The pattern of stripes is unique to each tiger and can be used to identify individuals, much in the same way as fingerprints are used to identify people.

The tiger has a coat pattern of black stripes against a dark gold background. The pattern of stripes is unique to each tiger and can be used to identify individuals, much in the same way as fingerprints are used to identify people. This is not, however, a preferred method of identification, due to the difficulty of recording the stripe pattern of a wild tiger.

The stripes of most tigers vary from brown or hay to pure black. The form and density of stripes differs between subspecies, but most tigers have in excess of 100 stripes.

Sources: (Karanth, Kumar, Nichols, Link, & Hines, 2006; Tilson & Nyhus, 2010; World Animal Foundation, Tiger, Tiger Fact Sheet)
Image: Mathias Appel