Today, on the planet, biologistsonly six species of tigers, although not so long ago there were much more. But the gradual reduction of forest areas and ruthless hunting for rare animals inevitably leads to a reduction in the population of these amazing and unique wild predators. The Bengal tiger is also recognized as an endangered species and even listed in the Red Book, which does not prevent the indigenous inhabitants of the East from appreciating the luxurious hide of this royal predator and making amulets out of its fangs.
In nature, this species of tigers lives in the forests of India,Burma and Nepal, in captivity it can be found in various parts of the globe. Most often in zoos live a subspecies of the Bengal tiger - a white tiger. And, what is most surprising, all the white individuals living now are descended from one tiger cub, found in 1951 by the Indian Maharajas during the hunt. This famous Bengal tiger named Mohan lived for a long time in the palace of the Maharaja, and for a long time he could not get the appearance of the same rare cubs. There was no white female in the palace, and crossing with traditional red tigresses gave exceptionally red offspring. But one day Mohan was crossed with one of his daughters, and from this union long-awaited cubs with a white skin were born, which gradually gained popularity, and now they can be found in almost all large zoos in the world.
In nature, however, only yellow orred Bengal tigers, because white are too noticeable and their existence in the wild makes them too vulnerable. All attempts to release a white tiger into a wildlife environment invariably ended in failure.
Regardless of color, all tigers of this speciesunusually large - they surpassed the weight of even the famous giant - the Ussuri tiger. The maximum weight, which was recorded by biologists - 388.7 kilograms, which is almost 5 kilograms more than their largest Ussuriysky colleague. However, despite ancient legends, the world's largest tiger rarely hunts people, although, of course, meeting with him in the wild can be dangerous. Most tigers prefer large artiodactyls - roe deer, wild boars or deer - unconditional favorites in their menu.
But at the same time, most of the royal predators do not disdain and much smaller prey - rabbits, frogs and even termites may well become their dinner.
In addition to the size, the Bengal tiger differs fromtheir brethren and many other indicators. The duration of his life is considered a record - some individuals survived to 30 years, which is a rarity for the predator. And their individual territory can reach as much as 3000 square kilometers. Biologists explain such a large amount of "personal space" by the fact that the Bengal tiger prefers solitude. The female and the male are met only during the mating period, in the future they again diverge in their territories - the mother does not allow the father to the process of nurturing the cubs.
Calm, strong and unusually intelligent, thesepredators from ancient times were in the East, and especially in China, symbols of wisdom and power. Some modern linguists even explain the origin of the hieroglyph symbolizing power and power, the interlacing of lines on the forehead of the Bengal tiger. But, unfortunately, the tiger itself did not bring benefit - it is because of this character that many of them became a victim of poachers, because the skin marked with such a sign is considered sacred and is prized extraordinarily high.
Today, the Bengal tiger is not onlyprotection of the Red Book - activists of many environmental and "green" organizations are fighting for the preservation of the species, and the authorities of India, Burma and Nepal are constantly tightening their punishment for the murder of this magnificent predator.
