GOD MADE THEM ALL: THE BENGAL TIGER
The Bengal tiger is widely thought to be the 2nd largest
species of tiger, matching the size of the Siberian tiger. Male tigers can grow
up to around 3.2 metres in length (including their tails) and can weigh up to
300kg. Although the females are typically smaller in size, they can still reach
lengths of up to 2.7 meters and reach 181 kg in weight.
The tiger is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late
Pleistocene, for about 12,000 to 16,500 years.
Today, it is threatened by poaching, loss and fragmentation of habitat, and was
estimated at comprising fewer than 2,500 wild individuals by 2011.
None of the Tiger
Conservation Landscapes within its range is considered large enough to
support an effective population of more than 250 adult individuals.
Bengal tigers can
reach speeds of up to 35 – 40 mph
Bengal tigers are carnivores which means that their diet
is almost exclusively made up of meat. They will often hunt larger mammals
including wild boar, Indian hog dear, water buffalo, goats and more.
A group of tigers is called a streak or an ambush.
Females will give birth to an average of 2 – 6 cubs per
litter.
This tiger is an especially adaptable animal and can live
in a wide range of different habitats, environment and landscapes. This
includes mangroves, wetlands and forests. As they can be found across a number
of different countries they can cope with both hot or cold locations.
The average lifespan of a tiger in the wild is around 11
years.
Due to their size and hunting skills, the Bengal tiger
has no natural predators. However, human conflicts and poaching are the biggest
predatory risk to this species.
The biggest threats currently facing Bengal tigers are
poaching and reduction of their habitat as a result of agriculture growth and
expansion of human populations in surrounding areas. This reduction of habitats
leads to an increase in human-tiger conflicts which leads to further risks to
the tiger populations.
It’s acknowledged that the biggest threats to the
survival of the Bengal tiger is illegal poaching to harvest tiger fur and body
parts to sell and destruction and/or shrinking of their natural habitats. With
growing human populations nearby, this expansion of agriculture and roads often
lead to a reduction in environments suitable for tigers. Overlapping human and
tiger populations can also lead to conflict, which can result in hunting or
retaliatory killings.
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