Royal Bengal Tiger

The Royal Bengal Tiger is the second largest cat after the Siberian Tiger. Male tigers measure up to 10 feet in body length and weigh about 500 pounds. Females are 8-9 feet in length and up to 300 pounds in weight. All tigers have the same body structure and coloration. Their bright striped coat is an excellent camouflage in the dense vegetation. Dark stripes break up the body outlines and allow tigers to come close to the prey unnoticed.

Like all cats, Bengal Tigers are solitary and territorial animals. They have large home ranges and protect them from other tigers. Tigers mark their territory with scratches, secrets from scent glands, and urine. The home ranges of males and females often overlap. At the age of 4 or 5 years, the Royal Bengal Tiger reaches sexual maturity and males start to wander around searching for females. Males often fight to death for females. Only the largest and strongest males succeed in fights; young and weak males have no chances to breed. The only time to see Bengal Tigers together is during their mating season, which occurs in early spring.

Soon after mating, the male leaves the female and never participates in taking care of the cubs. There are usually 2-3 cubs in a litter. A Royal Bengal Tiger cub is born blind and helpless, about 18 inches long and with the weight about 3-4 pounds. To raise the cubs, females have to kill much more prey. Cubs stay with the mother for 12-18 months. She teaches them to hunt and protects them from adult males and even from their father. Adult males tend to kill young males to eliminate competition for females.

The Royal Bengal Tiger also comes in a white form. It’s a very rare mutation that rarely occurs in the wild, but is successfully bred in captivity. All present-day captive white tigers are the offspring of one white male. They appeared as a result of inbreeding, that’s why they are prone to several hereditary disorders, such as cross-eye and joint problems. Most male white tigers are sterile. White coloration of the Royal Bengal Tiger is unnatural and harmful for tigers in the wild, because white cubs make an easy meal for large predators and white adult animals have difficulties with stalking the prey.