A three-month-old Sumatran tiger cub named “Bandar” shows his displeasure after being dunked in the tiger exhibit moat for a swim reliability test at the National Zoo in Washington, on November 6, 2013. All cubs born at the zoo must take a swim test before being allowed to roam in the exhibit. Bandar passed his test. (Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press)

Khan, a five-year-old male White Bengal tiger, looks on inside an open-air cage at the Royev Ruchey zoo in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, October 21, 2016. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Giant panda Meng Meng plays on a tree at a Siberian tiger-breeding base in Changchun, China on December 10, 2015. (Photo by Xu Chang/Xinhua Press/Corbis)

A preserved Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) that was collected by the Natural Resources Conservation Board (BKSDA) as evidence is burnt in Palembang, Indonesia on March 18, 2022. (Photo by Novaa Wahyudi/Antara Foto via Reuters)

An Embraer E-190 E2 aircraft featuring a spray painted tiger's face on the nose of the aircraft is displayed during a media preview of the Singapore Airshow February 4, 2018. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

These young sloth bears hitch a ride on their mother's back as she forages for food in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in the Indian state of Rajasthan in May 2023. (Photo by Aditya Singh/Solent News)

A tiger is depicted on the helmet of Italy's Federica Brignone at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Championships super G, in Meribel, France, Wednesday, February 8, 2023. (Photo by Marco Trovati/AP Photo)

National Geographic photographer Steve Winter has spent most of his adult life shooting wild cats. Photo: A 14-month-old cub, cooling off in a pond, is riveted by a deer that appeared near the shore. Tigers are powerful swimmers; they can easily cross rivers four to five miles wide and have been known to swim distances of up to 18 miles. (Photo by Steve Winter/National Geographic)