The largest cat on the planet does not live in Africa, but in Asia. It is the tiger, a solitary hunter that can exceed three meters in length including the tail. Its stripes are unique, like a fingerprint, and they are on the skin too: if you could shave a tiger, it would still be striped. Behind the ears it has two white spots that are believed to help its cubs follow it through the vegetation. And unlike most cats, it loves water: it swims very well and bathes to beat the heat. Even as a great predator, most of its hunts fail. Today fewer than six thousand tigers remain in the wild, but in countries such as India and Nepal their numbers are rising again. A sign that protecting them works.