skin, a documentary series exploring the natural history of the body’s largest organ.
Lesson Express
Q: What purpose do the tiger’s stripes serve?
A: The stripes help the tiger blend into its environment, making it less visible to prey and predators.
Q: How does melanin influence the tiger’s appearance?
A: Melanin is the pigment that produces the black and orange colors of the tiger’s stripes.
Q: Why do you think camouflage is an important adaptation for tigers?
A: Camouflage helps tigers survive by making them harder to detect, improving their chances of catching prey.
More Like This
In The Snow Leopard Caught on Film for the First Time!, Sir David Attenborough describes how a seldom-seen female cares for her cub and hunts among the steep cliffs of the Himalayas. Her body is uniquely adapted to the challenges of her environment. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In A Leopard Hunts for Food in the Kalahari, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how a one-year-old African leopard in the Kalahari Desert learns how to survive on his own by hunting for food. With limited food sources, the young leopard has to be clever and patient. He misses a few chances to catch food, but he keeps trying. Eventually, he returns to find a meal left high in the trees, but getting to it won't be so easy. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Africa, a study of the landscape and wildlife of the world’s wildest continent, Africa.
In How the Snow Affects Animals, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how predators stalk a herd of markhor goats. When snow starts to fall, the golden eagle is hindered, but the snow leopard is helped. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Snow Leopard Caught on Film for the First Time!, Sir David Attenborough describes how a seldom-seen female cares for her cub and hunts among the steep cliffs of the Himalayas. Her body is uniquely adapted to the challenges of her environment. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In A Leopard Hunts for Food in the Kalahari, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how a one-year-old African leopard in the Kalahari Desert learns how to survive on his own by hunting for food. With limited food sources, the young leopard has to be clever and patient. He misses a few chances to catch food, but he keeps trying. Eventually, he returns to find a meal left high in the trees, but getting to it won't be so easy. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Africa, a study of the landscape and wildlife of the world’s wildest continent, Africa.
In How the Snow Affects Animals, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how predators stalk a herd of markhor goats. When snow starts to fall, the golden eagle is hindered, but the snow leopard is helped. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.