Bengal tiger: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Tiger population on the Indian subcontinent}}

{{About|a tiger population|other uses of 'Bengal tiger' and related terms|Bengal tiger (disambiguation)|other uses of 'Royal Bengal tiger' and related terms|Royal Bengal tiger (disambiguation)}}

{{Use Indian English|date=August 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}

| image = Royal Bengal Tiger in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park.jpg

| image_caption = Adult in [[Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park]], Bangladesh

<!--The wording of the first sentence is the result of the RFC [[Talk:Bengal tiger#Request for comment on the first sentence of articles about subpopulations)]]. Do not change it without new consensus. -->

The '''Bengal tiger''' is a [[population]] of the ''[[Panthera tigris tigris]]'' subspecies and the nominate Tiger subspecies.<ref name=catsg>{{Cite journal |author1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. |author3=Eizirik, E. |author4=Gentry, A. |author5=Werdelin, L. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Yamaguchi, N. |author8=Abramov, A. V. |author9=Christiansen, P. |author10=Driscoll, C. |author11=Duckworth, J. W. |author12=Johnson, W. |author13=Luo, S.-J. |author14=Meijaard, E. |author15=O'Donoghue, P. |author16=Sanderson, J. |author17=Seymour, K. |author18=Bruford, M. |author19=Groves, C. |author20=Hoffmann, M. |author21=Nowell, K. |author22=Timmons, Z. |author23=Tobe, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017 |title=A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 11 |pages=66–68 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}}</ref> It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today.<ref name=Mazak1981>{{Cite journal |author=Mazák, V. |year=1981 |title=''Panthera tigris'' |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=152 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.2307/3504004 |jstor=3504004 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Geptner1972">{{Cite book |author1=Heptner, V. G. |author2=Sludskij, A. A. |name-list-style=amp |orig-year=1972 |year=1992 |title=Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola |trans-title=Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2. Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats) |publisher=Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation |location=Washington DC |chapter=Tiger |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov221992gept#page/94/mode/2up |pages=95–202}}</ref> It is considered to belong to the world's [[charismatic megafauna]].<ref name="Sankhala1978">{{Cite book |last1=Sankhala |first1=K. |author-link=Kailash Sankhala |title=Tiger: The Story of the Indian Tiger |date=1978 |publisher=Collins |isbn=978-0002161244 |location=Glasgow}}</ref>

The tiger is estimated to have been present in the [[Indian subcontinent]] since the [[Late Pleistocene]], for about 12,000 to 16,500 years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kitchener |first1=A. C. |last2=Dugmore |first2=A. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2000 |title=Biogeographical change in the tiger, ''Panthera tigris'' |journal=Animal Conservation |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=113–124 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-1795.2000.tb00236.x |s2cid=86096562 }}</ref><ref name="Luo2004">{{Cite journal |last1=Luo |first1=S. J. |last2=Kim |first2=J. |last3=Johnson |first3=W. E. |last4=van der Walt |first4=J. |last5=Martenson |first5=J. |last6=Yuhki |first6=N. |last7=Miquelle |first7=D. G. |last8=Uphyrkina |first8=O. |last9=Goodrich |first9=J. M. |last10=Quigley |first10=H. B. |last11=Tilson |first11=R. |last12=Brady |first12=G. |last13=Martelli |first13=P. |last14=Subramaniam |first14=V. |last15=McDougal |first15=C. |last16=Hean |first16=S. |last17=Huang |first17=S. |last18=Pan |first18=W. |last19=Karanth |first19=U. |last20=Sunquist |first20=M. |last21=Smith |first21=J. L. D. |last22=O'Brien |first22=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2004 |title=Phylogeography and Genetic Ancestry of Tigers (''Panthera tigris'') |journal=PLOS Biology |volume=2 |issue=12 |pages=e442 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020442 |pmid=15583716 |pmc=534810}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=D. M. |last2=Dugmore |first2=A. J. |last3=Gittings |first3=B. M. |last4=Scharf |first4=A. K. |last5=Wilting |first5=A. |last6=Kitchener |first6=A. C. |name-list-style=amp |year=2016 |title=Predicted Pleistocene–Holocene rangeshifts of the tiger (''Panthera tigris'') |journal=Diversity and Distributions |volume=22 |issue=11 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1111/ddi.12484 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Today, it is threatened by [[poaching]], [[Habitat loss|loss]] and [[Habitat fragmentation|fragmentation]] of habitat, and was estimated at comprising fewer than 2,500 wild 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.<ref name=iucn>{{Cite iucn |title=''Panthera tigris'' |name-list-style=amp |author1=Goodrich, J. |author2=Lynam, A. |author3=Miquelle, D. |author4=Wibisono, H. |author5=Kawanishi, K. |author6=Pattanavibool, A. |author7=Htun, S. |author8=Tempa, T. |author9=Karki, J. |author10=Jhala, Y. |author11=Karanth, U. |page=e.T15955A50659951 |date=2015}}</ref>

The Bengal tiger's historical range covered the [[Indus River]] valley until the early 19th century, almost all of [[India]], [[Pakistan]], southern [[Nepal]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]] and southwestern [[China]]. Today, it inhabits India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and southwestern China.<ref name="Luo2004"/> India's tiger population was estimated at 2,603–3,346 individuals by 2018.<ref name=Jhala2019>{{Cite report |author=Jhala, Y.V. |author-link=Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala |author2=Qureshi, Q. |author3=Nayak, A.K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2020 |title=Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India 2018 |publisher=National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India, Wildlife Institute of India |location=New Delhi, Dehradun |url=http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Tiger-Status-Report-2018_For-Web_compressed_compressed.pdf}}</ref>

Around 300–500 individuals are estimated in Bangladesh,<ref name=iucn/> 355 in Nepal by 2022,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/31/world/nepal-wild-tiger-population-scn-trnd/index.html|title=Nepal has nearly tripled its wild tiger population since 2009|last=Sottile|first=Zoe|date=31 July 2022|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=1 August 2022}}</ref> and 90 individuals in Bhutan by 2015.<ref name=Tempa_al2019/>

''Felis tigris'' was the [[scientific name]] used by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 for the tiger.<ref name="Linn1758">{{Cite book |author=Linnaeus, C. |year=1758 |title=Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I |edition=decima, reformata |location=Holmiae |publisher=Laurentius Salvius |chapter=''Felis tigris'' |page=41 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/mobot31753000798865#page/41/mode/2up}}</ref> It was subordinated to the [[genus]] ''Panthera'' by [[Reginald Innes Pocock]] in 1929. [[Bengal]] is the traditional [[Type (biology)|type]] locality of the species and the [[nominate subspecies]] ''Panthera tigris tigris''.<ref name=Pocock1929>{{Cite journal |author=Pocock, R. I. |year=1929 |title=Tigers |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=505–541 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbomb33341929bomb/page/n133}}</ref>

The [[Valid name (zoology)|validity]] of several tiger subspecies in continental Asia was questioned in 1999. [[Morphology (biology)|Morphologically]], tigers from different regions vary little, and [[gene flow]] between populations in those regions is considered to have been possible during the [[Pleistocene]]. Therefore, it was proposed to recognise only two subspecies as valid, namely ''P. t. tigris'' in mainland Asia, and [[Javan tiger|''P. t. sondaica'']] in the [[Greater Sunda Islands]] and possibly in [[Sundaland]].<ref name="Kitchener1999">{{Cite book |last=Kitchener |first=A. |title=Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-64835-6 |editor1-last=Seidensticker |editor1-first=J. |pages=19–39 |chapter=Tiger distribution, phenotypic variation and conservation issues |editor2-last=Christie |editor2-first=S. |editor3-last=Jackson |editor3-first=P. |chapter-url=http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=3060&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423162028/http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home |archive-date=23 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[nominate subspecies]] ''P. t. tigris'' constitutes two [[clade]]s: the northern clade comprises the Siberian and Caspian tiger populations, and the southern clade all remaining continental tiger populations.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Planning tiger recovery: Understanding intraspecific variation for effective conservation |last1=Wilting |first1=A. |last2=Courtiol |first2=A. |first3=P. |last3=Christiansen |first4=J. |last4=Niedballa |first5=A. K. |last5=Scharf |first6=L. |last6=Orlando |first7=N. |last7=Balkenhol |first8=H. |last8=Hofer |first9=S.|last9=Kramer-Schadt |first10=J. |last10=Fickel |first11=A. C. |last11=Kitchener |display-authors=5 |year=2015 |volume=11 |issue=5: e1400175 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1400175 |pmid = 26601191|pmc=4640610 |journal=Science Advances |pages=e1400175 |bibcode=2015SciA....1E0175W}}</ref> The [[extinct]] and living tiger [[population]]s in continental Asia have been subsumed to ''P. t. tigris'' since the revision of felid taxonomy in 2017.<ref name=catsg/>

