| There are plenty of activity options opened for you within the Indian
Wild life Sanctuaries and they are not just restricted to watching the animals
and birds. | | Home
>> Bengal Tiger
Bengal Tiger  Major Regions : | Madhya
Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Kerala. |
| Famous Tiger Reserves : | Kanha
National Park, Bandhavgarh National Park, Corbett National Park, Sundarbans National
Park. | | Other Wildlife Attractions : | Leopards,
Antelopes, Deers, Sambar, Gaurs. |
The natural heritage
in India is as rich and diverse as the cultural heritage. The wildlife sanctuaries
and the national parks here give you an essence of the same. Nestled in this rich
land is the Royal Bengal Tiger, the only home to the Royal Tiger
Cat. The largest living member of the cat family has a rather graceful built and
gait. Bengal Tiger is the fastest running animal. Its length can measure up to
10 feet and has a weight ranging from 180 to 260 kgs.
The habitat of
this elegant swift mammal (Bengal Tiger) varies from the swamps of the Sunderbans
to the desert land at Ranthambore, from the foothills of Himalayas at Corbett
National Park to Bandipur in the peninsular India. In 1973 was launched the Project
Tiger to get hold of the dwindling count of the indian tigers. Around 9 wildlife
sanctuaries were declared as tiger reserves, which has now increases to 19 covering
an area of 33,000 sq. kms in 14 states. The beauty of the royal bengal cat can
now be seen in its natural surroundings in these conserved areas.
If
you are fascinated by the royal Bengal tiger and wish to see it in its natural
surroundings, a visit to these tiger reserves is bound to be an enchanting one.
All these reserves have the facility of tours to the forested area to watch Bengal
Tiger. One can choose a suitable mode to tour. It can be by jeep or on the elephant
backs. Corbett National Park was the first one covered under the Project Tiger.
Named after the famous environmentalist Jim Corbett, it houses diverse flora and
fauna and has weather suited for flourishing wildlife.
Within the dark,
deep woods of South Bengal, criss crossed by the estuarine canals, is situated
the marshy mangrove jungle of Sundarbans - the den of the Royal Bengal Tigers.
His majesty has even left tracks on the Himalayan snows at 10,000 ft. As you begin
your exciting journey in Sundarbans, chances are you may come across a pugmark
of a real Royal Bengal Tiger on a mud flat.
The Royal Bengal Tigers
were once ruled the special ambience of Sunderbans, and this tiger country was
popular as the Big Game Hunters Mecca. But after facing a drastic fall in the
Tiger population, Project Tiger was implemented in 1973 and later Sundarban Tiger
Reserve was demarcated over 2,585-sq-kms. The core area of 1330-sq-kms has been
declared a National Park and has been chosen as a World Heritage Site.
Distribution
The home to Royal Bengal Tigers (Indian Tigers or panthera
tigris) is India Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma where these graceful animals
live mostly in sanctuaries. The usual habitats for these animals are dense forest,
mangrove swamps, savannahs, rocky countries and lush grassland. Bengal Tigers
are the most numerous in population than any other Tiger subspecies. They are
the largest living member of the cat family and the fastest running animal.
Diet
In the wild Bengal Tigers are pure carnivores and hunt medium-sized
animals, such as rabbits, badgers, water buffalos, deer, wild boars, goats and
sometimes they hunt domestic cattle. A Bengal Tiger will drag the kill to a safe
place to eat. They are able to eat up to 40 pounds at a time and then go without
eating for days. Some Tigers become man-eaters, but it happens to be very rare.
In the zoo Bengal Tigers are fed chicken, horse meat and kangaroo meat five days
a week and fast on bones twice a week.
White
Bengal Tiger
White tigers are very rarely found in the wild. In about
100 yeas only 12 white tigers have been seen in the wild habitats of India. They
are almost extinct and most of the ones living are in captivity, mainly in zoos.
This specific tiger is neither an albino or a seperate subspecies of the tiger.
They are simply white colored and have black stripes that makes them special.
It has blue eyes and a pink nose. It also has prestine white colored fur. The
white tiger is born to a bengal tiger that has the recessive gene needed for white
coloring. A pure white tiger has no stripes and are completely white in color.
Pristine wildness !
The splendid white coat is caused by
a double recessive allele in the genetic makeup, and only turns up naturally about
once in every 10,000 births. Strangely enough, the Bengal tiger is the only subspecies
in which this seems to happen. As magnificent as it may look, life of a white
tiger can't be as easy as it looks.
Habitat & Range
Tigers
usually dwell in an area from about 10 to 30 square miles where there is enough
prey, cover/shelter and water to support them. Territory mainly depends upon the
amount of prey which is available. The more concentrated the prey the smaller
is the area that a tiger needs to survive.
Life Span
White
tigers in the wild live for about 10 to 15 years while tigers in zoos usually
survive 16 and 20 years.
Diet
Tigers do not hunt in social
groups like lions. They are usually solitary animals. In the wild, tigers would
eat pig, cattle and deer. They can eat as much as 40 pounds of meat at one time!
After such a big meal a tiger will not eat again for several days. White Tigers
possesss 30 large teeth ranging from 2.5 to 3 inches.
Royal
Bengal Tiger
The Royal Bengal tiger is scientifically known as 'Panthera
tigris' is an eminent member of the cat family. The origin of the cat family from
what we know today is Siberia. From there, they migrated down south as the climate
became colder. In Asia, India and Malaysia are the two prominent countries where
tigers live. The Indian tigers, the Royal Bengal tigers are the most graceful
animals found in Sundarban in Bengal.
Distribution of the Species
The Bengal Tiger or Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is a subspecies
of tiger found through the rainforests and grasslands of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma,
China, India and Nepal. These tigers are also found in Siberia, Manchuria and
the Asian continent. It is the largest living member of the Felidae family. Its
fur is orange-brown with black stripes. Male Bengal Tigers are up to 10 ft (3
m) long. Females are up to 9 ft (2.7 m) long. They hunt deer, pigs, antelopes,
cattle, young elephants, and buffalo. The Bengal Tiger is now strictly protected,
and is the national animal of both India and Bangladesh.
Habitat &
Diet
The tiger lives in varied habitats open jungles, humid evergreen
forests and mango grove swamps. Its diet consists mainly of deer, antelopes, gaurs
and wild pigs. Sometimes it also captures birds, lizards, turtles, fishes, frogs
and crabs. Tigers hunt on their own and usually lead a solitary existence, each
in its own territory. They are endowed with good swimming power but seldom climb
trees.
|
