Bengal Tiger

Quick Take

• Villagers who share jungle space with Bengal tigers use a strange disguise trick to avoid being hunted, and it actually works. See the face mask trick →
• The deadliest man-eating tiger in history had a hidden physical secret that explains everything. Meet the Champawat tiger →
• Bengal tigers can eat up to 100 pounds in one sitting, yet their actual hunting record reveals a surprising weakness. Explore their feeding habits →
• Captive tiger breeding sounds like conservation, but it actually makes the wild population problem worse. Why captive breeding backfires →

One of the most beautiful and iconic animals to walk the Earth, Bengal tigers are both regal and rare. They’re one of the biggest cat species in the world. Bengals are larger than other tiger subspecies, second only to the Siberian.

Today, wild Bengal tigers primarily live in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, with populations also found in Myanmar and China. And while there are more Bengals than any other tiger subspecies on the Indian subcontinent, the populations are endangered.

Conservation efforts are working to some degree, but they’re not outpacing the poaching, deforestation, and human encroachment that have devastated wild tiger habitats over the past 50 years.

Fascinating Facts About Bengal Tigers

• Human residents of jungle villages that share space with large cats wear face masks on the back of their heads because tigers prefer to attack from behind. If the felines think a person is looking directly at them, they typically find another target.
• Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, a female Bengal tiger known as the “Champawat tiger” killed 436 people around Nepal and Kumaun. After a post-mortem examination, scientists realized her canine teeth were damaged, which prevented her from catching normal prey.
• It is believed that these tigers will coordinate attacks against larger prey like rhinoceroses and elephants.
• Scientists believe Bengal tigers arrived in India between 12,000 and 15,000 years ago.
• In 2019, a Bengal tiger named Ming, a 19-year-old tiger that sadly spent most of his life living in a New York City apartment, passed away. It was discovered that Ming’s human companion, Mr. Yates, fed him about 20 pounds of chicken meat a day and turned one room in the apartment into a sandpit for his “best friend.”

Evolution

The oldest ancestors of the tiger are Miacoids, among the first mammal carnivores. This group was divided into two groups called Feliformia and Caniformia around 40 million years ago. Feliformia was more cat-like and eventually evolved into cats, hyenas, civets, and mongooses.

Like other tigers, the Bengal tiger shares a distant common ancestor with ancient cats like the Smilodon, or sabertooth tiger, though the two lineages diverged roughly 14 million years ago, meaning Smilodon is not a direct ancestor of modern tigers. The family Felidae came into Asia ten million years ago, where it split into the genus Panthera. The Bengal tiger adapted to its habitat to form its own subspecies.

Classification and Scientific Name

During the 19th century, these tigers were known as Royal Bengal tigers. Somewhere along the taxonomic line, however, the royal was dropped. Today, the animals are simply known as Bengal tigers, a population of the subspecies Panthera tigris tigris.

Panthera derives from the Latin word ‘panthēra’ and the Greek word ‘pánthēr,’ which are thought to combine ‘pan’ (all) and ‘ther’ (beast or wild animal), roughly meaning ‘all beast’ or possibly referring to the animal’s spotted coat. The Sanskrit word ‘pând-ara,’ meaning ‘pale yellow, whitish, white,’ is also thought to play a role.

Appearance

Bengal tigers are one of the biggest subspecies of cats roaming the Earth today.

The majority of these tigers sport yellow to light orange coats with brown to black stripes, but their bellies and the inward-facing sides of their limbs are white.

How Big Are Bengal Tigers?

Male tigers are typically between 9 to 10 feet long, including the tail, and about 3 to 3.5 feet tall from the ground. On average, male Bengals tip the scales between 397 and 569 pounds — which is about the same weight as a pig and half as heavy as a polar bear!

Females are slightly smaller than their male counterparts. They’re usually between 7.5 and 8.5 feet long, and while the same height as the males, they only weigh about 220 to 350 pounds, about the same size as a reindeer.

Compared to other tiger species, Bengals are usually slightly larger.

Behavior

The primary traveling unit of these tigers is a mother and her offspring. Besides the early-development period, which lasts about two to three years, Bengal tigers are solitary creatures. On rare occasions, a group of tigers will converge in the same area, usually drawn by a plentiful food source. Such a gathering is called an ambush or streak.

These tigers, like nearly all other tiger species, have home territories that they rarely leave. When young tigers go out on their own, females typically stick close to their mother’s area. During their first year living alone, adolescent cubs visit their mothers’ territories — females more often than males.

