Tiger

Tiger
Friendly
Current:	Yes
Past:	Yes
Creature type
Creature:	Tiger
Species:	Panthera Tigris
Book appearances
Living:	Secrets of the Clans
Dead:	N/A

Tigers are large, striped cats that live in small pockets of Asia, and are present in Clan mythology.

Description

Tigers are large orange cats with white on the back and sides of their legs, their tails, chest, neck, belly and face, and  black stripes that slice across their bodies. The stripes can be found all over the body of a tiger. The stripes are the most clustered at their face and tail and more loosely clustered on their torso and legs.

There are genetic mutations where a tiger can appear to be another color than normal; for example, a genetic mutation might lead to a tiger being fully white, minus its stripes, almost primarily in India. There are also supposed sightings of a 'black tiger,' with no mane, in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and India though its existence is unconfirmed.

A fully-grown tiger can grow to about 660 lbs. (300 kg.) and be approximately 10 feet (3 m.) long, though they can be as small as 220 lbs. (100 kg.) and 4 ft. (1.2 m.) There are no notable differences between a male or female tiger, minus the fact that males are heavier than females.

Relations to Clan Cats

TigerClan is present in Clan mythology as a dark Clan of big cats that were banished to only move around at night after kidnapping Petalkit from LionClan. For this they gained their black stripes, and passed down the ability to hunt at night to the Clan cats.

The name of TigerClan was adopted by Tigerstar when he united ShadowClan and RiverClan to attempt to overtake the forest.

Tigers are also remembered by the Clans through names (e.g, Tigerstar and Tigerheart).

Book Mentions

In the Super Edition Arc

Firestar's Quest

Firestar talks to Echosong about LionClan, LeopardClan, and TigerClan when she frets that she can't be a warrior because she was originally a kittypet. He tells her that they were great cats who were never owned by Twolegs, and that a little bit of their wildness lives in every cat.

Bluestar's Prophecy

Leopardfoot names the weakest of her son and the runt of her litter Tigerkit, hoping that the name will give him the strength to survive. When Bluefur is told about this, she is surprised that Leopardfoot had chosen such a fierce name.

In the The Prophecies Begin Arc

Forest of Secrets

When Fireheart goes to talk to Cloudkit about damp bedding, he finds the kit in the elder's den, as Halftail tells him a story about TigerClan. The elder explains that the leader of TigerClan stalked the fox for a night and a day, and did something on the second night, but he cuts himself off when he sees Fireheart. Cloudkit's eyes are wide with wonder as he images the mighty black-striped cats of TigerClan. After Fireheart lectures the kit on bedding, Cloudkit tells Halftail to go on, and asks what TigerClan's leader did next.

Later, when Tigerclaw is exiled from ThunderClan, and Bluestar asks if he has anything to say in his defense, the tabby tom says that he would have brought back the days of TigerClan, and made ThunderClan great.

The Darkest Hour

When Tigerstar combines both RiverClan and ShadowClan together, he names the new Clan TigerClan, much to Tallstar's outrage. He yowls that Tigerstar cannot use the name TigerClan, as it belonged to their great ancestors.

Firestar goes to the WindClan camp to help Tallstar and his warriors defeat TigerClan, who had attacked them. Firestar asks Tallstar to combine their Clan to defeat Tigerstar, and Tallstar tells Firestar that their Clans will join together like a lion to defeat the tiger that prowls through the forest.

In the Field Guide Arc

Secrets of the Clans

TigerClan is first mentioned when it is said that they and LionClan both have gold coats, but that TigerClan are jealous of LionClan's manes and LeopardClan's speed. Their jealousy causes them to be bitter and hunt at night and keep to the shadows during the daytime. One TigerClan warrior, Thorntooth, is said to be particularly jealous, and steals other Clans' kits and fresh-kill. Shadestar, TigerClan's leader, is aware of this, but does nothing to stop him because she too is terribly envious.

One day, Thorntooth sneaks back to camp with a small lion cub, but Shadestar roars that he stole Petalkit, Goldenstar's only daughter. Shadestar snarls that LionClan will slaughter them if they must to rescue the kit, but Thorntooth growls that they can fight. Shadestar asks why they would let TigerClan warriors die for nothing.

That night, Shadestar calls a Gathering and returns Petalkit to Goldenstar. Goldenstar and Swiftstar demand to Shadestar that Thorntooth stops stealing, and Thorntooth protests that TigerClan has nothing special, as they are only plain orange cats with no great skill. He wishes to have something to distinct them apart like LeopardClan and LionClan have. Goldenstar snarls to Shadestar that her Clan must be punished, and says that for the next moon, TigerClan shall not be seen in daylight, and their pelts will not see sun. Goldenstar forbids them from speaking to other Clans.

For a moon, TigerClan walk only by night, and stay away from the other Clans, and at the next Gathering, the other Clans are surprised at their pelts. After walking in the shadows for so long, the TigerClan cats' coats are sliced through with black stripes, causing Thorntooth to be pleased that now TigerClan is also marked out like the other Clans. From then on, all TigerClan cats are born with stripes.

See Also

• TigerClan (Mythological)
• TigerClan (Modern)