Results of a genetic analysis of 32 tiger samples indicate that the Bengal tiger samples grouped into a different [[clade]] than the Siberian tiger samples.<ref name="Liu_al2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Y.-C. |first2=X. |last2=Sun |first3=C. |last3=Driscoll |first4=D. G. |last4=Miquelle |first5=X. |last5=Xu |first6=P. |last6=Martelli |first7=O. |last7=Uphyrkina |first8=J. L. D. |last8=Smith |first9=S. J. |last9=O’Brien |first10=S.-J. |last10=Luo |display-authors=5 |title=Genome-wide evolutionary analysis of natural history and adaptation in the world's tigers |journal=Current Biology |volume=28 |issue=23 |year=2018 |pages=3840–3849 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.09.019 |pmid=30482605|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The Bengal tiger is defined by three distinct [[mitochondrial]] [[nucleotide]] sites and 12 unique [[Microsatellite (genetics)|microsatellite]] alleles. The pattern of [[genetic variation]] in the Bengal tiger corresponds to the premise that it arrived in India approximately 12,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Dugmore, A. J. |year=2000 |title=Biogeographical change in the tiger, ''Panthera tigris''|journal= Animal Conservation |volume=3 |pages= 113–124|doi=10.1111/j.1469-1795.2000.tb00236.x|issue=2|s2cid=86096562 }}</ref> This is consistent with the lack of tiger [[fossil]]s from the Indian subcontinent prior to the late Pleistocene, and the absence of tigers from [[Sri Lanka]], which was separated from the subcontinent by [[sea level rise|rising sea levels]] in the early [[Holocene]].<ref name="Luo2004"/>

{{Multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical |image1=Tiger facial marking Sultan (T72) Ranthambhore India 12.10.2014.jpg |caption1=Facial close up of Sultan, a male in Ranthambore National Park |image2=White-tiger-2407799 1280.jpg |caption2=A white tiger}}

The greatest skull length of a tiger is {{Cvt|351|mm}} in males and {{Cvt|293|mm}} in females.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Kitchener, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Yamaguchi, N. |year=2010 |orig-year=First published 1987 |title=Tigers of the World |edition=2nd |publisher=Academic Press |editor1=Tilson, R. |editor2=Nyhus, P.J. |chapter=What is a tiger? Biogeography, Morphology, and Taxonomy |page=55 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-8155-1570-8.00004-9 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266794969 |isbn=978-0-8155-1570-8}}</ref> It has exceptionally stout teeth. Its canines are {{Cvt|7.5|to|10|cm}} long and thus the longest among all cats.<ref name="S&S02">{{Cite book |last1=Sunquist |first1=M. |last2=Sunquist |first2=F. |title=Wild Cats of the World |year=2002 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-22-677999-7 |pages=343–372 |chapter=Tiger ''Panthera tigris'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IF8nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA344}}</ref>

Males and female Bengal tigers in Panna Tiger Reserve reach a head-to-body length of {{Cvt|183|-|211|cm}} and {{Cvt|164|-|193|cm}} respectively, including a tail about {{Cvt|85|-|110|cm}} long. Total length ranges from {{Cvt|283|to|311|cm}} for male tigers and {{Cvt|255|-|285|cm}} for female tigers.<ref name=BookletOnTigerBodyGrowth2021>{{Cite book |author1=Sharma, U. K. |author2=TR, V. |author3=Gupta, S. K. |date=2021 |title=Booklet on Growth Data of Physical Characteristics and Use of Tranquilization/Antidote Drugs, Induction Time, Reversal Time for Free Ranging Royal Bengal Tiger (''Panthera tigris'') |publisher=Panna Tiger Reserve |place=Panna, Madhya Pradesh |url=https://www.pannatigerreserve.in/BOOKLET%20ON%20TIGER%20BODY%20GROWTH%20.pdf}}</ref> They typically range from {{Cvt|90|-|110|cm}} in shoulder height.<ref name=Karanth03>{{Cite journal |author=Karanth, K. U. |year=2003 |title=Tiger ecology and conservation in the Indian subcontinent |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=100 |issue=2–3 |pages=169–189 |url=http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=8073 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310174120/http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=%2FCM%2FContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=8073 |archive-date=10 March 2012}}</ref>

Subadult males weigh between {{Cvt|130|and|170|kg}} and reach {{Cvt|200|to|260|kg}} when adult; subadult females weigh {{Cvt|80|to|100|kg}} and reach between {{Cvt|110|and|180|kg}} when adult.<ref name=Jhala2017>{{Cite journal |author1=Sadhu, A. |author2= Jayam, P.P.C. |author3=Qureshi, Q. |author4=Shekhawat, R. S. |author5=Sharma, S. |author6=Jhala, Y. V. |name-list-style=amp |date=2017 |journal=BMC Zoology |volume=2 |issue=16 |title=Demography of a small, isolated tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) population in a semi-arid region of western India. Appendix 1: Field Guide for Ageing Tigers |doi=10.1186/s40850-017-0025-y |s2cid= 23235257 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322963058}}</ref> In central India, 42 adult male Bengal tigers weighed on average {{Cvt|190|kg}} with a range of {{Cvt|167-234|kg}}; their total length was {{Cvt|282|cm}} with a range of {{Cvt|267–312|cm}}, and their average shoulder height was {{Cvt|99|cm}}; 39 adult female Bengal tigers weighed an average of {{Cvt|132|kg}} with a maximum of {{Cvt|156|kg}} and an average total length of {{Cvt|254|cm}} ranging from {{Cvt|239|to|277|cm}}.<ref name=Brander1923>{{Cite book |last=Brander |first=A. A. D. |date=1923 |title=Wild Animals in Central India |location=London |publisher=Edwin Arnold & Co. |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.284797}}</ref>

Several scientists indicated that adult male Bengal tigers in the [[Terai]] consistently attain more than {{Cvt|227|kg}} of body weight. Seven adult males captured in [[Chitwan National Park]] in the early 1970s had an average weight of {{Cvt|235|kg}} ranging from {{Cvt|200|to|261|kg}}, and that of the females was {{Cvt|140|kg}} ranging from {{Cvt|116|to|164|kg}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Smith, J. L. D. |author2=Sunquist, M. E. |author3=Tamang, K. M. |author4=Rai, P. B. |date=1983 |title=A technique for capturing and immobilizing tigers |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=255–259 |jstor=3808080 |doi=10.2307/3808080}}</ref> Two male tigers captured in Chitwan National Park in the 1980s exceeded weights of {{Cvt|270|kg}} and are the largest free ranging tigers reported to date.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dinerstein |first=E. |year=2003 |title=Return of the Unicorns: Natural History and Conservation of the Greater-One Horned Rhinoceros |chapter=Ecosystem Dynamics |pages=43–46 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6HuJQBmtksC&pg=PA44 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-08450-5}}</ref>

The smallest recorded weights for Bengal tigers are from the Bangladesh Sundarbans, where adult females weigh {{Cvt|75|to|80|kg}}.<ref name=Barlow10>{{Cite journal |author1=Barlow, A. |author2=Mazák, J. |author3=Ahmad, I. U. |author4=Smith, J. L. D. |title=A preliminary investigation of Sundarbans tiger morphology |journal=[[Mammalia (journal)|Mammalia]] |year=2010 |volume=74 |pages=329–331 |issue=3 |doi=10.1515/mamm.2010.040|s2cid=84134909}}</ref>

Three tigresses from the Bangladesh Sundarbans had a mean weight of {{Cvt|76.7|kg}}. The oldest female weighed {{Cvt|75|kg}} and was in a relatively poor condition at the time of capture. Their skulls and body weights were distinct from those of tigers in other habitats, indicating that they may have adapted to the unique conditions of the mangrove habitat. Their small sizes are probably due to a combination of intense intraspecific competition and small size of prey available to tigers in the Sundarbans, compared to the larger deer and other prey available to tigers in other parts.<ref name=Sundarbans>{{Cite thesis |last1=Barlow |first1=A. C. D. |title=The Sundarbans Tiger – Adaptation, population status, and Conflict management |type=PhD thesis |year=2009 |url=http://www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/thesis/barlow_2009_phd.pdf |publisher=[[University of Minnesota]] |location=Minneapolis}}</ref>

