The Bengal tiger is one of the big cat species. It is the second largest and most famous tiger species in the world after the Siberian tiger. It is also considered one of the rare cats. 400 people around Nepal and the surrounding areas, and the Bengal tiger is one of the most fastidious cats that can swim.
Description of the Bengal tiger
The average male Bengal tiger is about 109 kilograms, and the Bengal tiger has a long body of about 6 feet, and the tail reaches 3 feet in length, so its total length is 9 feet, and the female Bengal tiger weighs only about 140 kilograms, and is 8 feet in height.
Length including tail, the Bengal tiger is an incredibly strong animal and is capable of dragging its prey nearly half a mile even though the prey can be heavier than its weight.
The Bengal tiger's coat can actually come in a variety of colours.
The most common color for the Bengal tiger's fur is orange with black stripes down the sides.
The most common differences are between the white Bengal tiger and the golden tabby Bengal tiger.
The white Bengal tiger has a white coat with brown or black stripes on the sides, and the golden Bengal tiger has a whitish-yellow fur with amber-colored stripes down the sides.
A terrestrial organism, which reaches a length of about 4 inches (100 mm) in adults, the fangs are larger and longer than those of a similarly sized lion.
The Bengal tiger also has large retractable claws that allow it to climb and kill prey, and the stripes help it
camouflage in order to chase prey.
The Bengal tiger has excellent vision and good hearing. The largest Bengal tiger was 389.5 kg. lbs), but they can reach 180 kilograms (400 lbs).
The behavior of the Bengal tiger
The Bengal tiger is mostly solitary, but sometimes travels in groups of 3 or 4 individuals.
The Bengal tiger lives in the lower parts of the rainforest where there are grasslands and swamps.
Some male Bengal tigers occupy 200 square miles of land, and the tigers protect it heavily.
The Bengal tiger is one of the very strong animals and can drag its prey that it killed for a distance of 1,500 feet to hide it in bushes or tall grasses until it feeds on it.
The Bengal tiger is a nocturnal animal, sleeping throughout the day and hunting at night.
Despite its large size, the Bengal tiger can effectively climb trees. However, it is not as agile as the smaller tigers, which hide their prey from other predators in trees.
The Bengal tiger also can swim, and frequently lurks in the water.
While waiting for prey to drink or swim, the Bengal tiger can live for about 18 years in captivity and maybe a few years less in the wild.
Bengal tiger breeding
Females of the Bengal tiger usually have cubs when they reach an age between (3-4) years, and the pregnancy of female Bengal tigers usually lasts for a period ranging between (3-4) months, and after
the pregnancy period, females can give birth to about (2-5) ) cubs, but they can give birth to only one cub, or
the numbers of young people may reach about 6 cubs, and newborn Bengal tiger cubs are born blind at birth and weigh between (1-1.5) kilograms.
The Bengal tiger is fun and loves to play very much from birth and maintains the nature of love of curiosity throughout life, and from the time of birth until
the age of one year, the cubs of the Bengal tiger depend entirely on their mother for nutrition, and after the cubs reach their first year they are able to kill prey smaller than them, But they are still vulnerable to prey from larger predators such as hyenas and lions.
When the cubs reach the age of three years, the Bengal tiger cubs become completely independent, and the male cubs leave the place of their birth and begin to find a territory of their own, and
the female cubs generally remain in the area with their mother, and the Bengal tiger cubs have more stripes than the adult tigers and this helps them in camouflage and escape
They are predators, and in the wild, the lifespan of the Bengal tiger is about 15 years, the older they get, the weaker they become, and the more difficult it becomes to catch prey.
In captivity, Bengal tigers, barring illness and unforeseen accidents, usually live 20 to 25 years.
Predators and threats to the Bengal tiger
Poaching and habitat destruction causing population fragmentation are major threats to the Bengal tiger, and although lawmakers have implemented anti-poaching laws
to protect the big cats, it remains a significant problem and, unfortunately, encourages a thriving and lucrative black market for skins and body parts that
pays an annual salary. For killing one tiger, moreover, due to India's Forest Rights Act 2006, more people are moving into the jungle areas and encroaching on the tigers' territory.
The Indian government has established units to protect the Bengal tiger, in the foothills of the Himalayas, and hopefully, the population appears to be
increasing in these areas, however, the International Union for Conservation of Nature still lists these tigers as endangered, and there are still Lots of work to ensure their survival in the wild.
Is the Bengal tiger threatened with extinction
The Bengal tiger is an endangered species, and the number of wild Bengal tigers in the Indian subcontinent is currently estimated at about (1300-1500) tigers, which
is less than half of the previous estimates, which were about (3000-4500) tigers.
The Bengal tiger is threatened with extinction due to excessive Hunting by fishermen.
Habitat loss and poaching are an important threat to the survival of this species of Bengal tiger.
Poachers kill tigers not only for their fur, but also because of the organs needed to make various traditional medicines in East Asia.
Other factors contributing to the loss of the Bengal tiger are urbanization and Revenge killings, as farmers who own cattle hunt down the Bengal tiger to prevent
it from taking over the livestock, and poachers kill the tiger for its bones and teeth to make medicines that allegedly provide the tigers' strength.
Bengal tiger population
How many Bengal tigers thrive in the wild today? The population of the Bengal tiger is unstable despite its increase.
By 2018, that number had increased by a few hundred. In 2010, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature launched a campaign to protect the tiger.
Bengal, which is working towards its stated goal of doubling the wild tiger population by the next few years.