The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris or Panthera tigris bengalensis) is sometimes known as the Royal Bengal tiger and is a subspecies of tiger. The Bengal tiger is the second largest and the most common tiger subspecies. The Bengal tiger is primarily found in Bangladesh, India and also in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and in southern Tibet. Find out more!

Bengal tigers are mostly solitary, however, they sometimes travel in groups of 3 or 4 individuals. Bengal tigers reside in the low-land parts of the rainforest where there are grasslands and swamps.

Some male Bengal tigers occupy 200 square miles of territory and they protect it very fiercely. Bengal tigers are extremely strong animals and can drag their killed prey some 1,500 feet to hide it in bushes or long grass until it feeds upon it. The Bengal tiger is a nocturnal animal, it sleeps throughout the day and hunts at night.

Despite their size, Bengal tigers can climb trees effectively, however, they are not as agile as the smaller leopard, which hides its kills from other predators in the trees. Bengal tigers are also strong and frequent swimmers, often ambushing drinking or swimming prey or chasing prey that has retreated into water.

Bengal tigers are carnivores which means they eat meat rather than plants. Bengal tigers hunt medium-sized and large-sized animals, such as wild boar (an omnivorous mammal), sambar (a kind of deer), barasingha (a kind of deer), chital (a spotted deer), nilgai (an antelope), gaur (a large ox of South Asia) and water buffalo.