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| Bengal
Tiger |
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| Common
Name: |
Bengal
tiger |
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| Class:
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Mammalia |
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| Order: |
Carnivora |
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| Family:
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Felidae |
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| Genus
species: |
Panthera
(panther, leopard) tigris (tiger) |
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| Fast
Facts |
| Description:
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reddish
orange with narrow black, gray or brown stripes, generally in a vertical
direction. The underside is creamy or white; a rare variant has a
chalky white coat with darker stripes and icy blue eyes. |
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| Size:
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male
to 3 m (10 ft.), female to 2.7 m (9 ft.) |
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| Weight:
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male
to 225 kg (500 lb.), female to 135 kg (300 lb.); largest existing
member of the cat family |
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| Diet:
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medium
to large prey such as pigs, deer, antelopes, and buffalo |
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| Gestation: |
98 to
110 days; 2 to 4 cubs born |
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| Sexual
maturity: |
females
at 3 to 4 years; males at 4 to 5 years |
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| Life
span: |
average
probably not more than 15 years in the wild; 16 to 18 years in controlled
environments |
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| Range:
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fragmented
areas of Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Bhuton, and Burma |
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| Habitat:
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tropical
jungle, brush, marsh lands, and tall grasslands |
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| Population: |
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| Status:
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listed
by USFWS as endangered and protected by CITES |
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| Fun
Facts |
| 1. |
Since
tigers hunt mostly at dusk and dawn their stripes help them hide in
the shadows of tall grasses. They stalk and pounce because they are
not able to chase prey a long distance. |
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| 2. |
The
territorial male tiger usually travels alone, marking his boundaries
with urine, droppings, and scratch marks to warn off trespassers. |
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| 3. |
A tiger
can consume as much as 40 kg (88 lb.) of meat in one feeding. |
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| 4. |
Tigers
may drag their prey to water to eat. They are commonly seen in the
shade or wading in pools to cool off. |
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| 5. |
Since
white tigers have pigmented stripes and blue eyes, they are not albinos. |
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| 6. |
It
is estimated that there are less than 3,000 Bengal tigers left in
the wild. |
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| Ecology
and Conservation |
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Tigers,
as with all top-of-the-food-chain predators help balance populations
by keeping prey populations in check. When a tiger has eaten its
fill, the abandoned prey becomes food for a variety of mammals,
birds, and reptiles. Some cultures believe that powdered tiger bones
have medicinal values. Unfortunately, tigers are in high demand
to supply this market.
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| Bibliography |
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Jackson,
Peter. Endangered Species: Tigers Secaucus, NJ: Chartwell
Books, 1990
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MacDonald,
David (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mammals: 1. London: George Allen
and Unwin, 1985. |
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McDougal,
Charles. The Face of the Tiger London: Rivington Books, 1977. |
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Nowak,
Ronald (ed.). Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991. |
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Schaller,
George B.The Deer and the Tiger, A Study of Wildlife in India.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1961. |
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