The Bengal tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies.[1] It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today.[2][3] It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna.
Felis tigris was the scientific name used by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for the tiger. It was subordinated to the genus Panthera by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1929. Bengal is the traditional type locality of the species and the nominate subspecies Panthera tigris tigris.
The validity of several tiger subspecies in continental Asia was questioned in 1999. Morphologically, tigers from different regions vary little, and gene flow between populations in those regions is considered to have been possible during the Pleistocene. Therefore, it was proposed to recognise only two subspecies as valid, namely P. t. tigris in mainland Asia, and P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands and possibly in Sundaland. The nominate subspecies P. t. tigris constitutes two clades: the northern clade comprises the Siberian and Caspian tiger populations, and the southern clade all remaining continental tiger populations. The extinct and living tiger populations in continental Asia have been subsumed to P. t. tigris since the revision of felid taxonomy in 2017.
Results of a genetic analysis of 32 tiger samples indicate that the Bengal tiger samples grouped into a different clade than the Siberian tiger samples.
The Bengal tiger's coat is yellow to light orange, with stripes ranging from dark brown to black; the belly and the interior parts of the limbs are white, and the tail is orange with black rings. The white tiger is a recessive mutant, which is reported in the wild from time to time in Assam, Bengal, Bihar, and especially in the former State of Rewa. However, it is not an occurrence of albinism. In fact, there is only one fully authenticated case of a true albino tiger, and none of black tigers, with the possible exception of one dead specimen examined in Chittagong in 1846. Fourteen Bengal tiger skins in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London have 21–29 stripes.
The greatest skull length of a tiger is 351 mm (13.8 in) in males and 293 mm (11.5 in) in females. It has exceptionally stout teeth. Its canines are 7.5 to 10 cm (3.0 to 3.9 in) long and thus the longest among all cats.
The lion is a muscular, broad-chested cat with a short, rounded head, a reduced neck and round ears. Its fur varies in colour from light buff to silvery grey, yellowish red and dark brown. The colours of the underparts are generally lighter. A new-born lion has dark spots, which fade as the cub reaches adulthood, although faint spots often may still be seen on the legs and underparts. The lion is the only member of the cat family that displays obvious sexual dimorphism. Males have broader heads and a prominent mane that grows downwards and backwards covering most of the head, neck, shoulders, and chest. The mane is typically brownish and tinged with yellow, rust and black hairs.
The tail of all lions ends in a dark, hairy tuft that in some lions conceals an approximately 5 mm (0.20 in)-long, hard "spine" or "spur" that is formed from the final, fused sections of tail bone. The functions of the spur are unknown. The tuft is absent at birth and develops at around 5+1⁄2 months of age. It is readily identifiable by the age of seven months.
Males and female Bengal tigers in Panna Tiger Reserve reach a head-body length of 183–211 cm (72–83 in) and 164–193 cm (65–76 in) respectively, including a tail of 85–110 cm (33–43 in) long. Total length ranges from 283 to 311 cm (111 to 122 in) for male tigers and 255–285 cm (100–112 in) for female tigers. They typically range 90–110 cm (35–43 in) in height at the shoulders.
Subadult males weigh between 130 and 170 kg (290 and 370 lb) and reach 200 to 260 kg (440 to 570 lb) when adult; subadult females weigh 80 to 100 kg (180 to 220 lb) and reach between 110 and 180 kg (240 and 400 lb) when adult. In central India, 42 adult male Bengal tigers weighed on average 190 kg (420 lb) with a range of 167–234 kg (368–516 lb); their total length was 282 cm (111 in) with a range of 267–312 cm (105–123 in), and their average shoulder height was 99 cm (39 in); 39 adult female Bengal tigers weighed on average 132 kg (291 lb) with a maximum of 156 kg (344 lb) and an average total length of 254 cm (100 in) ranging 239–277 cm (94–109 in). Several scientists indicated that adult male Bengal tigers in the Terai consistently attain more than 227 kg (500 lb) of body weight. Seven adult males captured in Chitwan National Park in the early 1970s had an average weight of 235 kg (518 lb) ranging from 200 to 261 kg (441 to 575 lb), and that of the females was 140 kg (310 lb) ranging from 116 to 164 kg (256 to 362 lb). Two male tigers captured in Chitwan National Park in the 1980s exceeded weights of 270 kg (600 lb) and are the largest free ranging tigers reported to date.
The smallest recorded weights for Bengal tigers are from the Bangladesh Sundarbans, where adult females weigh 75 to 80 kg (165 to 176 lb). Three tigresses from the Bangladesh Sundarbans had a mean weight of 76.7 kg (169 lb). The oldest female weighed 75 kg (165 lb) and was in a relatively poor condition at the time of capture. Their skulls and body weights were distinct from those of tigers in other habitats, indicating that they may have adapted to the unique conditions of the mangrove habitat. Their small sizes are probably due to a combination of intense intraspecific competition and small size of prey available to tigers in the Sundarbans, compared to the larger deer and other prey available to tigers in other parts.
The Indian subcontinent has served as a stage for intense confrontations between tigers and people. At the beginning of the 19th century tigers were so numerous, that the killing of tigers was officially rewarded in many localities. The Terai region supported large numbers of tigers that were pushed into marginal habitat after the 1950s, when the conversion of natural habitat for paddy fields increased. Marauding tigers began to take a toll of human life in areas bordering cultivation. They are thought to have followed domestic livestock that wintered in the plains when they returned to the hills in the spring, and then being left without prey when the herds dispersed back to their respective villages. These tigers were the old, the young and the disabled. All suffered from some disability, mainly caused either by gunshot wounds or porcupine quills.
In the Sundarbans, 10 out of 13-man-eaters recorded in the 1970s were males, and they accounted for 86% of the victims. These man-eaters have been grouped into the confirmed or dedicated ones who go hunting especially for human prey; and the opportunistic ones, who do not search for humans but will, if they encounter a man, attack, kill and devour him. In areas where opportunistic man-eaters were found, the killing of humans was correlated with their availability, most victims being claimed during the honey gathering season. Tigers in the Sunderbans presumably attacked humans who entered their territories in search of wood, honey or fish, thus causing them to defend their territories. The number of tiger attacks on humans may be higher outside suitable areas for tigers, where numerous people are present, but with little wild prey for tigers.
In Nepal, the incidence of man-eating tigers has been only sporadic. In Chitwan National Park no cases were recorded before 1980. In the following few years, 13 people have been killed and eaten in the park and its environs. In the majority of cases, man-eating appeared to have been related to an intra-specific competition among male tigers. An interview survey with 499 local people in Chitwan revealed that lower caste Hindus and people with less than eight years of formal education had negative attitudes to the tiger; most of them owned livestock and had heard about tigers attacking people and livestock.
In December 2012, a tiger was shot by the Kerala Forest Department on a coffee plantation on the fringes of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Chief Wildlife Warden of Kerala ordered the hunt for the animal after mass protests erupted as the tiger had been carrying away livestock. The Forest Department had constituted a special task force to capture the animal with the assistance of a 10-member Special Tiger Protection Force and two trained Indian elephants from the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka.
