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The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family; the largest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. Native to much of eastern and southern Asia, the tiger is an apex predator and an obligate carnivore. Reaching up to 4 metres (13 ft) in total length and weighing up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds), the larger tiger subspecies are comparable in size to the biggest extinct felids.

Aside from their great bulk and power, their most recognizable feature is the pattern of dark vertical stripes that overlays near-white to reddish-orange fur, with lighter underparts. The most numerous tiger subspecies is the Bengal tiger while the largest subspecies is the Siberian tiger.

Highly adaptable, tigers range from the Siberian taiga, to open grasslands, to tropical mangrove swamps. They are territorial and generally solitary animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey demands. This, coupled with the fact that they are endemic to some of the more densely populated places on earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans. Of the nine subspecies of modern tiger, three are extinct and the remaining six are classified as endangered, some critically so. The primary direct causes are habitat destruction and fragmentation, and hunting.

Their historical range, which once reached from Mesopotamia and the Caucasus through most of South and East Asia, has been radically reduced. While all surviving species are under formal protection, poaching, habitat destruction and inbreeding depression continue to be threats.
Nonetheless, tigers are among the most recognizable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. They have featured prominently in ancient mythology and folklore, and continue to be depicted in modern films and literature. Tigers appear on many flags and coats of arms, as mascots for sporting teams, and as the national animal of several Asian nations.

Colour variations:

White tigers:

There is a well-known mutation that produces the white tiger, technically known as chinchilla albinistic, an animal which is rare in the wild, but widely bred in zoos due to its popularity. Breeding of white tigers will often lead to inbreeding (as the trait is recessive). Many initiatives have taken place in white and orange tiger mating in an attempt to remedy the issue, often mixing subspecies in the process. Such inbreeding has led to white tigers having a greater likelihood of being born with physical defects, such as cleft palates and scoliosis (curvature of the spine).

Furthermore, white tigers are prone to having crossed eyes (a condition known as strabismus). Even apparently healthy white tigers generally do not live as long as their orange counterparts. Recordings of white tigers were first made in the early 19th century.

They can only occur when both parents carry the rare gene found in white tigers; this gene has been calculated to occur in only one in every 10,000 births. The white tiger is not a separate sub-species, but only a colour variation; since the only white tigers that have been observed in the wild have been Bengal tigers (and all white tigers in captivity are at least part Bengal), it is commonly thought that the recessive gene that causes the white colouring is probably carried only by Bengal tigers, although the reasons for this are not known. Nor are they in any way more endangered than tigers are generally, this being a common misconception.

Another misconception is that white tigers are albinos, despite the fact that pigment is evident in the white tiger's stripes. They are distinct not only because of their white hue; they also have blue eyes and pink noses.

Golden tabby tigers:

In addition, another recessive gene may create a very unusual "golden tabby" colour variation, sometimes known as "strawberry". Golden tabby tigers have light gold fur, pale legs and faint orange stripes. Their fur tends to be much thicker than normal. There are extremely few golden tabby tigers in captivity, around 30 in all.

Like white tigers, strawberry tigers are invariably at least part Bengal. Some golden tabby tigers, called heterozygous tigers, carry the white tiger gene, and when two such tigers are mated, can produce some stripeless white offspring. Both white and golden tabby tigers tend to be larger than average Bengal tigers.

Other colour variations:

There are also unconfirmed reports of a "blue" or slate-coloured tiger, the Maltese Tiger, and largely or totally black tigers, and these are assumed, if real, to be intermittent mutations rather than distinct species.

BENGAL TIGER:

The Bengal tiger, or Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris or Panthera tigris bengalensis), is a subspecies of tiger primarily found in India and Bangladesh. They are also found in parts of Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and southern Tibet. The Bengal tiger is the most numerous of the tiger sub-species, with about 1,411 wild tigers being reported by the Government of India's National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The Bengal tiger is traditionally regarded as the second largest subspecies after the Siberian tiger.[6] The Bengal subspecies P. tigris tigris is the national animal of Bangladesh, while at the species level, the tiger Panthera tigris is the national animal of India.

