Greeting friends and thank you for your reading, sharing and support. This week we pay tribute to the Bengal Tiger. The Bengal Tiger is the largest member of the cat family. This native of India and China has a roar that can be heard a few miles away when it get’s going.
There are discussions about the Siberian Tiger being bigger but on average today, the bengal is bigger. From head to tail it can be from 6 feet to 11 feet in length. The Bengal Tiger can weigh up to 660 pounds and minimally weigh 300 pounds.
Tigers are solitary creatures choosing to live alone unless mating. The female’s gestation period is around 105 days. A tiger will give birth to an average of 3 cubs but the litter can be as high as 5. The cubs are raised by their mother alone and don’t hunt until their about 18 months old.
The tiger as most people know is a carnivore and regularly makes a meal out of the likes of buffalo, deer, wild pigs and various other types of wild animals. Tigers will usually go out of there way to avoid humans though there have been cases when people have been found on their menu.
The plight of the Bengal Tiger is a perilous one. Due to poaching, and loss of habitat the Bengal Tiger’s population in the wild is estimated to be around 2500 in total. There were conservation efforts enacted in the 1970’s to preserve the population as there were three species of tiger driven to extinction in the 1900’s. The Bengal Tiger is in need of conservation and the more attention we can attract to their cause the better.
Timbavati Wildlife Park is home to a few Bengal Tigers. Next Time you’re in the park stop by our Feline Center and check out the largest cats on the planet.
No comments:
Post a Comment