The very large "[[Leeds Tiger]]" on display at [[Leeds City Museum]], shot in 1860 near [[Mussoorie]], had a body length of {{Cvt|12|ft|2|in|cm|order=flip}} at death. Two tigers shot in [[Kumaon District]] and near [[Oude]] at the end of the 19th century allegedly measured more than {{Cvt|12|ft|cm|order=flip}}. But at the time, sportsmen had not yet adopted a standard system of measurement; some measured [[wikt:peg|'between the pegs']] while others measured 'over the curves'.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Sterndale, R. A. |year=1884 |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19550/19550-h/19550-h.htm#201 |chapter=''Felis Tigris'' No. 201 |title=Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon |publisher=Thacker, Spink and Co. |location=Calcutta}}</ref> The greatest length of a tiger skull measured {{Cvt|16.25|in|mm|order=flip}} "over the bone"; this one was shot in the vicinity of [[Nagina]] in northern India.<ref name=Hewett&Hewett>{{Cite book |author1=Hewett, J. P. |author2=Hewett Atkinson, L. |title=Jungle trails in northern India: reminiscences of hunting in India |publisher=Metheun and Company Limited |location=London |year=1938 |chapter=Visits to India after Retirement |pages=177–183 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.209125/page/n225}}</ref>

In the beginning of the 20th century, a male tiger was shot in central India with a head and body length of {{Cvt|221|cm}} between pegs, a chest girth of {{Cvt|150|cm}}, a shoulder height of {{Cvt|109|cm}} and a tail length of {{Cvt|81|cm|in}}, which was perhaps bitten off by a rival male. This specimen could not be weighed, but it was estimated to weigh about {{Cvt|272|kg}}.<ref name=Brander1923/> A male weighing {{Cvt|570|lb|kg|0|order=flip}} was shot in northern India in the 1930s.<ref name="Hewett&Hewett" /> A male tiger shot in Nepal weighed {{Cvt|320|kg}} and measured {{Cvt|10|ft|9|in|cm|order=flip}} 'over the curves'.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Smythies, E. A. |title=Big game shooting in Nepal |publisher=Thacker, Spink |place=Calcutta |page=36|year=1942}}</ref>

The heaviest wild tiger was possibly a huge male killed in 1967 at the foothills of the Himalayas. It weighed {{Cvt|388.7|kg}} after eating a buffalo calf; it measured {{Cvt|323|cm}} in total length between pegs, and {{Cvt|338|cm}} over curves. Without eating the calf beforehand, it would have likely weighed at least {{Cvt|324.3|kg}}. This specimen is on exhibition in the Mammals Hall of the [[Smithsonian Institution]].<ref name=Wood1983>{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=G. L. |year=1982 |title=The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats |publisher=Guinness Superlatives |location=Enfield, Middlesex |isbn=978-0-85112-235-9 |page=33}}</ref> In the Central Provinces of India, a male tiger shot weighed {{Cvt|317|kg}} and measured {{Cvt|9|ft|11|in|order=flip}}.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Ward, R. |title=Records Of Big Game |publisher=Rowland Ward, Ltd. |page=493 |year=1907 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.221504/page/n511/mode/2up}}</ref>

The Bengal tiger rivals the [[Siberian tiger]] in average weight.<ref name=Slaght2005>{{Cite book |author1=Slaght, J. C. |author2=Miquelle, D. G. |author3=Nikolaev, I. G. |author4=Goodrich, J. M. |author5=Smirnov, E. N. |author6=Traylor-Holzer, K. |author7=Christie, S. |author8=Arjanova, T. |author9=Smith, J. L. D. |author10=Karanth, K. U. |year=2005 |chapter=Chapter 6. Who‘s king of the beasts? Historical and contemporary data on the body weight of wild and captive Amur tigers in comparison with other subspecies |title=Tigers in Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik: Ecology and Conservation |editor1=D. G. Miquelle |editor2=Smirnov, E. N.  |editor3=Goodrich, J.M. |publisher=PSP |location=Vladivostok, Russia |chapter-url=http://fishowls.com/Slaght%20et%20al%202005.pdf |pages=25–35 |language=ru}}</ref>

In 1982, a sub-[[fossil]] right middle [[Phalanx bone|phalanx]] was found in a prehistoric [[midden]] near [[Kuruwita]] in [[Sri Lanka]], which is dated to about 16,500 years ago and tentatively considered to be of a tiger. Tigers appear to have arrived in Sri Lanka during a [[pluvial]] period, during which sea levels were depressed, evidently prior to the last [[glacial maximum]] about 20,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Manamendra-Arachchi, K. |author2=Pethiyagoda, R. |author3=Dissanayake, R. |author4=Meegaskumbura, M. |year=2005 |url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s12/s12rbz423-434.pdf |title=A second extinct big cat from the late Quaternary of Sri Lanka |journal=The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology |volume=2005 |issue=Supplement No. 12 |pages=423–434 |access-date=25 April 2009 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225033149/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s12/s12rbz423-434.pdf%20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The tiger probably arrived too late in southern India to colonise Sri Lanka, which earlier had been connected to India by a [[land bridge]].<ref name=Pocock1929/>

Results of a [[phylogeography|phylogeographic]] study using 134 samples from tigers across the global range suggest that the historical northeastern distribution limit of the Bengal tiger is the region in the [[Chittagong Hills]] and [[Brahmaputra River]] basin, bordering the historical range of the [[Indochinese tiger]].<ref name="Luo2004"/><ref name=Luo10>{{Cite journal |author=Luo, S.J. |author2=Johnson, W. E. |author3=O'Brien, S. J. |year=2010 |title=Applying molecular genetic tools to tiger conservation |journal=Integrative Zoology |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=351–362|pmid=21392353 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-4877.2010.00222.x|pmc=6984346 }}</ref>

In the Indian subcontinent, tigers inhabit [[tropics|tropical]] moist [[evergreen forests]], [[tropical dry forest]]s, tropical and subtropical moist [[deciduous forest]]s, [[mangroves]], subtropical and temperate upland forests, and [[alluvial]] grasslands. The latter habitat once covered a huge swath of grassland, riverine and moist semi-deciduous forests along the major river system of the [[Gangetic plain|Gangetic]] and [[Brahmaputra River|Brahmaputra plains]], but has now been largely converted to agricultural land or severely [[Environmental degradation|degraded]]. Today, the best examples of this habitat type are limited to a few blocks at the base of the outer foothills of the [[Himalayas]] including the ''Tiger Conservation Units'' (TCUs) [[Rajaji National Park|Rajaji]]-[[Corbett National Park|Corbett]], [[Bardia National Park|Bardia]]-[[Banke National Park|Banke]], and the transboundary TCUs [[Chitwan National Park|Chitwan]]-[[Parsa National Park|Parsa]]-[[Valmiki National Park|Valmiki]], [[Dudhwa Tiger Reserve|Dudhwa]]-[[Kailali District|Kailali]] and [[Shuklaphanta National Park|Shuklaphanta]]-[[Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary|Kishanpur]]. Tiger densities in these TCUs are high, in part because of the extraordinary biomass of [[ungulate]] prey.<ref name="Wikramanayake1999">{{Cite book |author1=Wikramanayake, E.D. |author2=Dinerstein, E. |author3=Robinson, J.G. |author4=Karanth, K.U. |author5=Rabinowitz, A. |author6=Olson, D. |author7=Mathew, T. |author8=Hedao, P. |author9=Connor, M. |author10=Hemley, G. |author11=Bolze, D. |display-authors=5 |date=1999 |chapter=Where can tigers live in the future? A framework for identifying high-priority areas for the conservation of tigers in the wild |chapter-url=http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Riding_The_Tiger1&template=%2FCM%2FContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=3062 |editor1-last=Seidensticker |editor1-first=J. |editor2-last=Christie |editor2-first=S. |editor3-last=Jackson |editor3-first=P. |title=Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=255–272 |isbn=978-0-521-64835-6 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310110401/http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Riding_The_Tiger1&template=%2FCM%2FContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=3062 |archive-date=10 March 2012 }}</ref>

