50 Tiger Quotes About the Fierce Striped Predator

Tigers are majestic, predatory animals—and as you will discover from these tiger quotes, they make a good analogy for life.

Share your favorite thing about tigers with us in the comment section below.

Some of these tiger quotes will have you thinking deep philosophical thoughts, while others will have you laughing so hard it hurts!

What are the benefits of reading these tiger quotes?

What is it about tigers that makes us use them so much when referring to people or life?

Well, tigers are typically strong and fearless.

We use the tiger to symbolize people we think are brave and daring.

In life analogies, the tiger is used to remind us of how wild and unpredictable—and unrelenting—life can be.

Tigers are also used in many cultures to depict things.

For example, in Chinese culture, they symbolize power and daring.

They are a subject that inspires both awe and fear.

In China, the tiger is considered more than just a beautiful animal—it’s the king of all beasts!

Keep reading through these tiger quotes to learn more about tigers as they relate to the Chinese zodiac.

Also, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily wisdom. 

See the rest of our quote database for even more inspirational ideas and thoughts.

Thought-provoking tiger quotes

1. “A tiger does not shout its tigritude, it acts.” — Wole Soyinka

2. “The tiger springs in the new year. Us he devours.” — T. S. Eliot

3. “If you rile a tiger, he’s going to show his claws.” — Rob James-Collier

4. “An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger.” — Confucius

5. “The most magnificent creature in the entire world, the tiger is.” — Jack Hanna

6. “The tiger will see you a hundred times before you see him once.” — John Vaillan

7. “I feel like a tiger right now. There’s nothing impossible if you get up and work for it.” — Michael Flatley

8. “When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity.” — George Bernard Shaw

9. “Wooing the press is an exercise roughly akin to picnicking with a tiger. You might enjoy the meal, but the tiger always eats last.” — Maureen Dowd

10. “There has to be absolute trust between the tiger and its master, but its master must be the master – there must be no mistake about that.” — Ridley Scott

You will also enjoy our article on lion quotes.

Tiger quotes from influential people

11. “No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

12. “Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.” — John F. Kennedy

13. “Being a president is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or he is swallowed.” — Harry S. Truman

14. “It is far better to live like a tiger for a day than to live like a jackal for a hundred years.” — Benito Mussolini

15. “It is not part of a true culture to tame tigers, any more than it is to make sheep ferocious.” — Henry David Thoreau

16. “We would be better off thinking of nature as a tiger than as a docile and compliant automaton that can never threaten our survival.” — Bruno Latour

17. “When the time comes, let loose a tiger and a devil; but wait for the time with the tiger and the devil chained -not shown- yet always ready.” — Charles Dickens

18. “Khrushchev reminds me of the tiger hunter who has picked a place on the wall to hang the tiger’s skin long before he has caught the tiger. This tiger has other ideas.” — John F. Kennedy

19. “Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.” — Winston Churchill

20. “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead! In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man As modest stillness and humility: But when the blast of war blows in our ears, Then imitate the action of the tiger.” — William Shakespeare

Tiger quotes about life

21. “Life goes on and you don’t touch tigers.” — Yann Martel

22. “Life is a tiger you have to grab by the tail, and if you don’t know the nature of the beast, it will eat you up.” — Stephen King

23. “I never try to make a painting, but a chunk of life. It is a scream; it is a night; it is like a child; it is a tiger behind bars.” — Karel Appel

24. “We are all a tiger with feelings. An elephant who never forgets. We are tiger, panther, monkey—we are all of these things, all of the life rhythms.” — Ruby Dee

25. “Every woman should have four pets in her life. A mink in her closet, a jaguar in her garage, a tiger in her bed, and a jackass who pays for everything.” — Paris Hilton

26. “My dad was very strict. He was absolutely the Tiger Dad. You know, ‘You got a 98% on this test? Why didn’t you get 100?’ That was normal life for my brothers and I.” — Sabaa Tahir

27. “Most predatory animals, if you give them an inch, they just go with it. Any animal – a tiger, a shark, anything—you can’t act like something that is afraid of it, and that’s where all their predatory instincts come in.” — Chris Pontius

28. “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process, is its own reward.” — Amelia Earhart

29. “I love the ambiguous kind of endings. I think, oftentimes, that’s what life really is – there’s no concrete path for you to take. It’s always kind of a jumble of variables. Behind this door could be a beautiful woman, and behind the same door could be a tiger, you know? You don’t know.” — Joe Carnahan

30. “The Malays have many queer notions about tigers and usually only speak of them in whispers, because they think that certain souls of human beings who have departed this life have taken up their abode in these beasts, and in some places, for this reason, they will not kill a tiger unless he commits some specially bad aggression.” — Isabella Bird

Funny tiger quotes

31. “In waking a tiger, use a long stick.” — Mao Zedong

32. “I call myself a blind man riding on a blind tiger.” — Jack Ma

33. “Van Gogh would’ve sold more than one painting if he’d put tigers in them.” — Bill Watterson

34. “Some days you tame the tiger, and some days the tiger has you for lunch.” — Tug McGraw

35. “Reddit is—it’s like a tiger. It’s great if it’s your friend, but it can also eat you alive.” — Simone Giertz

36. “There can be no more positive neutrality than there can be a vegetarian tiger.” — V. K. Krishna Menon

37. “If we choose to walk into a forest where a tiger lives, we are taking a chance.” — Peter Benchley

38. “In my earliest memory, my grandfather is bald as a stone and he takes me to see the tigers.” ― Téa Obreht

39. “My mum and dad were a little like tiger parents. I hate that, but at the same time, I am a little bit proud.” — Takashi Murakami

40. “There is nothing like the thrill of walking through the jungle looking for a tiger and knowing they could be watching you already.” — Ashlan Gorse Cousteau

Short tiger quotes

41. “I want to be a Tiger.” — Miguel Cabrera

42. “The NRA—they are a paper tiger.” — Eric Swalwell

43. “In me the tiger sniffs the rose.” — Siegfried Sassoon

44. “There is no off switch on a tiger.” — German Proverb

45. “The long run puts the tiger in the cat.” — Bill Squires

46. “A wounded tiger is a dangerous beast.” — Arthur Golden

47. “Just like a kitten that thinks it’s a tiger.” — Stephenie Meyer

48. “The tiger is humbled by memories of prey.” — Steven Erikson

49. “Don’t be a tiger’s head with a snake’s tail.” — Chinese Proverb

50. “Sit atop the mountain and watch the tigers fight.” — Chinese proverb

What the tiger means in the Chinese zodiac

Tigers are the third sign of the Chinese zodiac.

According to legend, there was a race that would decide the order of the zodiac.

Tiger was confident that no one could beat him because he was the fastest and strongest.

Tiger climbed out of the river, thinking it had come in first.

However, it learned that Rat placed first thanks to its cunning.

Ox came in second due to its diligence.

Thus, the king of the jungle had to settle for third place!

What are Tigers like according to the zodiac?

People born in the year of the Tiger are courageous and energetic.

They thrive on challenges or competition and will take risks to win.

They crave excitement and love attention.

The Tiger can also be rebellious and short-tempered.

They have an outspoken and take-charge personality that often leads to conflict.

Tiger people are also sensitive and humorous.

Their capacity for generosity and love is extensive.

One thing is for sure; you will not be bored with a Tiger!

If you, or someone you know, were born in the years 2022, 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950, and 1938—then that means you are Tiger!

Are you a Tiger? Do you know one?

Does the zodiac get it right when it comes to the characteristics of a Tiger?

Let us know in the comment section below.