photo taken by Gerald S. Post

BENGAL TIGER

The tiger (Panthera tigris), perhaps the most magnificent animal ever to walk the earth, an animal whose strength and skill are legendary, is endangered. One of the most beautiful animals in the world is unfortunately rapidly becoming one of the rarest. There are five sub-species of tiger; the largest being the Siberian or Amur, the Indian (Bengal), Indochinese, South China and the smallest being the Sumatran. They are the largest member of the cat family with large males weighing up to 700 lbs and up to 10 feet from nose to tip of tail. Their coloration ranges from pale orange with brown stripes to deep ochre with black stripes. The sub-species that live further north generally have paler coloration and are larger while the sub-species whose range is closest to the equator are the most colorful and the smallest.

The Bengal tiger lives on the Indian sub-continent with its range extending from India and Nepal in the North to Bhutan and Bangladesh in the East. Although the Bengal is the most numerous of the 5 sub-species, there are less than 4000 of these magnificent animals left. This wonderful cat, once distributed throughout the entire Indian sub-continent, is now confined to isolated pockets.

These mighty animals are solitary hunters with power enough to bring down adult Gaur (the largest member of the cow family with adults reaching 2200 lbs or more) although their typical prey is Sambar deer, chital deer, and wild pig. Tigers stalk their prey and then ambush from behind. They usually kill with a single bite to the throat or neck. The neck-bite, used on small or medium sized prey, severs the spinal cord, while the throat bite which causes suffocation, is used on larger animals. Dense cover near grassy plains is the habitat that enhances a tiger’s chance of a successful hunt.

Tigers live about 12-15 years in the wild and they become sexually mature around 2 years of age. After a gestation period of 103-110 days, they give birth to 2-3 cubs. The cubs stay with the mother for approximately 18-24 months, during this time the cubs learn important hunting skills.

In the early 1900’s there were over 40,000 tigers in India, today there are fewer than 4000. Yet hope still exists for this magnificent animal to be saved. In the 1970s, Project Tiger, one of the most ambitious and earliest conservation efforts was a dramatic success in India, and helped bring the tiger back from the brink of extinction on the sub-continent. However, serious threats to the tiger still exist and the World Conservation Union lists the tiger as endangered, with the main threats to the tiger’s survival being habitat loss, declining prey base and poaching.

Even images of tigers are awe inspiring; seeing a tiger in the wild is an indescribable encounter. By accompanying us on this spectacular tour you are not only experiencing one of the most ecologically valuable areas on the planet, but you are helping the tiger. The tiger’s very survival depends on governments, conservationists, researchers and people like you helping this magnificent animal. Endangered Encounters will do our part by donating 100 percent of post-tax profits to organizations that will work to ensure that future generations will be able to see these majestic creatures in the wild, where they belong.

Please travel with us and help save this magnificent animal. Experience our Tiger Trip and by doing so, know you are helping to conserve one of the most beautiful animals to have ever lived.

MORE ABOUT TIGERS

The Tiger Information Center
A site dedicated to providing useful information about the 5 living sub-species of tigers. An incredibly useful and informative site.

Endangered Earth

TIGER CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS

WWF India

Save the Tiger Fund

Wildlife Conservation Society
This site, maintained by the Wildlife Conservation Society, contains information about the field research sponsored by this organization. The Wildlife Conservation Society combines the resources of wildlife parks in New York with field projects around the globe. Today WCS is at work in 53 nations across Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America, protecting wild landscapes that are home to a vast variety of species from butterflies to tigers.

IUCN The World Conservation Union
A site dedicated to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

Care for the Wild