In Pakistan, [[Khairpur (princely state)|Khairpur]] was the last stronghold of the tiger by the late 19th century; the last individuals were shot in 1906 in [[Bahawalpur (princely state)|Bahawalpur]] in the [[Indus River]]ine jungles.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Roberts, T.J. |year=1977 |title=The Mammals of Pakistan |location=London and Tonbridge |publisher=Ernest Benn Limited |pages=155–156 |chapter=''Panthera tigris''}}</ref>

{{Clear left}}

In the 20th century, Indian censuses of wild tigers relied on the individual identification of footprints known as pug marks – a method that has been criticised as deficient and inaccurate. [[Camera trap]]s are now being used in many sites.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Karanth |first1=K. U. |author1-link=K. Ullas Karanth |last2=Nichols |first2=J. D. |last3=Seidensticker |first3=J. |last4=Dinerstein |first4=E. |last5=Smith |first5=J. L. D. |last6=McDougal |first6=C. |last7=Johnsingh |first7=A. J. T. |author7-link=A. J. T. Johnsingh |last8=Chundawat |first8=R. S. |last9=Thapar |first9=V. |author9-link=Valmik Thapar |display-authors=5 |year=2003 |title=Science deficiency in conservation practice: the monitoring of tiger populations in India |journal=Animal Conservation |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=141–146 |url=http://www.snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Karanth_et_al_2003.pdf |doi=10.1017/S1367943003003184 |s2cid=55280343 |access-date=23 October 2011 |archive-date=9 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709153859/https://www.snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Karanth_et_al_2003.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) female.jpg|thumb|A young tigress in Kanha Tiger Reserve]]

During a tiger census in 2008, camera trap and sign surveys using [[GIS]] were employed to estimate site-specific densities of tiger, co-predators and prey. Based on the result of these surveys, the total tiger population was estimated at 1,411 individuals ranging from 1,165 to 1,657 adult and sub-adult tigers of more than 1.5 years of age. Across India, six landscape complexes were surveyed that host tigers and have the potential to be connected. These landscapes comprise the following:<ref name="jhala2008">{{Cite book |title=Status of the Tigers, Co-predators, and Prey in India |editor1=[[Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala|Jhala, Y. V.]] |editor2=Gopal, R. |editor3=Qureshi, Q. |publisher=National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, New Delhi; Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun |year=2008 |series=TR 08/001 |url=http://projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/status_of_tigers_in_india_2008.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602124630/http://projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/status_of_tigers_in_india_2008.pdf}}</ref>

* in the [[Sivaliks]]–[[Gangetic plain|Gangetic flood plain]] landscape there are six populations with an estimated population size of 259 to 335 individuals in an area of {{Convert|5080|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} of forested habitats, which are located in Rajaji and Corbett National Parks, in the connected habitats of [[Dudhwa National Park|Dudhwa-Kheri]]-[[Pilibhit Tiger Reserve|Pilibhit]], in Suhelwa Tiger Reserve, in [[Sohagi Barwa Sanctuary]] and in [[Valmiki National Park]];

* in the [[Central India]]n highlands there are 17 populations with an estimated population size of 437 to 661 individuals in an area of {{Convert|48610|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} of forested habitats, which are located in the landscapes of Kanha-Pench, [[Satpura National Park|Satpura]]-[[Melghat Tiger Reserve|Melghat]], [[Sanjay National Park|Sanjay]]-[[Palamau Tiger Reserve|Palamau]], [[Navegaon National Park|Navegaon]]-Indravati; isolated populations are supported in the tiger reserves of [[Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve|Bandhavgarh]], [[Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve|Tadoba]], Simlipal and the national parks of Panna, [[Ranthambore National Park|Ranthambore]]–[[Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary|Kuno–Palpur]]–[[Madhav National Park|Madhav]] and [[Saranda forest|Saranda]];

* in the [[Eastern Ghats]] landscape there is a single population with an estimated population size of 49 to 57 individuals in a {{Convert|7772|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} habitat in three separate forest blocks located in the [[Srivenkateshwara National Park]], [[Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve|Nagarjunasagar Tiger Reserve]] and the adjacent proposed Gundla Brahmeshwara National Park, and forest patches in the [[tehsil]]s of [[Kanigiri]], [[Badvel]], [[Udayagiri, Andhra Pradesh|Udayagiri]] and [[Giddalur]];

* in the [[Western Ghats]] landscape there are seven populations with an estimated population size of 336 to 487 individuals in a forested area of {{Convert|21435|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} in three major landscape units [[Periyar Tiger Reserve|Periyar]]-[[Kalakad-Mundathurai Tiger Reserve|Kalakad-Mundathurai]], [[Bandipur Tiger Reserve|Bandipur]]-[[Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary|Parambikulam]]-[[Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary|Sathyamangalam]]-[[Mudumalai National Park|Mudumalai]]-[[Indira Gandhi National Park|Anamalai]]-[[Mukurthi National Park|Mukurthi]] and [[Anshi National Park|Anshi]]-[[Kudremukh National Park|Kudremukh]]-[[Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary|Dandeli]];

* in the [[Brahmaputra River|Brahmaputra]] flood plains and northeastern hills tigers live in an area of {{Convert|4230|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} in several patchy and fragmented forests;

* in the [[Sundarbans National Park]] tigers live in about {{Convert|1586|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} of mangrove forest.

[[Manas National Park|Manas]]-[[Namdapha National Park|Namdapha]], [[Orang National Park|Orang]]-[[Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary|Laokhowa]] and [[Kaziranga National Park|Kaziranga]]-[[Meghalaya]] are ''Tiger Conservation Units'' in northeastern India, stretching over at least {{Convert|14500|km2|abbr=on}} across several [[protected area]]s.<ref name="Wikramanayake1999"/> Tigers are also present in [[Pakke Tiger Reserve]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Chauhan, D. S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Singh, R. |author3=Mishra, S. |author4=Dadda, T. |author5=Goyal, S.P. |year=2006 |title=Estimation of tiger population in an intensive study area of Pakke Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh, India |location=Dehradun, India |publisher=Wildlife Institute of India |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264348762}}</ref> In the [[Mishmi Hills]], tigers were recorded in 2017 up to an elevation of {{Convert|3,630|m|abbr=on}} in snow.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Adhikarimayum, A. S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Gopi, G. V. |year=2018 |title=First photographic record of tiger presence at higher elevations of the Mishmi Hills in the Eastern Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot, Arunachal Pradesh, India |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=10 |issue=13 |pages=12833–12836 |doi=10.11609/jott.4381.10.13.12833-12836|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Ranthambore National Park hosts India's westernmost tiger population.<ref name=Jhala2017 /> The [[Dangs' Forest]] in southeastern [[Gujarat]] is potential tiger habitat.<ref name=Jhala2011/>

As of 2014, the Indian tiger population was estimated to range over an area of {{Convert|89164|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and number 2,226 adult and subadult tigers older than one year. About 585 tigers were present in the Western Ghats, where [[Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary|Radhanagari]] and [[Sahyadri Tiger Reserve]]s were newly established. The largest population resided in [[Corbett Tiger Reserve]] with about 215 tigers. The Central Indian tiger population is fragmented and depends on [[wildlife corridor]]s that facilitate connectivity between protected areas.<ref name=Jhala2015>{{Cite book |editor=Jhala, Y. V. |editor2=Qureshi, Q. |editor3=Gopal, R. |year=2015 |title=The status of tigers, copredators & prey in India 2014. TR2015/021 |publisher=National Tiger Conservation Authority & Wildlife Institute of India |location=New Delhi, Dehradun |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271133744}}</ref> By 2018, the population had increased to an estimated 2,603–3,346 individuals.<ref name=Jhala2019/>

In May 2018, a tiger was recorded in Sahyadri Tiger Reserve for the first time in eight years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kulkarni |first=D. |title=Sahyadri Tiger Reserve camera traps evidence of tigers first time in 8 years |work=[[Daily News and Analysis]] |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-sahyadri-tiger-reserve-camera-traps-evidence-of-tigers-first-time-in-8-years-2629246 |date=2018 |access-date=11 July 2019}}</ref>

