Tied to a film in the In the Wild television series, this is an illustrated account of the most powerful cat in the world. It discusses the tiger in circuses and zoos, as well as in the wild, celebrating a creature now in rapid decline. India and Nepal were once the great strongholds of the tiger, but in the last few years police have discovered hauls of tiger bones worth millions of dollars; the animal is being slaughtered by poachers serving the constant demand of the Chinese medical trade. Conservationists believe there are now very few tigers left in the wild and are fighting to protect them. Their extinction would mean the loss not only of a beautiful animal, but of their meaning to the cultural histories of many regions of the world.