Christopher Kray/Flickr Today is International Tiger Day, a day to celebrate these majestic, endangered wild cats that are renowned for their beautiful coats and black stripes.

These elusive, solitary Asian creatures have long inspired awe. They are the national animal of Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Malaysia and South Korea. Every year, travelers flock to such places as Ranthambore and Bandhavgarh National Parks in India just for a chance of spotting one of these creatures in their natural habitat. And yet, tigers are highly endangered and are listed on the IUCN red list,

Business Insider spoke with Ullas Karanth, Director for Asia at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and tiger researcher, to learn more about these beautiful big cats and the threats they face today. Here are some of the most interesting things that we learned.