These six weeks have been a great learning experience for me. There is so much information I've learned about tigers. Prior to the genius hour project I only knew about two of the subspecies of tigers, the Bengal and the Siberian tiger. However after doing all this research I found out that there was four additional subspecies of tigers that I knew nothing about.
In my research I found out that each tiger has it's own unique stripes, similar to human fingerprints. This information really surprised me. Another thing that I thought was really cool about tigers is that their tongues have needle like thorns that assist them to rip flesh from bones. I also found out through this research why tigers are on the endangered list. I found a long list of body parts that are used for traditional Chinese medicine. Let me just tell you this, when I read the list I found it very humurous because of how ridiculous it sounded. For example, a tiger's brain mixed with oil and applied to the body allegedly treats aches and laziness. I found that so absurd, but the Chinese believe that it will help them somehow. I also learned that the Chinese pay a lot of money for tiger parts, although there is no scientific proof that killing a tiger for its body parts has helped anyone with illneses or any other type of pain. My research through genius hour helped me learn stuff about tigers I never knew of.
The most powerful beautiful creature on earth is the tiger. I hope these beautiful cats can live on for many generations to come without being classified as an endangered species.