Hey! You are looking at the largest cats in the world, The Royal Bengal Tigers. Our majestic look, ferocious face, powerful paws can mesmerize anyone and can induce fear in any animal. Unfortunately, our population is decreasing year after year.
Read more about us:
- Being the largest wildcats of the world, we also have a very loud roar (can be heard from as far as 3km.
- Our oldest fossils are aged more than 20,000 years and we are known to be living from the Late Pleistocene period (2.6 million years ago).
- We can run fast, with speeds of 65kmph-80kmph.
- We are very powerful animals and we sometimes hunt other predators like Leopards and Crocodiles.
- Do you know? Our population has decreased so much, and many conservation efforts have been started.
- In this process, World Wildlife Funds along with famous Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio have started “Save Tigers Now” campaign in May,2010.
- We play a prominent role in many cultures, traditions, myths, sports, Literature, logos, symbolism, and folklore. Notably, we are first seen in Pashupati Seals of Indus Valley civilizations.
- We are the national animal of India and also chosen as the emblem of Reserve Bank of India.
- In the Hindu religion, we are considered to be the vehicle of Lord Ayyappa.
- Share Khan, a tiger is a famous villain from the series “The Jungle Book”.
SOME QUICK NOTES:
Our Scientific Name: Panthera Tigris Tigris.
Our Identification: Big cat having yellowish body with black stripes.
Our Habitat: Forests and wildlife sanctuaries.
Our range:
Our Food habits: Carnivorous; Chital, Sambar, Gaur, wild boar, hog deer, muntjac, grey langur, porcupine, hare, and peafowl.
Our Breeding Period: November to April.
Our Gestation Period: About 103 days.
Number of cubs born: 3-4
Lifespan: 8-10 years.
Estimated Population: 3890 individuals
IUCN red list status: Endangered
CITES: Appendix I
Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivore
Suborder: Feliformia
Genus: Panthera
Species: P.tigris
Subspecies: P.t.tigris
COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT US FOR ANIMAL ENTHUSIASTS:
As we have mentioned before, we are the largest wild cats in the world.
Bengal Tigers are scientifically called Panthera Tigris Tigris.
Our ancestor’s fossils date about 10,000 BC.
HOW WE LOOK:
We are large cat-like animals with long, thick, reddish coats as skin with black and white stripes and white bellies.
The average length of the male is 270-310 cm and of the female is 240-265 cm (making females relatively smaller to males).
The average length of our tail is 85-110 cm. The average weight of the male is 180-260 kgs and of the female is 100-160 kgs. The smallest of us are found in Sundarbans of Bangladesh. We have sharp, stout teeth with canines of size 7.5-10 cm.
WHAT WE EAT:
We are carnivores and consume a lot of meat, often 18-40 kgs. When we hunt, we approach the victim from the side or behind from as close as possible and grasp their throat to kill them.
We hunt large size prey like Chital, Sambar, Gaur, etc., medium size prey like wild boar, hog deer, muntjac, grey langur, etc., small size prey such as porcupine, hare, peafowl, etc. We attack other predators like leopard, wolf, jackal, fox, crocodile, Asiatic black bear, Sloth bear, and Dholes. We rarely attack elephants and rhinoceros.
WE ARE FOUND IN:
We are found in Indian sub-continent i.e. India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar. We can be seen mostly in forests and wildlife sanctuaries. In India there are 46 tiger reserves namely,
1. Corbett 2. Dudhwa 3. Valmiki 4. Buxa 5. Pakke 6. Namdapha 7. Nameri 8. kaziranga 9. Dampa 10. Manas 11. Pilibhit 12. sariska 13. Ranthambore 14. Mukundara 15. Panna 16. Sanjay dubri 17. Bandhavgarh 18. Palamau 19. Achanakmar 20. Sundarbans 21. Simipal 22. Kanha
23. Satpura 24. Pench 25. Pench-Mah 26. Nawegaon-nagzira 27. Udandti-Sitanadi 28. Satkosia 29. Melghat 30. Bor 31. Tadeba-Andhan 32. Indravati 33. Kawal 34. NSTR 35. Bhadra 36. Sahyadri 37. Dandeli-Anshi 38. Nagarahole 39. Bandipur 40. BRT 41. Sathyamangalam 42. Mudumalai 43. Anamalai 44. Parambikulam 45. Periyar 46. KMTR
In other countries We are mostly found in forest.
OUR REPRODUCTION:
We mate mostly during November-April with the gestation period of 103 days and giving birth to 3-4 cubs at a time. The cubs follow their mother for up to 8 weeks and learn to hunt by then. These cubs become independent at around 18 months of age. Our average lifespan is 8-10 years and we can live up to 15 years.
MORE ABOUT US:
We are very impressive hunters with very good hunting skills.
We are really good swimmers.
Our roar can be easily heard as far as 3 km.
We can run up to speeds of 65-80 kmph.
OUR CONSERVATION:
We are an endangered species. Our population decreased rapidly and since then, the government of different countries undertook various operations to conserve us.
Poaching is an act where we are killed illegally for their skin, bones and other body parts.
The Indian government introduced two acts namely
1. Indian Wildlife Protection Act. 1972, Schedule I , enabling the government to take strict measures to ensure the continuity of the species.
2. Project Tiger. 1973, Helps in using Tiger reserves as breeding nuclei and surplus animals emigrate to adjacent forests.
These operations help in the reduction of poaching and help in increasing our population.
We are classified as “Endangered” species in IUCN red list and “Appendix I” in CITES.
The current Indian population is 2226 and of the world is 3890.