Tiger records:

Officially, the heaviest Bengal tiger with confirmed weight was a male of 258.6 kg (570 lbs) and was shot in Northern India in 1938, however, the heaviest male captured by a scientist at this time is a male of more than 270 kg (600 lb), tagged in Nepal in 1984. The largest known Bengal tiger, measured between pegs, was a male of 221 cm of head and body length, 150 cm of chest girth, a shoulder height of 109 cm and a tail of just 81 cm, maybe cut off by a rival male.

This specimen couldn’t be weighed, but it was calculated to weigh no less than 270 kg.Finally, according with the Guinness Book of Records, the heaviest tiger know was a huge male hunted in 1967, it measure 322 cm in total length between pegs (338 cm over curves) and weighed 388.7 kg (857 lb.). This specimen was hunted in the north of India by David Hasinger and is actually in exhibition in the Smithsonian Institution, at the Mammals Hall.

Behaviour:

Tigers do not live in prides or clusters like lions do. They do not follow the pattern of family responsibility. However, an individual tiger will often limit his or her outgoings to a distinct territory. This territory is marked 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 unknown tiger comes in contact with the scent, she or he comes to know that the territory has been occupied by another tiger. Hence, every tiger lives independently in his own territory.

Male Bengal tigers fiercely defend their territory from other tigers, often indulging in deadly fights.

Female tigers are relatively less territorial and there have been rare instances of the female sharing her territory with other females. If a male happens to enter a female's territory, he would probably mate with her, if she isn't having litter. If she has litter, he has no choice but to retreat and to find himself a new territory. Similarly, females entering a male's territory are known to mate with him. Both males and females are separated from their mother almost when they are a year old whereupon, the newly grown cubs have to establish their own territory. A male territory is larger than the female territory.

Bengal tigers kill large animals like big brown bears in their territory for meal purposes as well as a signal of their power.

Reproduction and lifecycle:

Mating can occur at any time, but happens to be usually between November and April. The females can have cubs at the age of 3–4 years; males reach maturity in about 4 years. After the gestation period of 103 days, 2-5 cubs are born. Newborn babies weigh about 1 kg (2.2 lb) and are blind and helpless. The mother feeds them milk for 6–8 weeks and then the cubs are introduced to meat. The cubs depend on the mother for 1.5 years and then they start hunting on their own.

Hunting and diet:

Bengal tigers are classified as obligate carnivores, meaning that they have a diet of strictly meat. Bengal tigers eat a variety of animals found in their natural habitat, including deer (sambar, chital, barasingha, hog deer and muntjac), wild boars, water buffalo, gaur, nilgai antelope, and occasionally other ungulates (such as Nilgiri tahr, serow and takin, where available); tigers have also been observed eating small prey, such as monkeys, hares, birds (primarily peafowl), and porcupines, but large and medium-sized ungulates provide the majority of biomass consumed by tigers, and are essential for their survival.

Bengal tigers have also been known to take other predators such as leopards, wolves, jackals, foxes, crocodiles, Asiatic Black Bears, Sloth bears, and dholes as prey, although these predators are not typically a part of the tiger's diet. Adult elephants and rhinoceroses are too large to be successfully tackled by tigers, but such extraordinarily rare events have been recorded: famous Indian hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett described an incident where two tigers fought and killed a large bull elephant.

Due to the encroachment of humans on the Bengal tiger's habitat, Bengal tigers also eat domestic cattle, and if injured, old, or weak enough, humans. When a tiger consumes human flesh, it becomes known as a man-eater and will prey on humans. The nature of the Tiger's hunting method and prey availability results in a "feast or famine" feeding style. Tigers gorge themselves often consuming 18–20 kg (40-60 lbs) of meat at one time as they may not be successful hunting again for several days. Bengal tigers prey on vulnerability, so they attack the last animal at the end of a herd, kill it, and then drag the animal's carcass to a safe location to consume it.

In the beginning of the 20 century, there was reports of big males measuring about 366 cm (12 ft) in total length, however there was not scientific corroboration in the field and it’s probable that this measurements were taken over the curves of the body.