Bengal Tiger

The tiger is a large cat with a powerful, muscular body, a big head and paws, and orange fur that fades to white in places, crossed by black, mostly vertical stripes. The ears are rounded, the pupils round, and the feet carry retractile claws that can reach about 10cm. Across the species, head-and-body length is given as 1.4 to 2.8m, with a tail of 0.6 to 1.1m (Wikipedia, general species account).

The tiger is an apex predator that lives mostly alone and defends a home range against others of its own sex. In Chitwan National Park, camera-trap data showed tigers avoiding places frequented by people and being more active at night than by day. A seven-year study there found that 12 of 56 detected cubs and juveniles were killed by new males taking over home ranges. Nationally Endangered (Nepal National Red List 2011).