Anyone who has owned a cat or cared for a cat knows that they hate to swim. Try to teach a cat this skill and you will get something like this,
There are the occasional cats that do like to swim. I believe, if memory serves me correctly, that the Maine Coon cat actually likes water. The Scottish Fold may as well. Then there are the rare cats of dubious heritage that actually like water.
Housecats clean themselves regularly, so getting wet hampers the process. Speculations of why include that water removes protective oils from a cat's coat to drying out the skin to allowing infections to set in. I will not go into the debate here (as I have heard so many stories), but maybe in some other post.
Siberian tigers live very different lives than your Fluffy or Mittens, who may be trying to covet your keyboard or laptop right now. The largest cats in the world, Siberian tigers are pretty rare, with only 400-500 left int he wild today (National Geographic). Their famous stripes are unique to every tiger, just like no two humans have the same fingerprints.
Tigers, like cats, are normally solitary. While females may overlap territories with males and other females, the male will never overlap his space with that of another male. Because food can run fast and cover several miles, the territories are necessary. Prey is also rare, so a tiger's territory may be quite huge ant he tiger could travel many miles in search of deer, elk, or wild boar. Tigers catch and kill prey by sneaking up within pouncing range. Their over 600 pound body and sharp claws are perfect for executing the perfect pounce. The average tiger eats over 60 pound of meat a day, although they typically eat less (National Geographic).
Tigers do take to the water, unlike other big cats. "They enjoy bathing and often play in the water when young. As adults, they often swim several kilometers to hunt or to cross rivers, and at least one has been recorded to have swum almost 30km in a day' (Wan). Finding prey may be one reason why tigers would swim, in order to reach prey quietly and quickly. Tigers could potentially hunt animals in rivers as well.
Oden is a tiger at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom outside of San Francisco. He regularly shows guests how much tigers can like water, jumping into his pool and diving to the bottom for a piece of meat (below) or just playfully swimming around (Conger).
While I have never spent quality time with a tiger or ever see one swimming (zoo tigers tend to sleep all the time), it would be a neat spectacle! I do recall hearing as a kid that tigers swim, but never for enjoyment. It's always nice to learn something new every day!
The most activity I ever saw from a tiger was in 2009, on a class field trip to Zoo Montana in Billings. One of the keepers brought along a paper mache ball with treats inside when she met with our group. As we approached the tiger area her voice and the smell of meat drew the attention of this guy...
And yes, this was a Siberian tiger! The tiger paced and paced (and drooled, which you may be able to see in the picture) as he waited for the ball to be thrown in. You can see a bit of the retrieval process in the photos below...
Om nom nom! Snack time!
So yes, tigers do swim and appear to enjoy it! Most housecats tend to differ on this I suppose. In closing, please do not try to teach your cat to swim. It's not worth the scratches and bites you may occur, and the cat won't like it. Instead, watch this video:
Resources:
Conger, Cristen. "Why do tigers swim?." Carnivores. Animal Planet, n.d. Web. 13 Mar 2014. <http://www.animalplanet.com/mammals/swimming-tigers.htm>.
"Siberian Tiger." National Geographic. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 13 Mar 2014. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/siberian-tiger/>.
Wan, Kate. "50 Unusual Facts About Tigers." Animals. Listverse Ltd., 10 Sep 2012. Web. 13 Mar 2014. <http://listverse.com/2012/09/10/50-unusual-facts-about-tigers/>.
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