The Bengal tiger is the most common tiger and accounts for approximately half of all tigers in the wild. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/bengal-tiger/ Two thirds of the world’s Bengal tiger population lives in India, and it is their national animal.http://india.gov.in/knowindia/national_animal.php Bengal tigers range in size from 7’10” to 8’9” for a female and 8’11” to 10’2” for a male, and weigh between 220 and 569 pounds. http://animal.discovery.com/tv/tiger-spy-jungle/tigers-world/bengal-tiger.html They are the largest existing member of the cat family. http://www.swbg-animals.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/eumetazoa/coelomates/deuterostomes/chordata/craniata/mammalia/carnivora/bengal-tiger.htm

A Bengal tiger’s gestation time is between 98 and 110 days, and they bear two to four cubs per litter. They do not reach full size until 18 months of age, and stay with their mothers until they are two to three years old. http://www.swbg-animals.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/eumetazoa/coelomates/deuterostomes/chordata/craniata/mammalia/carnivora/bengal-tiger.htm Bengal tigers have been exhibited in zoos since 1880, the first being in the Alipore Zoo in Calcutta, India. http://www.indiantiger.org/bengal-tigers/ They were declared an endangered species by the IUCN in 1995.http://animal.discovery.com/tv/tiger-spy-jungle/tigers-world/bengal-tiger.html

Bengal tigers are powerful, nocturnal hunters, and a single tiger can consume as much as 60 pounds of meat in one night, including buffalo, deer, wild pigs, and other mammals. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/bengal-tiger/ Their reddish-orange coats with narrow black stripes are camouflage for hiding in the high grasses of their native environment, allowing them to stalk prey at close quarters. http://www.swbg-animals.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/eumetazoa/coelomates/deuterostomes/chordata/craniata/mammalia/carnivora/bengal-tiger.htm Tigers prefer to avoid humans, though animals that are sick or otherwise unable to hunt normally will occasionally attack a human. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/bengal-tiger/

The population of the Bengal tiger in the wild has dropped significantly in past years, from over 100,000 at the turn of the twentieth century to approximately 40,000 in the mid-1900s to less than 5,000 today. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/13/endangeredspecies.india In order to protect the dwindling population, India formed “Project Tiger” in 1973, which helped establish 27 tiger reserves. http://india.gov.in/knowindia/national_animal.php Poachers are the main danger for the tiger population, and in some places have killed the entire tiger population within these reserves. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/13/endangeredspecies.india The tigers are killed for their pelts, which can be sold for as much as $12,500 in China, and their bones, which are used in traditional chinese medicine. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6686457.stm The United Nations has issued an appeal to India to ask the Indian government to take steps to save tigers, because at the current rate, the population will no longer be sustainable. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4272666.stm Making a public appeal is unusual for the UN, but Willem Wijntekers, head of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered species says he “does not want to embarrass India but making the letter public is a last-ditch attempt to save the tigers.” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4438177.stm