The color and pattern of an animal's fur or skin serve various functions, such as attracting mates or warning enemies of their toxicity. However, for predators that rely on ambush hunting tactics, the ability to remain unnoticed by their prey is critically important.
Interestingly, tigers have an orange coloration that stands out brightly to the human eye against the surrounding environment. This is related to our trichromatic color vision: humans have three types of cones responsible for color perception. Unlike us, the vast majority of terrestrial mammals possess dichromatic color vision and do not perceive the color orange, seeing it as green. This makes it difficult for them to notice a tiger in the grass.
Moreover, evolution does not have the necessary components to create green fur in tigers.
Research has proven that the orange coloration is indeed effective for camouflage against dichromats. Experiments showed that people with dichromatic glasses found tigers in images significantly slower. Interestingly, the animals that tigers hunt have not developed the ability to see the color orange.
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