This striped feline was originally born to Javan, the leader of the Tiger Clan who were exiled to live in the mountains because of their continued loyalty to Mumm-Ra. When the clan was struck by a plague of disease, the Ancient Spirits of Evil ordered that the infant Tygra be sacrificed. Unable to bring himself to killing his son, Javan sent Tygra away in a hot air balloon which was eventually found by Claudus and his Queen who adopted him.
Tygra became the crown prince of Thundera and was supposed to succeed Claudus as the Lord of the ThunderCats until Lion-O was born. Being the biological son of Claudus and the Queen, Lion-O would thus be the next heir. This greatly dismayed and angered Tygra, leading to a sibling rivalry with his brother that would last even when they were grown up. Tygra also blamed Lion-O for the death of his mother as she dies giving birth to him.
The grudge that Tygra held against his brother led him to always try his best to outshine and belittle Lion-O at every opportunity, an action that made Lion-O resent his elder brother. Their sibling rivalry was further fueled when Lion-O started developing feelings forCheetara, someone who Tygra had feelings for since childhood. Despite the apparent dislike between the two brothers, there has always been a strong bond between the two and Tygra has on occasions supported Lion-O and come to his aid as well.
Unlike Lion-O, who sympathizes with and treats other species as equal, Tygra is extremely xenophobic. Like Claudus, he also dismisses the concept of technology as nothing more than a myth, until he sees it for himself during the siege of Thundera.