Habitat

Generally speaking, Bengals live in tropical, subtropical, and temperate forests with access to water. Altitude-wise, they typically stay between 660 and 9,800 feet above sea level. However, that may be changing. In 2008, a Bengal tiger in Bhutan was caught on camera at 13,800 feet.

Today, these tigers live in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. In India, they stick to tropical forests, subtropical deciduous forests, certain grasslands, and mangroves. Bangladesh has seen a thinning of the tiger population. The animals are now only found in the Sundarbans, which are mangrove forests, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Nepal is home to three small and isolated tiger populations in Chitwan National Park, Parsa National Park, and Bardiya National Park. In Bhutan, Bengals live in 17 of the country’s 18 districts.

Diet

Bengal tigers, like all tigers, are carnivores. Their favorite meat comes from large, hooved mammals, including chital, gaur, and sambar. In a pinch, they’ll also prey on barasingha, water buffalo, nilgai, serow, takin, wild boar, hog deer, Indian muntjac, porcupines, hares, leopards, wolves, crocodiles, dhole, and peafowl. Increasing evidence also suggests that these tigers will coordinate attacks against rhinoceroses and elephants.

Rural farmers must remain vigilant against Bengals because tigers also attack domesticated livestock. And though history is filled with stories of man-eating tigers, it is a rare occurrence that typically only happens when the animal has a physical disability and can no longer catch wild prey.

When making a kill, tigers approach from the back or side and immediately go for their victims’ throats. They then drag the carcass somewhere covered to eat.

In one sitting, tigers may consume up to 100 pounds of meat. But keep in mind that only one in 20 hunts is successful, and they average only one big meal a week.

Predators and Threats

Poaching and habitat destruction, which cause population fragmentation, are the main threats to these tigers. Though lawmakers have implemented anti-poaching laws to protect big game, it remains a huge problem. A thriving and lucrative black market for skins and body parts — which pays a year’s salary for one kill — unfortunately encourages people to break the laws and hunt tigers.

Moreover, on account of India’s 2006 Forest Rights Act, more people are moving into jungle regions and encroaching on tiger territory. While the statute is a much-needed boon for indigenous human communities, it’s terrible for the subcontinent’s cat population.

The Indian government has established tiger conservation units, known as TCUs, in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. Encouragingly, populations appear to be rising in these areas. However, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) still lists these tigers as endangered. Much more work is needed to ensure their survival in the wild.

Reproduction, Babies, and Lifespan

These tigers mate throughout the year, but many baby tigers are born between April and December. The gestation period for female Bengals is about 3.5 months, and mothers usually have litters of up to six. Births happen in sheltered areas like tall grass, caves, and thick bush.

Baby tigers are called cubs and weigh between 1.7 and 3.5 pounds at birth. When they first come into the world, their eyes and ears are shut, and they’re covered in woolly fur that sheds between the ages of 3.5 and 5 months.

Like humans, Bengal tigers’ first set of teeth isn’t permanent. They’re called “milk teeth” and are replaced with an adult set about 2.5 months after birth. Newborn tigers suckle their mothers for about three to six months and start trying solid foods at two months old.

Young tigers stay with their mother for about two to three years, and during that time, she doesn’t go into heat. But once her babies move away, she starts the reproductive cycle again. In other words, female Bengal tigers give birth every two to three years, depending on litter size and how long the cubs stay with their mother.

In the wild, a Bengal tiger’s lifespan is approximately 15 years. The older they get, the weaker they get, and catching prey becomes increasingly difficult. In captivity, Bengal tigers, barring disease and unforeseen accidents, usually live for 20 to 25 years.

Population

How many Bengal tigers are thriving in the wild today? The Bengal tiger population is precarious, though on the rise. In 2011, only about 2,500 lived in the wild. By 2018, that number had increased by a few hundred.

In 2010, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature launched the “Save Tigers Now” campaign, which works towards its stated goal of doubling the wild tiger population by 2022. They didn’t reach that goal, but numbers have increased to approximately 3,500.

Private Big Cat Zoos Don’t Help the Tiger Population

Unfortunately, over the past three decades, tiger breeding has become popular worldwide, especially in the United States. People open private zoos and breed tigers for exhibition. And while a patchwork of laws prevents some undesirable activity, the system isn’t foolproof.