The Royal Bengal Tiger

Written by: Sahana Akter Munia

Tigers are the largest members of the cat family. The Royal Bengal Tiger is the pride of Bangladesh. When we speak of wildlife, the first name that comes to our mind is ‘The Royal Bengal Tiger’. It is the national beast of Bangladesh.

The Royal Bengal Tiger was aptly named by the British as has been known to grow to a body length of more than 2m. It has extraordinary strength and agility. It has a life span of 16 years. It preys on deer, boars and fish stranded on riverbeds at low tide. A hungry tiger can eat as much as 27 kilograms in one night. You would be surprised to know that most tigers avoid humans. Tigress generally gives birth to litters of two to six cubs and raises them without any help from the male tiger. It is only in old age, when it has lost its physical agility and its canine fangs that it sometimes preys on workers in the area.

There are thought to be roughly 400 tigers remaining in the Sundarbans. It is interesting to note that no two tigers have exactly the same stripes.

Every year there are reports of people in the Sundarbans getting eaten by tigers, so the locals are terribly afraid of them and with good reason.

The Tiger is a magnificent, powerful, and courageous animal. Now-a-days it is found only in the Sundarbans. Once upon a time they would found in Sylhet, Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Madhupur Jungles. The Royal Bengal tigers also live in India and are sometimes called Indian tigers. About half of all wild tigers consist of Bengal tigers.