The tiger is a symbol of Chinese traditional culture. The earliest Tiger statues in China appeared in the Neolithic Age, which is about 7,000 years ago. The tiger-shaped token symbolizes power, and terms like “roaring dragons and tigers” and “dragons rising and tigers leaping” are metaphors for extraordinary vitality.

The Amur tiger has the lightest colored coat of all the tiger subspecies, ranging from tannish-yellow to pale orange. Their fur is much thicker and longer than other tigers due to the cold climate of their home range. This particular subspecies also has fewer stripes, possibly to help camouflage the animal in the snow. Their undersides, insides of the limbs, patches above the eyes and cheeks are creamy white.

Male Amur tigers typically weigh between 400- 660 pounds, while females weigh around half that amount. Growing to over 9 feet in length, with 1inch claws and canines that can reach 3 inches, Amur tigers are formidable predators.

Throughout the history of man, the lion has been considered the symbol of strength. We say "strong as a lion" or "lion-hearted." In courts throughout the world, the lion was used on shields and crests and banners to indicate power.

Lions are members of the cat family. The average length of a grown-up lion is about nine feet and they weigh between 400 and 500 pounds. The males are larger than the females. People who hunt lions can always tell whether they are tracking a male or female by the size of the tracks. The male has much larger front feet than the female.

The lion's voice is a roar or a growl. Unlike other cats, it doesn't purr, and rarely climbs trees. Unlike other cats, too, it takes readily to deep water. Lions feed on grazing animals, so they live in more or less open country and not in forests. And because they drink once a day, they always live near some supply of water. Lions rest by day and do their hunting by night. Lions may live singly, or in pairs, or in groups of four to a dozen which are known as "prides." The main food supply of lions comes from zebras, gazelles, and antelopes. Sometimes a lion will attack a giraffe, but it won't attack an elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus. When a lion isn't hungry, he pays no attention to other animals.