In February 2019, a tiger was sighted in Gujarat's [[Lunavada]] area in [[Mahisagar district]], and found dead shortly afterwards.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaushik |first=H. |title=Tiger that trekked from MP to Gujarat died of starvation: Post-mortem report |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68327799.cms |date=2019 |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref> Officials assumed that it originated in [[Ratapani Tiger Reserve]] and travelled about {{Cvt|300|km}} over two years. It probably died of starvation. In May 2019, camera traps recorded tigers in [[Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary]] and [[Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park]], the first records in [[Goa]] since 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kamat |first=P. |title=Tiger spotted at Goa's only national park |date=2019 |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/tiger-spotted-at-goas-only-national-park/article27175027.ece |access-date=9 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sayed |first=N. |title=Goa's new visitor: Big cat at Molem national park |work=The Times of India|date=2019 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/spotted-camera-trap-captures-tigers-presence-in-goa/articleshow/69388596.cms |access-date=9 July 2019}}</ref>

The tigers in the [[Sundarbans]] in India and Bangladesh are the only ones in the world inhabiting [[mangrove]] forests.<ref name=Jhala2011>{{Cite report |author1=Jhala, Y. V. |author2=Qureshi, Q. |author3=Sinha, P. R. |year=2011 |title=Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India, 2010. TR 2011/003 pp-302 |location=New Delhi, Dehradun |publisher=National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, and Wildlife Institute of India |author1-link=Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala |url=http://www.projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/Tiger_Status_oct_2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120232451/http://www.projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/Tiger_Status_oct_2010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 January 2012}}</ref> The population in the Indian Sundarbans was estimated as 86–90 individuals in 2018.<ref name=Jhala2019/>

In Bangladesh, tigers are now relegated to the forests of the [[Sundarbans]] and the [[Chittagong Hill Tracts]].<ref name="Khan">{{Cite thesis |last=Khan |first=M. M. H. |year=2004 |title=Ecology and conservation of the Bengal tiger in the Sundarbans Mangrove forest of Bangladesh |publisher=The [[University of Cambridge]] |location=Cambridge |type=PhD thesis |url=http://www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/thesis/khan_2004_phd.pdf}}</ref> The Chittagong forest is contiguous with tiger habitat in India and [[Myanmar]], but the tiger population is of unknown status.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Sanderson, E. |author2=Forrest, F. |author3=Loucks, C. |author4=Ginsberg, J. |author5=Dinerstein, E. |author6=Seidensticker, J. |author7=Leimgruber, P. |author8=Songer, M. |author9=Heydlauff, A. |author10=O’Brien, T. |author11=Bryja, G. |author12=Klenzendorf, S. |author13=Wikramanayake, E. |display-authors=5 |year=2010 |orig-year=First published 1987 |chapter-url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/11080/nzp_9_Sanderson.pdf?sequence=1 |chapter=Setting priorities for the conservation and recovery of wild tigers: 2005–2015 |title=Tigers of the World: The Science, Politics and Conservation of ''Panthera tigris'' |edition=2nd |page=154 |editor1=Tilson, R. |editor2=Nyhus, P. J. |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-8155-1133-5}}</ref>

As of 2004, population estimates in Bangladesh ranged from 200 to 419 individuals, most of them in the Sundarbans.<ref name="Khan" /> This region is the only mangrove habitat in this [[bioregion]], where tigers survive, swimming between islands in the delta to hunt prey.<ref name="Wikramanayake1999"/> Bangladesh's Forest Department is raising mangrove plantations supplying forage for [[spotted deer]]. Since 2001, [[afforestation]] has continued on a small scale in the Sundarbans.<ref name=gtrp11>{{Cite book |author=Global Tiger Initiative |year=2011 |title=Global Tiger Recovery Program 2010–2022 |location=Washington |publisher=Global Tiger Initiative Secretariat |archive-date=26 August 2011 |url=http://www.globaltigerinitiative.org/download/St_Petersburg/GTRP_Nov11_Final_Version_Eng.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826004608/http://www.globaltigerinitiative.org/download/St_Petersburg/GTRP_Nov11_Final_Version_Eng.pdf}}</ref>

From October 2005 to January 2007, the first [[camera trap]] survey was conducted across six sites in the Bangladesh Sundarbans to estimate tiger population density. The average of these six sites provided an estimate of 3.7 tigers per {{Cvt|100|km2|sqmi}}. Since the Bangladesh Sundarbans is an area of {{Cvt|5770|km2|sqmi}}, it was inferred that the total tiger population comprised approximately 200 individuals.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Khan, M. |title=Population and prey of the Bengal Tiger ''Panthera tigris tigris'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (Carnivora: Felidae) in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |year=2012 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=2370–2380 |doi=10.11609/jott.o2666.2370-80 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Home ranges of adult female tigers were recorded comprising between {{Cvt|12|and|14|km2|sqmi}}, which would indicate an approximate carrying capacity of 150 adult females.<ref name=Barlow10/><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Barlow, A. |author2=Smith, J. L. D. |author3=Ahmad, I. U. |author4=Hossain, A. N. |author5=Rahman, M. |author6=Howlader, A. |name-list-style=amp |title=Female tiger ''Panthera tigris'' home range size in the Bangladesh Sundarbans: the value of this mangrove ecosystem for the species' conservation |journal=Oryx |year=2011 |volume=45 |pages=125–128 |doi=10.1017/S0030605310001456|doi-access=free}}</ref> The small home range of adult female tigers and consequent high density of tigers in this habitat type relative to other areas may be related to both the high density of prey and the small size of the Sundarban tigers.<ref name=Barlow10/>

Since 2007, tiger monitoring surveys have been carried out every year by [[WildTeam]] in the Bangladesh Sundarbans to monitor changes in the Bangladesh tiger population and assess the effectiveness of conservation actions. This survey measures changes in the frequency of tiger track sets along the sides of tidal waterways as an index of relative tiger abundance across the Sundarbans landscape.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Barlow, A. |author2=Ahmed, M. I. U. |author3=Rahman, M. M. |author4=Howlader, A. |author5=Smith, A. C. |author6=Smith, J. L. D. |name-list-style=amp |title=Linking monitoring and intervention for improved management of tigers in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh |journal=Biological Conservation |year=2008 |volume=14 |pages=2032–2040 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2008.05.018 |issue=8}}</ref>

By 2009, the tiger population in the Bangladesh Sundarbans was estimated as 100–150 adult females or 335–500 tigers overall. Female home ranges, recorded using [[Global Positioning System]] collars, were some of the smallest recorded for tigers, indicating that the Bangladesh Sundarbans could have one of the highest densities and largest populations of tigers anywhere in the world. They are isolated from the next tiger population by a distance of up to {{Cvt|300|km|mi}}. Information is lacking on many aspects of Sundarbans tiger ecology, including relative abundance, population status, spatial dynamics, habitat selection, life history characteristics, taxonomy, genetics, and disease. There is also no monitoring program in place to track changes in the tiger population over time, and therefore no way of measuring the response of the population to conservation activities or threats. Most studies have focused on the tiger-human conflict in the area, but two studies in the Sundarbans East Wildlife sanctuary documented habitat-use patterns of tigers, and abundances of tiger prey, and another study investigated tiger parasite load. Some major threats to tigers have been identified. The tigers living in the Sundarbans are threatened by habitat destruction, prey depletion, highly aggressive and rampant [[intraspecific competition]], tiger-human conflict, and direct tiger loss.<ref name=Sundarbans/>

By 2017, this population was estimated at 84–158 individuals.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Aziz, M. A. |author2=Tollington, S. |author3=Barlow, A. |author4=Greenwood, C. |author5=Goodrich, J. M. |author6=Smith, O. |author7=Shamsuddoha, M. |author8=Islam, M. A. |author9=Groombridge, J. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017 |title=Using non-invasively collected genetic data to estimate density and population size of tigers in the Bangladesh Sundarbans |journal=Global Ecology and Conservation |volume=12 |pages=272–282 |doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2017.09.002 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

A rising sea-level due to [[climate change]] is projected to cause a severe loss of suitable habitat for this population in the following decades, around 50% by 2050 and 100% by 2070.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Mukul, S. A. |author2=Alamgir, M. |author3=Sohel, M. S. I. |author4=Pert, P. L. |author5=Herbohn, J. |author6=Turton, S. M. |author7=Khan, M. S. I.|author8=Munim, S. A.|author9=Reza, A. A. |author10=Laurance, W. F. |name-list-style=amp |year=2019 |title=Combined effects of climate change and sea-level rise project dramatic habitat loss of the globally endangered Bengal tiger in the Bangladesh Sundarbans |journal=Science of the Total Environment |volume=663 |pages=830–840 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.383 |pmid=30738263 |bibcode=2019ScTEn.663..830M|s2cid=73418836 }}</ref>

