Bengal Tiger Uncover

Tigers are the largest members of the cat family and are renowned for their power and strength. There were eight tiger subspecies at one time, but three became extinct during the 20th century. Over the last 100 years, hunting and forest destruction have reduced tiger populations from hundreds of thousands of animals to perhaps fewer than 2,500. Tigers are hunted as trophies, and also for body parts that are used in traditional Chinese medicine. All five remaining tiger subspecies are endangered, and many protection programs are in place.

Bengal tigers live in India and are sometimes called Indian tigers. They are the most common tiger and number about half of all wild tigers. Over many centuries they have become an important part of Indian tradition and lore. The Bengal tiger combines great power with lethal cunning. In India, it is feared above all predators by animals and humans alike. The Bengal tiger's night vision is six times better than humans. A mirror-like layer at the back of the eye reflects extra light. The tiger's hearing is its sharpest sense. White spots behind the ears help these tigers identify one another in the jungle. Every tiger has a unique pattern of black stripes on an orange coat. This breaks up the body's outline in dense cover. The Bengal tiger's claws are used to grip prey and scratch trees. They retract when the tiger walks to remain sharp and allow it to stalk prey silently. Its long teeth are used to stab and kill its prey. Molars behind these teeth act like scissors, slicing strips of flesh from a carcass.The Bengal tiger is adaptable to its environment. An excellent swimmer, the tiger is also the most water-loving of all the big cats. It can often be found near rivers and shady ponds. The tiger occupies a home range that is dense in vegetation. A large range allows the tiger to find plenty of food while good cover helps it stalk its prey. The Bengal tiger usually breeds in the spring and will mate over three to seven days. The male leaves after a couple of days with the female and has no other part in rearing the cubs. About 15 weeks later, two to four cubs are born. Tiger cubs are suckled up to 6 months. Once weaned, the cubs join their mother, hunting to learn the skills needed to survive on their own. By the age of 15-18 months, the cubs are able to feed themselves.


Tigers live alone and aggressively scent-mark large territories to keep their rivals away. They are powerful nocturnal hunters that travel many miles to find buffalo, deer, wild pigs, and other large mammals. Tigers use their distinctive coats as camouflage (no two have exactly the same stripes). They lie in wait and creep close enough to attack their victims with a quick spring and a fatal pounce. A hungry tiger can eat as much as 60 pounds (27 kilograms) in one night, though they usually eat less.

Despite their fearsome reputation, most tigers avoid humans; however, a few do become dangerous man eaters. These animals are often sick and unable to hunt normally, or live in an area where their traditional prey has vanished.

Females give birth to litters of two to six cubs, which they raise with little or no help from the male. Cubs cannot hunt until they are 18 months old and remain with their mothers for two to three years, when they disperse to find their own territory.

Bengal tigers are thought to be solitary animals, but actually they simply need a lot of space to hunt, so they are social at a distance. The male's territory will usually overlap several females. The Bengal tiger will visit most of its territory within a few days and it will mark its boundaries by shredding the bark of trees with its claws. Then it sprays a strong smelling urine, which reinforces the boundaries. The messages will include the owner's sex, size, social status, and, for females, breeding status. These messages are essential to the tigers' society: they help tigers avoid competition for food, as well as conflicts over territory.

The tiger can kill prey large enough for several meals at a time. Once it has eaten its fill, it covers the remains of its prey with leaves and returns each night until it is finished. Bengal tiger is mainly found in the Asian countries, comprising of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Tibet. It belongs to the Fieldale Family and is the national animal of both the Indian subcontinent and Bangladesh. A mutation in the genes of a Bengal tiger may result in the birth of a slightly different tiger, which we know as the White tiger of India. A male Bengal tiger may be 6 feet to 9 feet in length (head and body), while a female grows to a length of 5 to 6 feet only. In the following lines we have tried to present a number of fast as well as interesting facts about the Indian Bengal tiger. Check out information on the White tiger of India:

Kingdom: Animalia

Scientific Name: Panthera tigris

Class: Mammalia

Average lifespan in the wild: 8 to 10 years

Order: Carnivora

Family: Felidae

Genus: Panthera

Species: P. tigris

Subspecies: P. t. tigris

Length (head and body): Male - 6 feet to 9 feet
Female - 5 feet to 6 feet

Length (tail): Male - Upto 3 feet
Female - 2 feet to 3 feet

Length (skull): Male - 10 inches to 15 inches
Female - 8 inches to 12 inches

Height: Male - Upto 3 feet
Female - Upto 2.5 feet

Diet: Carnivorous

Mating Period: Winter season and spring season

Did you know? A tiger's roar can be heard as far as two miles (three kilometers) away.

NEWS ROOM

http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/24/stories/2008052453930700.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simlipal_National_Park

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Tiger_Conservation_Authority

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Tiger

Discovery

http://animal.discovery.com/search/results.html?query=tiger+zero&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=search

Criticism

In an Animal Planet named Tiger Zero, Indian naturalist Valmik Thapar said that for several years, Project Tiger officials have inflated India's wild tiger numbers so as to save their jobs. Furthermore, all the tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve have been poached, showing the ineffectiveness in this case of Project Tiger. In a recent article in Tehlka the odds faced by under-equipped and under-paid forest rangers in the fight to save the tiger population.

"Setting forests aside for tigers is one thing, ensuring that they remain protected is something else again. Protecting wildlife from poachers requires strict policing, but the battered rifles the guards carry are no match for the automatic weapons wielded by intruders."
—Text adapted from "Making Room for Wild Tigers," December 1997, National Geographic magazine