Bengal Tigers

Species: Bengal Tiger
Habitat: South Asia
Status: Endangered
DAK Locale: Maharajah Jungle Trek

The Bengal Tiger is one of the most distinguishable animals at any zoo with its reddish gold and black stripes. Yet, in a deep forest or amongst a reed bed, it’s well camouflaged. The tiger is generally a solitary animal and doesn't like to share territory. At a zoo such as Disney's Animal Kingdom, however, family members can be kept in the same enclosures safely. In the wild, males only stay with breeding females for 20 to 80 days. Mothers keep cubs around for 2 to 3 years.

Bengals hunt almost exclusively at night. They are powerful and quick only over short distances. They use their camouflage to get close to prey. They tend to kill small animals by breaking their necks, but larger animals require them to bite throats. A tiger can eat the equivalent of 30 buffaloes a year and will eat as much as 65 pounds of meat a night. For some reason, they always eat the hindquarters first.

Currently, the Bengal Tiger is most numerous in the mangrove forests of eastern India, but they can be found elsewhere in the country as well as in Burma and Nepal. They require large tracts of land with single males occupying as much as 20 square miles and females using 17 square miles. Males are also significantly larger than females. They can be as long as 9 feet from nose to tip of tail and can weigh as much as 570 pounds.

Habitat destruction is a major problem in the growing nation of India as is overhunting. In 1900, the tiger population of that country was between 40,000 and 50,000. It dropped to a mere 1850 in 1972. Now, the tiger has rebounded to about 4000 animals in India. In zoos, the tiger is being kept from breeding as the capacity to house the animals is reaching the limit.

Tigers rarely attack humans. In India, the myth of maneaters is probably overblown. Yet, it is true that an occasional animal will develop a "taste" for humans. Plus, the massive amount of people in India most likely contributes to the fact that approximately 3 dozen people are killed and eaten annually by tigers.

As you imagine, the tiger in that region is a strong part of folklore and mythology. Its reclusive nature has made them less associated with royalty which is the role often played by the lion. Still, it is often given supreme supernatural power. The Hindu goddess, Durga, rides into battle astride a massive tiger. Shamans in Malaysia feel they can shapeshift into tigers to protect the tribe. The mystical king of tigers, Raja Yah is said to inhabit the center of the World.