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Great Bengal Tiger - Wonders of
Incredible India
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The Bengal tiger, or Royal
Bengal tiger, is a subspecies of tiger native to India, Bangladesh,
Nepal and Bhutan. The Bengal tiger is the most numerous of the tiger
subspecies � with populations estimated at 1,411 in India, 200 in
Bangladesh, 155 in Nepal and 67�81 in Bhutan. The Royal Bengal Tiger
is the national animal of India.
Its coat is a yellow to light orange, and the stripes range from dark
brown to black; the belly is white, and the tail is white with black
rings. A mutation of the Bengal subspecies, the white tiger, has dark
brown or reddish brown stripes on a white background, and some are
entirely white. Black tigers have tawny, yellow or white stripes on a
black background color. The skin of a black tiger, recovered from
smugglers, measured 259 cm and was displayed at the National Museum of
Natural History, in New Delhi. The existence of black tigers without
stripes has been reported but not substantiated.
Genetic ancestry
Bengal tigers are defined by three distinct mitochondrial nucleotide
sites and 12 unique microsatellite alleles. The pattern of genetic
variation in the Bengal tiger corresponds to the premise that these
tigers arrived in India approximately 12,000 years ago. This recent
history of tigers in the Indian subcontinent is consistent with the
lack of tiger fossils from India prior to the late Pleistocene and the
absence of tigers from Sri Lanka, which was separated from the
subcontinent by rising sea levels in the early Holocene.
Behaviour
Tigers do not live in prides as lions do. They do not live as family
units because the male plays no part in raising his offspring. Tigers
mark their territory by spraying urine on a branch or leaves or bark
of a tree, which leaves a particular scent behind. Tigers also spray
urine to attract the opposite sex. When an outside individual comes
into contact with the scent, it learns that the territory is occupied
by another tiger. Hence, every tiger lives independently in its own
territory.
Male Bengal tigers fiercely defend their territory from other tigers,
often engaging in serious fighting. Female tigers are less
territorial: occasionally a female will share her territory with other
females. If a male happens to enter a female's territory, he will
probably mate with her, if she is not already pregnant or has a
litter. If she is pregnant or has a litter, he has no choice but to
find himself a new territory and another potential mate. Similarly,
females entering a male's territory are known to mate with him. Both
males and females become independent of their mother around 18 months
old, whereupon the cubs have to establish their own territories and
fend for themselves. A male's territory is larger than a female's
territory. |
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