The tiger population in the Terai of Nepal is split into three isolated subpopulations that are separated by cultivation and densely settled habitat. The largest population lives in [[Chitwan National Park]] and in the adjacent [[Parsa National Park]] encompassing an area of {{Convert|2543|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of prime lowland forest. To the west, the Chitwan population is isolated from the one in [[Bardia National Park]] and adjacent unprotected habitat farther west, extending to within {{Convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} of the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, which harbours the smallest population.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Smith, J. L. D. |author2=Ahern, S. C. |author3=McDougal, C. |name-list-style=amp |year=1998 |title=Landscape Analysis of Tiger Distribution and Habitat Quality in Nepal |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=12 |issue=6 |pages=1338–1346 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1998.97068.x}}</ref>

From February to June 2013, a camera trapping survey was carried out in the [[Terai Arc Landscape]], across an area of {{Convert|4841|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in 14 districts. The country's tiger population was estimated at 163–235 breeding adults comprising 102–152 tigers in the Chitwan-Parsa protected areas, 48–62 in Bardia-[[Banke National Park]]s and 13–21 in [[Shuklaphanta National Park]].<ref>{{Cite report |author1=Dhakal, M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Karki (Thapa), M. |author3=Jnawali, S. R. |author4=Subedi, N. |author5=Pradhan, N. M. B. |author6=Malla, S. |author7=Lamichhane, B. R. |author8=Pokheral, C. P. |author9=Thapa, G. J. |author10=Oglethorpe, J. |author11=Subba, S. A. |author12=Bajracharya, P. R. |author13=Yadav, H. |year=2014 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265966616 |title=Status of Tigers and Prey in Nepal |work=Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation |location=[[Kathmandu]], Nepal}}</ref>

Between November 2017 and April 2018, the third nationwide survey for tiger and prey was conducted in the Terai Arc Landscape; the country's population was estimated at 220–274 tigers.<ref name=DNPWC2018>{{Cite report |author1=Poudyal, L. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Yadav, B. |author3=Ranabhat, R. |author4=Maharjan, S. |author5=Malla, S. |author6=Lamichhane, B.R. |author7=Subba, S. |author8=Koirala, S. |author9=Shrestha, S. |author10=Gurung, A. |author11=Paudel, U. |author12=Bhatt, T. |author13=Giri, S. |year=2018 |title=Status of Tigers and Prey in Nepal |location=Kathmandu, Nepal |publisher=Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation & Department of Forests and Soil Conservation, Ministry of Forests and Environment}}</ref>

In Bhutan, tigers have been documented in 17 of 18 [[Dzongkhag|districts]]. They inhabit the subtropical [[Himalaya]]n foothills at an elevation of {{Convert|200|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the south to over {{Convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the temperate forests in the north. Their stronghold appears to be the country's central belt between the [[Mo River]] in the west and the Kulong River in the east ranging in elevation from {{Convert|2000|to|3500|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Dorji, D. P. |author2=Santiapillai, C. |name-list-style=amp |year=1989 |title=The Status, Distribution and Conservation of the Tiger ''Panthera tigris'' in Bhutan |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=48 |pages=311–319 |doi=10.1016/0006-3207(89)90105-5 |issue=4 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 March 2012 |url=http://www.panthera.org/sites/default/files/Dorji%20&%20Santiapillai%201989%20Tiger%20status%20in%20Bhutan_Biological%20Conservation.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324044614/http://www.panthera.org/sites/default/files/Dorji%20%26%20Santiapillai%201989%20Tiger%20status%20in%20Bhutan_Biological%20Conservation.pdf}}</ref> By 2015, Bhutan's tiger population was estimated at 103 individuals.<ref name="sangay05">{{Cite book |author1=Sangay, T. |author2=Wangchuk, T. |name-list-style=amp |year=2005 |title=Tiger Action Plan for Bhutan 2006–2015 |location=Thimphu |publisher=Nature Conservation Division, Department of Forests, Ministry of Agriculture, Royal Government of Bhutan and WWF Bhutan Programme}}</ref>

[[Royal Manas National Park|Royal Manas]] and [[Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park]]s form the largest contiguous tiger conservation area in Bhutan representing subtropical to alpine habitat types.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Wang, S.W. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Macdonald, D.W. |year=2009 |title=The use of camera traps for estimating tiger and leopard populations in the high altitude mountains of Bhutan |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=142 |issue=3 |pages=606–613 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2008.11.023 }}</ref>

In 2010, [[camera trap]]s recorded a tiger pair at elevations of {{Convert|3000|to|4100|m|ft|abbr=on}}. As of 2015, the tiger population in Bhutan was estimated at 89 to 124 individuals in a survey area of {{Convert|28225|sqkm|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite report |author=Dorji, S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Thinley, P. |author3=Tempa, T. |author4=Wangchuk, N. |author5=Tandin |author6=Namgyel, U. |author7=Tshewang, S. |date=2015 |title=Counting the Tigers in Bhutan: Report on the National Tiger Survey of Bhutan 2014 – 2015 |location=Thimphu, Bhutan |publisher=Department of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326294374}}</ref>

In 2008, a tiger was recorded at an elevation of {{Convert|4200|m|abbr=on}} in [[Jigme Dorji National Park]], which is the highest elevation record of a tiger known to date.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Jigme, K. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Tharchen, L. |year=2012 |title=Camera-trap records of tigers at high altitudes in Bhutan |journal=Cat News |issue=56 |pages=14–15}}</ref> In 2017, a tiger was recorded for the time in [[Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary]]. It probably used a [[wildlife corridor]] to reach northeastern Bhutan.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Thinley, P. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Dendup, T. |author3=Rajaratnam, R. |author4=Vernes, K. |author5=Tempa, K. |author6=Chophel, T. |author7=Norbu, L. |year=2020 |title=Tiger reappearance in Bhutan's Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary: a case for maintaining effective corridors and metapopulations |journal=Animal Conservation |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=629–631 |doi= 10.1111/acv.12580 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Bhutan's tiger population was estimated at 90 individuals comprising 60 females and 30 males with a [[population density]] estimate of 0.19–0.31 tigers per {{Cvt|100|km2}} by March 2015.<ref name=Tempa_al2019>{{Cite journal |author1=Tempa, T. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Hebblewhite, M. |author3=Goldberg, J.F. |author4=Norbu, N. |author5=Wangchuk, T.R. |author6=Xiao, W. |author7=Mills, L.S. |year=2019 |title=The spatial distribution and population density of Tigers in mountainous terrain of Bhutan |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=238 |page=108192 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2019.07.037 |s2cid=202847357 |url=https://www.umt.edu/research/millslab/publications/tempa-bhutan-tigers-2019.pdf}}</ref>

===China===

The presence of the Bengal tiger in southeastern [[Tibet Autonomous Region]], China was investigated in 1995 when the loss of livestock was high in [[Mêdog County]] due to a large predator. Tiger paw prints were found on pastures around several villages.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Qiu, M. |author2=Zhang, M. |author3=Liu, W. |name-list-style=amp |title=A preliminary study on the Bengal tiger (''Panthera tigris tigris'') in Namcha Barwa, southeastern Tibet |year=1997 |journal=Acta Theriologica Sinica |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=1–7}}</ref>

One tiger was shot in 1996, and about 4–5 tigers were reported by officials in the area by 1999.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Zhang, E. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Schaller, G.B. |author3=Zhi, L. |author4=Zhang, H. |year=2002 |title=Tiger predation on livestock in Gedang, Medog, southeast Tibet |journal=Acta Theriologica Sinica |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=81–85}}</ref>

About 8–12 tigers were thought to remain in this area a decade later.<ref name=Luo-2010>{{Cite journal |last1=Luo |first1=S.J. |year=2010 |title=The status of the tiger in China |journal=Cat News |volume=Special Issue |issue=5 |pages=10–13 |url=https://www.luo-lab.org/publications/Luo10-CatNews-Cats%20in%20China-Tiger.pdf}}</ref>

