Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

A tiger can’t change its stripes, and with good reason: The stripes are imprinted on their skin, not just their fur, which is embedded with pigmented hair follicles. A tiger’s stripes are also as unique as human fingerprints, with no two tigers having the same markings; even identical twin siblings have different stripes. 

Other striped animals, such as zebras and hyenas, only have striped fur. A tiger’s stripes act as camouflage of the “disruptive coloration” variety, meaning the sharp contrast between orange and black make it difficult for prey to discern a tiger’s shape and body outline as they’re being stalked. Snow leopards, an equally imposing (and majestic) big cat, also have spots on the skin beneath their fur.