Tyger (heraldry)

A tyger, from The Complete Guide to Heraldry

Tyger or sometimes heraldic tiger is a beast used as a charge in heraldry. To distinguish it from the naturally existing tiger, which also occurs in heraldry, the latter is sometimes blazoned as a "Bengal tiger".

The tyger does not look much like a natural tiger. Its body is like the body of a wolf. It has the tail of a lion and a thick mane. It has large, powerful jaws and a pointed snout. The "natural" colour was in Medieval times said to be speckled, later red. It is supposed to have its home in Hyrcania in Persia and its swiftness is supposed to have given its name to "tygris", the Persian word for "arrow", and to the swift River Tigris. If pursued by a tyger, it was supposed to be possible to get away from it by leaving a mirror, which would make the tyger perplexed.