Bengal tiger Facts

About the bengal tiger

Its coat runs from yellow to light orange, crossed by dark brown or black stripes, with a white belly and an orange tail ringed in black. White tigers do turn up in the wild now and then, but they come from a recessive gene rather than albinism. Genetic patterns suggest tigers reached India roughly 12,000 years ago.

Size depends a lot on where the cat lives. In central India, 42 adult males averaged 190 kg (420 lb), and two males captured during the 1980s in Chitwan National Park topped 270 kg (600 lb), the heaviest free-ranging tigers on record. In the mangrove Sundarbans of Bangladesh, adult females weigh only 75 to 80 kg, likely because prey there is smaller. Poaching, habitat loss and broken-up habitat are the main threats.

Did you know?

• The Bengal tiger is the national animal of both India and Bangladesh.
• As of 2022, India held an estimated 3,167 to 3,682 Bengal tigers.
• Fourteen Bengal tiger skins in a London museum carry between 21 and 29 stripes each.