Tiger species: BENGAL TIGER

BENGAL TIGER:

By WWF-India

The Bengal tiger is found primarily in India with smaller populations in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. It is the most numerous of all tiger subspecies with more than 2,500 left in the wild.

By © naturepl.com / Francois Savigny

The creation of India’s tiger reserves in the 1970s helped to stabilize numbers, but poaching to meet a growing demand from Asia in recent years has once again put the Bengal tiger at risk.

The mangroves of the Sundarbans—shared between Bangladesh and India—are the only mangrove forests where tigers are found. The Sundarbans are increasingly threatened by sea level rise as a result of climate change

FACTS ABOUT BENGAL TIGER:

STATUS:
Endangered
POPULATION:
more than 2,500
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Panthera tigris tigris
WEIGHT:
around 550 pounds
© DNPWC / WWF Nepal

LENGTH:
nearly 10 feet
HABITATS:
Dry and wet deciduous forests, grassland and temperate forests, mangrove forests

WHY THEY MATTER:

By © Staffan Widstrand

This tiger subspecies is at the top of the food chain in the wild. But tigers are also a vital link in maintaining the rich diversity of nature. When tigers are protected, we save so much more. For example, with just one tiger, we protect around 25,000 acres of forest. These ecosystems supply both nature and people with fresh water, food, and health.

THREATS:

Tigers suffer from a severe loss of natural prey like deer and antelopes.- By WWF India

PREY LOSS

Tigers suffer from a severe loss of natural prey like deer and antelopes. Prey numbers decline because of direct poaching for meat and trade, competition with livestock over food and habitat degradation because of excessive wood removal for fires.

CONFLICT WITH HUMANS

As tigers continue to lose their habitat and prey species, they are increasingly coming into conflict with humans as they attack domestic animals—and sometimes people. In retaliation, tigers are often killed by angry villagers.

HABITAT LOSS

By Bengal Tiger Conservation

Less than a hundred years ago, tigers prowled all across the Indian subcontinent. Exploding human populations, particularly since the 1940s, have resulted in major loss of tiger habitat. Habitats are further fragmented because of agriculture and the clearing of forests for developments like road networks. This forces tigers into small and scattered habitat patches.

ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

By Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand

Before the international ban on tiger trade in 1993, tiger populations were being decimated by poaching and trade. Despite the ban in the past few decades, the illegal demand for tigers as status symbols, decorative items, and folk cures has increased dramatically, leading to a new poaching crisis. Poaching driven by the international illegal wildlife trade is the largest immediate threat to the remaining tiger population.

Nepal leads the way once again with an estimated 235 wild tigers,
close to doubling the population of 2009.
Watch what does it take to count this magnificent species.