Royal Bengal Tiger is without doubt the
most fascinating wild animal today. It is the national animal of Bangladesh. It
has ruled the roost of major felid species for most part of the current century.
Royal Bengal Tiger is reddish orange with narrow black, gray or brown stripes,
generally in a vertical direction. The underside is creamy or white; a rare
variant has a chalky white coat with darker stripes and icy blue eyes. The
weight is, male 225 kg , female 135 kg. It is the largest existing member of the
cat family. It is called so because of its royal look and is available in Bengal
or Bangladesh (Sundarbans). It feeds on medium to large prey such as pigs, deer,
antelopes, and buffalo
Some interesting facts:
1. Since tigers hunt mostly at dusk and
dawn their stripes help them hide in the shadows of tall grasses. They stalk and
pounce because they are not able to chase prey a long distance.
2. The territorial male tiger usually
travels alone, marking his boundaries with urine, droppings, and scratch marks
to warn off trespassers.
3. A tiger can consume as much as 40 kg
(88 lb.) of meat in one feeding.
4. Tigers may drag their prey to water to
eat. They are commonly seen in the shade or wading in pools to cool off.
5. Since white tigers have pigmented
stripes and blue eyes, they are not albinos.
6. It is estimated that there are less
than 3,000 Bengal tigers left in the wild.