A camera trapping and interview survey during 2013–2018 in nine potential sites in Mêdog County revealed that only 1–3 non-resident individuals might be entering the area south of the [[Yarlung Tsangpo]] river, but only during the dry season from October to March.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Yuan, W. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Wulin, L. |author3=Feng, L. |author4=Sheng, L. |author5=Xuelin, Z. |author6=Zhigang, J. |author7=Limin, F. |author8=Bingzhang, L. |year=2019 |title=Investigation on the population of wild Bengal tiger (''Panthera tigris tigris'') in Medog, Tibet |journal=Acta Theriologica Sinica |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=504–513 |doi=10.16829/j.slxb.150265}}</ref>

In early 2019, a Bengal tiger was photographed twice at an elevation of {{Cvt|2000|m}} in a broadleaved forest in [[Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon]] National Nature Reserve.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Li, X. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Bleisch, W.V. |author3=Liu, X. |author4=Jiang, X. |year=2021 |title=Camera-trap surveys reveal high diversity of mammals and pheasants in Medog, Tibet |journal=Oryx |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=177–180 |doi=10.1017/S0030605319001467 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

{{Multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical |image1=T 17 (Panthera tigris) - Koshyk.jpg |caption1=A tigress having a bath in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, [[Rajasthan]] |image2=India Tiger cubs.jpg |caption2=A tigress with her cubs in [[Bandhavgarh National Park]], Madhya Pradesh |image3=Flying Princess (cropped).jpg |caption3=Female cubs playing in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve}}

The basic social unit of the tiger is composed of a female and her offspring. Adult animals congregate only temporarily when special conditions permit, such as plentiful supplies of food. Otherwise, they lead solitary lives, hunting individually for the forest and grassland animals upon which they prey. Resident adults of either sex maintain home ranges, confining their movements to definite habitats within which they satisfy their needs and those of their cubs, which include prey, water and shelter. In this site, they also maintain contact with other tigers, especially those of the opposite sex. Those sharing the same ground are well aware of each other's movements and activities.<ref name="McDougal1977"/> In [[Chitwan National Park]], [[Radio telemetry|radio-collared]] subadult tigers started [[Dispersal (ecology)|dispersing]] from their natal areas earliest at the age of 19 months. Of the 14 subadults studied, the four females stayed closer to their mother's home range than the 10 males. The latter dispersed between {{Cvt|9.5|and|65.7|km}}. None of them crossed open cultivated areas that were more than {{Cvt|10|km}} wide, but moved through prime alluvial and forested habitat.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=J. L. D. |year=1993 |title=The role of dispersal in structuring the Chitwan tiger population |volume=124 |journal=Behaviour |issue=3 |pages=165–195 |doi=10.1163/156853993X00560}}</ref>

In the Panna Tiger Reserve, an adult radio-collared male tiger moved {{Cvt|1.7|to|10.5|km}} between locations on successive days in winter, and {{Cvt|1|to|13.9|km}} in summer. His home range was about {{Cvt|200|km2}} in summer and {{Cvt|110|km2}} in winter. Included in his home range were the much smaller home ranges of two females, a tigress with cubs and a subadult tigress. They occupied home ranges of {{Cvt|16|to|31|km2}}.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Chundawat, T. S. |author2=Gogate, N. |author3=Johnsingh, A. J. T. |date=1999 |chapter=Tigers in Panna: preliminary results from an Indian tropical dry forest |editor1-last=Seidensticker |editor1-first=J. |editor2-last=Christie |editor2-first=S. |editor3-last=Jackson |editor3-first=P. |title=Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=123–129 |isbn=978-0-521-64835-6 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284088208}}</ref>

During seven years of camera trapping, tracking, and observational data in Chitwan National Park, six to nine breeding tigers, two to sixteen non-breeding tigers, and six to twenty young tigers of less than one year of age were detected in the study area of {{Cvt|100|km2}}. One of the resident females left her territory to one of her female offspring and took over an adjoining area by displacing another female; and a displaced female managed to re-establish herself in a neighbouring territory made vacant by the death of the resident. Of 11 resident females, 7 were still alive at the end of the study period, two disappeared after losing their territories to rivals, and two died. The initial loss of two resident males and subsequent take over of their home ranges by new males caused social instability for two years. Of four resident males, one was still alive and three were displaced by rivals. Five litters of cubs were killed by infanticide, two litters died because they were too young to fend for themselves when their mothers died. One juvenile tiger was presumed dead after being photographed with severe injuries from a deer [[snare trap|snare]]. The remaining young lived long enough to reach dispersal age, two of them becoming residents in the study area.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barlow |first1=A. C. D. |last2=McDougal |first2=C. |last3=Smith |first3=J. L. D. |last4=Gurung |first4=B. |last5=Bhatta |first5=S. R. |last6=Kumal |first6=S. |last7=Mahato |first7=B. |last8=Tamang |first8=D. B. |name-list-style=amp |year=2009 |title=Temporal Variation in Tiger (''Panthera tigris'') Populations and Its Implications for Monitoring |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=90 |issue=2 |pages= 472–478 |doi=10.1644/07-MAMM-A-415.1|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The tiger is a [[carnivore]] and prefers hunting large [[ungulate]]s such as [[gaur]], [[Sambar (deer)|sambar]], [[chital]], [[barasingha]], [[water buffalo]], [[nilgai]], [[serow]] and [[takin]]. Medium-sized prey includes [[wild boar]], [[Indian hog deer]], [[Indian muntjac]] and [[northern plains gray langur]]. Small prey such as [[porcupine]], [[hare]] and [[peafowl]] form a small part of its diet. Because of the encroachment of humans into tiger habitat, it also preys on domestic livestock.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Bagchi, S. |author2=Goyal, S. P. |author3=Sankar, K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2003 |title=Prey abundance and prey selection by tigers (''Panthera tigris'') in a semi-arid, dry deciduous forest in western India |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=260 |pages=285–290 |doi=10.1017/S0952836903003765 |issue=3 |url=http://sumantabagchi.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/0/6/10062513/bagchi_et_al_j_zool_2003_tiger_diet.pdf |citeseerx=10.1.1.694.7051}}</ref><ref name="Andheria2007">{{Cite journal |author=Andheria, A. P. |author2=Karanth, K. U. |author3=Kumar, N. S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Diet and prey profiles of three sympatric large carnivores in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, India |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=273 |issue=2 |pages=169–175 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2007.00310.x |url=https://www.conservationindia.org/wp-content/files_mf/51.-Andheria-et-al_2007_Journal-of-Zoology_Dietprey.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Biswas, S. |author2=Sankar, K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |title=Prey abundance and food habit of tigers (''Panthera tigris tigris'') in Pench National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India |journal=[[Journal of Zoology]] |volume=256 |pages=411–420 |doi=10.1017/S0952836902000456 |issue=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Wegge, P. |author2=Odden, M. |author3=Pokharel, C. Pd. |author4=Storaasc, T. |name-list-style=amp |year=2009 |title=Predator–prey relationships and responses of ungulates and their predators to the establishment of protected areas: A case study of tigers, leopards and their prey in Bardia National Park, Nepal |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=142 | pages=189–202 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2008.10.020 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222562975}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report |last1=Prachi |first1=M. |last2=Kulkarni |first2=J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |title=Monitoring of Tiger and Prey Population Dynamics in Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India |publisher=Envirosearch |location=Pune}}</ref>

Bengal tigers occasionally hunt and kill predators such as [[Indian leopard]], [[mugger crocodile]], [[Asian black bear]], [[sloth bear]] and [[dhole]]. They generally do not attack adult [[Indian elephant]] and [[Indian rhinoceros]], but such extraordinarily rare events have been recorded.<ref name=Mazak1981/> In [[Kaziranga National Park]], tigers killed 20 rhinoceros in 2007.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Dutta, P. |date=2008 |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080313/jsp/northeast/story_9012303.jsp |title=Trouble for rhino from poacher and Bengal tiger |newspaper=The Telegraph India |access-date=20 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140927093927/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080313/jsp/northeast/story_9012303.jsp |archive-date=27 September 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2011 and 2014, two instances of Bengal tigers killing adult elephants were recorded; in [[Jim Corbett National Park]] on a 20-year-old elephant cow, and another on a 28-year-old sick elephant in [[Kaziranga National Park]]; the latter was eaten by several tigers at once.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Huckelbridge|first=D. |title=No Beast So Fierce |date=2019 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |location=New York |isbn=9780062678843 |pages=19–20}}</ref> In the Sundarbans, a [[king cobra]] (''Ophiophagus hannah'') and an [[Indian cobra]] (''Naja naja'') were found in the stomachs of tigers.<ref name="FAO2012">{{Cite journal |author=Pandit, P. K. |journal=Tigerpaper |volume=XXXIX |issue=1 |url=http://www.fao.org/3/a-am998e.pdf |date=2012 |title=Sundarban Tiger − a new prey species of estuarine crocodile at Sundarban Tiger Reserve, India |pages=1–5}}</ref>

