Bengal Tiger

Scientific name: Panthera tigris tigris

INTERESTING FACTS

Do you know who the real king of the jungle is? It is the tiger, who actually lives in the jungle - whilst the lion occurs in savanna or woodland. The tiger is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. The Bengal Tiger is the only subspecies of tiger which is known to have melanistic tigers too: the "white tigers" with dark stripes.

An apex predator, a tiger preys primarily on ungulates, such as deer and wild boar. And - other then most other cat species - tigers love to swim! One tiger can weigh as much as 300 kilograms and can grow as long as 2.8 metres (as long as a small car).

CONSERVATION MESSAGE

The first Global Tiger Summit was held in 2010 — the ‘Year of the Tiger’ — to plan urgent action to rescue tigers from the brink of extinction. There were only around 3,200 wild tigers left across the globe. Leaders from thirteen tiger range countries gathered with conservation experts and organisations and a wide range of activities was set up. In 2022 the authorities could state a success: the decline of the species had stopped, more than 5,500 tigers were recorded in the wild again.

What can you do to help save these animals?

There are many amazing organizations around the world, aiming to stop the decline of wildlive. They need your support! One of the easiest ways to support conservation projects is to go visit a zoo, which is accredited by one of the bis zoological associations like AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) or EAZA (European Association of Zoos & Aquariums). With buying your entrance ticket, you automatically help funding the conservation programs the zoo is engaged in!