Power, patience and a flash of stripes. When the lights drop, every eye in the tent finds the tigers.
A big Bengal tiger weighs 400 to 570 lb and measures 8 to 10 feet from nose to tail tip.
Bengal tigers come from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, in grasslands, mangrove swamps and forests.
Tigers can leap 20 feet or more in a single bound. They are also strong swimmers, and no two have the same stripes.
The tigers take the center ring after a drum roll. They step between podiums, spring across the gap and finish with the famous hoop leap.