The Bengal Tiger, also known as the Royal Bengal tiger, is a population of the mainland Asian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) (previously the nominate tiger subspecies) native to the Indian subcontinent. It is the second largest type of tiger and it is overall the most common and populous subspecies of tiger at 3900 wild individuals in 2021.
Bengal tigers are threatened by poaching, loss, and fragmentation of habitat, and was estimated at comprising fewer than 2,500 individuals by 2011. None of the Tiger Conservation Landscapes within its range is considered large enough to support an effective population of more than 250 adult individuals. India's tiger population was estimated at 1,706–1,909 individuals in 2010. By 2018, the population had increased to an estimated 2,603–3,346 individuals. Around 440 tigers are estimated in Bangladesh, 163–253 tigers in Nepal and 103 tigers in Bhutan.
The tiger is estimated to be present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late Pleistocene, for about 12,000 to 16,500 years. The Bengal tiger ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. It is the national animal of both India and Bangladesh.
It was treated as the nominate tiger subspecies prior to 2017. Since 2008, it is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
The tiger is an apex predator and an incredibly powerful hypercarnivore armed with powerful canine teeth, jaws and retractable claws. It usually prefers hunting large ungulates such as chital deer, sambar deer, gaur, and to a lesser extent also barasingha, water buffalo, and nilgai. Among the medium-sized prey species, it frequently kills wild boar, and occasionally Indian muntjac and gray langur. Small prey species such as porcupines, hares and peafowl form a very small part in its diet. Because of the encroachment of humans into tiger habitat, it also preys on domestic livestock such as cattle and goats.
Bengal tigers will occasionally hunt and kill predators out of competition such as Indian leopard, Indian wolf, Indian jackal, fox, mugger crocodile, Asiatic black bear, sloth bear, and dhole, although they would rather avoid hunting sloth bears as much as possible mainly due to their highly aggressive nature and sharp claws which can critically injure a tiger. They would usually not dare to attack or even go close to adult Indian elephants and Indian rhinoceros as these animals can easily kill a tiger without mercy, but such extraordinarily rare hunts have been recorded, although to note it was the case of both the rhinos and elephants being very sick and physically weakened by disease and lack of water in the dry season, as a result tigers would usually rather hunt young or infant rhino and elephant calves instead for obvious reasons.
In their hunting behavior, tigers typically adopt an approach where they target their prey from the side or behind, aiming to get as close as possible. They seize the prey by its throat to incapacitate and kill it. Following a successful hunt, tigers proceed to drag the carcass into a concealed location, sometimes covering significant distances, even exceeding several hundred meters, before consuming it. The hunting strategy of tigers, coupled with the availability of prey, gives rise to a feeding pattern characterized by periods of abundance followed by scarcity, commonly referred to as a "feast or famine" style. During these periods of abundance, tigers are known to consume a substantial amount of meat, ranging from 40 to 88 pounds, in a single feeding session.
While tigers are primarily carnivorous, there are instances where they consume vegetation for dietary fiber. This includes the consumption of fruits from trees like the slow match tree and durian.