Royal Bengal Tiger

All tigers belong to the same species, Panthera tigris,but there are nine recognized subspecies. One of these subspecies is Panthera tigris tigris – the Royal Bengal tiger. This subspecies is often referred to simply as Bengal tiger.

The Royal Bengal tiger is today found chiefly in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and China. The Sundarbans delta is an especially important habitat for the Royal Bengal tiger. It is a river delta filled with mangrove forest situated at the mouth of Ganges. The Sundarbans delta is shared by Indian and Bangladesh. It is in this part of India that you will find the state of Bengal form which the Royal Bengal tiger derives its name. In addition to the Sundarbans delta, you will find the Royal Bengal tiger in rainforests and grasslands.  

According to estimations made in 2005, there were 4,580 wild specimens of Royal Bengal tiger to be found in the world. A vast majority of them, roughly 3,500 tigers, lived in India. Bangladesh was home to 300-440 tigers, Nepal 150-220, Bhutan 50-140 and China 30-35 specimens.

The male Royal Bengal tiger can reach a length of 2.7 - 3.1 metres (8.9 - 10.2 feet) and weigh around 200-295 kilograms (440-650 pounds). The female Royal Bengal tiger is smaller than the male and can grow up to 2.4 - 2.65 metres (7.9 - 8.7 feet) in lengh and weigh between 100 and 181 kilograms (221 to 400 pounds).

The Royal Bengal tiger is a skilled predator that feed on medium and large sized animals. It can devour up to 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of meat at a time. After such a treat, the Royal Bengal tiger can stay without food for days. Among the smaller preys we find rabbits, goats, badgers, and peacocks, but the Royal Bengal tiger can also catch large animals like water buffaloes, deer and gaur. The gaur is a big ox from South and South East Asia that exists in a wild and a domesticated form. The Royal Bengal tiger can also catch the strong wild boar and climb trees to get to arboreal primates, and it frequently feeds on predators like leopards, hyenas and wolves. Not even elephants and rhinoceroses are safe, but it is usually calves that fall prey to the Royal Bengal tiger, not adult and healthy animals. There is however reports from India that shows that a Royal Bengal tiger is capable of catching large male elephants with big tusks.  

The Royal Bengal tiger kills use several different methods to kill its prey. When the tiger have caught a smaller prey, it will usually severe the spinal cord of the animal and thereby cause it to die. When it comes to larger preys, the Royal Bengal tiger will instead typically prefer to suffocate its catch by biting around its neck. The Royal Bengal tiger prefers to hunt in the dark, but it can carry out successful day hunts too. When the Royal Bengal tiger has killed an animal, it will usually refrain from consuming it directly and instead choose to drag the carcass to a safer place. Even though the Royal Bengal tiger can climb trees to catch primates, it will not follow the example of the smaller Leopard which frequently hides dead animals up in the trees.

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