Saving The Royal Bengal Tiger

About the Royal Bengal Tiger...

The Bengal Tiger is the most common tiger subspecies, living in a variety of habitats primarily found in India, Bangladesh and also Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and southern Tibet.

Bengal Tigers are at the top of their ecosystem and play an active role in maintaining the delicate balance of India's threatened natural fauna and flora. They prey upon a variety of animals including wild boar, sambar, barasingha, nilgai, gaur and water buffalo though the spotted dear, also known as chital, forms the bulk of their diet. At times smaller animals including hares, peacocks, langurs and monkeys are also consumed. Extremely strong, Bengal Tigers are known to attack and kill the largest prey animals in India including the Asiatic Elephant and Rhinoceros. They are estimated to have the strength of twelve adult men and can carry a fully grown cow over a ten foot fence.

The most untamed of India's tigers reside in the largest natural delta on earth - the Sunderban forest of Bengal where the sacred river Ganges opens into the Bay of Bengal. An estimated near three hundred and five hundred tigers reside on India and Bangladesh's side of this vast mangrove wetland.

Despite their fearsome reputation, most tigers avoid humans; however, a few do become dangerous maneaters. These animals are often sick and unable to hunt normally, or live in an area where their traditional prey has vanished.

Fast Facts About The Indian Tiger...

Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 8 to 10 years
Size: Head and body, 5 to 6 ft (1.5 to 1.8 m); Tail, 2 to 3 ft (0.6 to 0.9 m)
Weight: 240 to 500 lbs (109 to 227 kg)
Did you know? A tiger's roar can be heard as far as two miles (three kilometers) away.
Protection status:Endangered
Did you know? They sport white spots on the backside of each ear which help baby tigers to see their mothers. Without the spots, which are very visible against a black background, the stripes of a mother tiger would make them almost invisible to the blurry-eyed cubs who trail behind them.
Did you know? The territorial male tiger usually travels alone, marking his boundaries with urine, droppings, and scratch marks to warn off trespassers.
Did you know? A tiger can consume as much as 40 kg (88 lb.) of meat in one feeding.

Saving the Bengal Tiger...

Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation project initiated in India in 1972 to protect the Bengal Tigers. It has become one of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures. The project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted tiger reserves representative of various bio geographical regions throughout India. It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in their natural environment.

Like project tiger there a number of Tiger conservation programs by various bodies around the world like the WWF (World Wildlife Fund or World Wide Fund For Nature). You won't have to look hard to find one. Just read up on the organizations before to make sure your money or efforts are going to be used correctly.

How You Can Help the Fight to Keep the Tiger Alive...

- By Joining online conservation communities

- By Spreading the word the best you can.

- By shopping for merchandise and gifts from stores that contribute to conservation funds.

- By Changing things at home by being be more Earth-friendly in your own life. (See Go Green: 101 Ways to Save Green and Live Green)

- By Donating to well known tiger conservation programs that fight to conserve the endangered species, protect threatened habitats and address threats.

- Never buy products made using the bone any parts of any endangered species because WHEN THE BUYING STOPS THE KILLINGS WILL.

Do your Bit to Save The Tiger Today!