An Ignoble Experiment: One of these tigers is not like the others...

2016/07/26

One of these tigers is not like the others...

Spot the difference & earn your stripes!

Dear Friend of Wildlife,

Have you ever wanted to be a wildlife scientist? Dreamt of spending your days in some of the most remote locations in the world, listening quietly as the jungle leaves rustle hoping to catch a flash of orange and black fur?

I don't blame you: tiger stripes are one of the most iconic sights in nature and seeing them never loses its thrill.

While the work of tiger tracking isn't always glamorous (we see more tiger droppings than the cats themselves) when we do spot one of these rare beauties, we pay close attention to its stripes. You see, each tiger's stripes are unique, like human finger prints. But it's harder to tell a tiger by its stripes than you might think.

And today's your chance to try your luck! Two of the three below images are of the same tiger. One is not. So, you tell me, which one is not like the others?

This is a game WCS researchers play constantly, though we have some fancier tools than the naked eye. Why? Because tracking tigers is key to ensuring they have a future in the wild.

WCS has helped develop some of the most advanced, cutting edge methods to identify specific tigers from camera trap images in the field. With that knowledge we're able to spot where they are in the most trouble with incredible accuracy.

In honor of World Tiger Day on Friday, we wanted to invite our partners in conservation – that's you! – to get in on the action.

So what's your guess? Click on your choice to vote on whether Tiger One, Tiger Two, or Tiger Three is the unique one and learn more about how your support of WCS helps protect these magnificent animals!

Sincerely,

Aili Kang, PhD
Executive Director, Asia Program
Wildlife Conservation Society

P.S. Can't get enough beautiful tiger stripes? WCS's very own K. Ullas Karanth shares more about our cutting edge tiger tracking work, the real life version of this little game, in Scientific American. In honor of World Tiger Day July 29, it's free to read for WCS supporters like you via this exclusive link!