Results of scat analyses indicate that the tigers in Nagarahole National Park preferred prey weighing more than {{Cvt|176|kg}} and that on average tiger prey weighed {{Cvt|91.5|kg}}. The prey species included chital, sambar, wild pig and gaur. Gaur remains were found in 44.8% of all tiger scat samples, sambar remains in 28.6%, wild pig remains in 14.3% and chital remains in 10.4% of all scat samples.<ref name="K&S95">{{Cite journal |last1=Karanth |first1=K. U. |last2=Sunquist |first2=M. E. |name-list-style=amp |date=1995 |title=Prey selection by tiger, leopard and dhole in tropical forests |journal=Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=64 |issue=4 |pages=439–450 |doi=10.2307/5647 |jstor=5647}}</ref> In Bandipur National Park, gaur and sambar together also constituted 73% of tiger diet.<ref name="Andheria2007" />

In most cases, tigers approach their victim from the side or behind from as close a distance as possible and grasp the prey's throat to kill it. Then they drag the carcass into cover, occasionally over several hundred metres, to consume it. The nature of the tiger's hunting method and prey availability results in a "feast or famine" feeding style: they often consume {{Cvt|18|-|40|kg}} of meat at one time.<ref name=Mazak1981 /> In one study, tigresses from [[Nepal]] made about 40–50 kills a year and ate a minimum of {{cvt|5|-|6.3|kg}} of meat a day. Two males made about 40–50 kills in a year and ate {{cvt|6.3|-|7.8|kg}} of meat a day at the least.  <ref>Melvin E. Sunquest. [https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/6316/SCtZ-0336-Lo_res.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y The Social Organization of Tigers (panthera tigris) in Royal Chitawan National Park, Nepal]. Smithsonian contributions to zoology. No.336</ref>

 

If injured, old or weak, or when its regular prey species become scarce, tigers often attack humans and become [[man-eater]]s.<ref name="mazak1996">{{Cite book |author=Mazak, V. |year=1996 |title=Der Tiger : ''Panthera tigris'' |location=Magdeburg, Heidelberg, Berlin, Oxford |publisher=Westarp Wissenschaften |isbn=978-3-89432-759-0}}</ref>

The tiger in India has no definite mating and birth seasons. Most young are born in December and April.<ref name="Brander1923" /> Young have also been found in March, May, October and November.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Sanderson, G. P. |year=1912 |url=https://archive.org/details/thirteenyearsamosf00sand |title=Thirteen years among the wild beasts of India: their haunts and habits from personal observations; with an account of the modes of capturing and taming elephants |publisher=John Grant |location=Edinburgh}}</ref> In the 1960s, certain aspects of tiger behaviour at [[Kanha National Park]] indicated that the peak of sexual activity was from November to about February, with some mating probably occurring throughout the year.<ref name=schaller1967>{{Cite book |author=Schaller, G. |year=1967 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KOVGHXfod0wC |title=The Deer and the Tiger: A Study of Wildlife in India |publisher=Chicago University Press |location=Chicago |isbn=9780226736570}}</ref>

Males reach maturity at 4–5 years of age, and females at 3–4 years. A Bengal comes into heat at intervals of about 3–9 weeks, and is receptive for 3–6 days. After a gestation period of 104–106 days, 1–4 cubs are born in a shelter situated in tall grass, thick bush or in caves. Newborn cubs weigh {{Cvt|780|to|1600|g|lb}} and they have a thick woolly fur that is shed after 3.5–5 months. Their eyes and ears are closed. Their milk teeth start to erupt at about 2–3 weeks after birth, and are slowly replaced by permanent dentition from 8.5 to 9.5 weeks of age onwards. They suckle for 3–6 months, and begin to eat small amounts of solid food at about 2 months of age. At this time, they follow their mother on her hunting expeditions and begin to take part in hunting at 5–6 months of age. At the age of 2–3 years, they slowly start to separate from the family group and become transient, looking out for an area, where they can establish their own home range. Young males move farther away from their native home range than young females. Once the family group has split, the mother comes into heat again.<ref name=Mazak1981 />

The [[Forest Rights Act]] passed by the Indian government in 2006 grants some of India's most impoverished communities the right to own and live in the forests, which likely brings them into conflict with wildlife and under-resourced, under-trained, ill-equipped forest department staff. In the past, evidence showed that humans and tigers cannot co-exist.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Buncombe |first=A. |date=31 October 2007 |title=The face of a doomed species |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/the-face-of-a-doomed-species-398373.html |newspaper=The Independent}}</ref>

The most significant immediate threat to the existence of wild tiger populations is the [[Wildlife trade#Illegal wildlife trade|illegal wildlife trade]] in poached skins and body parts between India, Nepal and China. The governments of these countries have failed to implement adequate enforcement response, and wildlife crime remained a low priority in terms of political commitment and investment for years. There are well-organised gangs of professional poachers, who move from place to place and set up camp in vulnerable areas. Skins are rough-cured in the field and handed over to dealers, who send them for further treatment to Indian [[Tanning (leather)|tanning]] centres. Buyers choose the skins from dealers or tanneries and smuggle them through a complex interlinking network to markets outside India, mainly in China. Other factors contributing to their loss are [[urbanisation]] and revenge killing. Farmers blame tigers for killing cattle and shoot them. Their skins and body parts may however become a part of the illegal trade.<ref name="eia2006">{{Cite report |author=Banks, D. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Lawson, S. |author3=Wright, B. |year=2006 |title=Skinning the Cat: Crime and Politics of the Big Cat Skin Trade |location=London |publisher=Environmental Investigation Agency, Wildlife Protection Society of India |url=http://www.wpsi-india.org/images/EIA-WPSI_Skinning_The_Cat.pdf}}</ref> In Bangladesh, tigers are killed by professional poachers, local hunters, trappers, pirates and villagers. Each group of people has different motives for killing tigers, ranging from profit, excitement to safety concerns. All groups have access to the illegal wildlife trade in body parts.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Saif, S. |author2=Rahman, H. M. T. |author3=MacMillan, D. C. |name-list-style=amp |year=2016 |title=Who is killing the tiger ''Panthera tigris'' and why? |journal=Oryx |volume=52|pages=1–9 |doi=10.1017/S0030605316000491 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Saif, S. |author2=Russell, A. M. |author3=Nodie, S. I. |author4=Inskip, C. |author5=Lahann, P. |author6=Barlow, A. |author7=Barlow Greenwood, C. |author8=Islam, M. A. |author9=MacMillan, D. C. |name-list-style=amp |year=2016 |title=Local usage of Tiger parts and its role in Tiger killing in the Bangladesh Sundarbans |journal=Human Dimensions of Wildlife |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=95–110 |doi=10.1080/10871209.2015.1107786 |s2cid=147189479}}</ref>

The illicit demand for bones and body parts from wild tigers for use in [[Traditional Chinese medicine#Animal substances|Traditional Chinese medicine]] is the reason for the unrelenting poaching pressure on tigers on the Indian subcontinent. For at least a thousand years, tiger bones have been an ingredient in traditional medicines that are prescribed as a muscle strengthener and treatment for [[rheumatism]] and body pain.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Hemley, G. |author2=Mills, J. A. |name-list-style=amp |date=1999 |chapter=The beginning of the end of tigers in trade? |editor1-last=Seidensticker |editor1-first=J. |editor2-last=Christie |editor2-first=S. |editor3-last=Jackson |editor3-first=P. |title=Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-64835-6}}</ref>

Between 1994 and 2009, the [[Wildlife Protection Society of India]] has documented 893 cases of tigers killed in India, which is just a fraction of the actual poaching and trade in tiger parts during those years.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=Wildlife Protection Society of India |date=2009 |url=http://www.wpsi-india.org/statistics/index.php |title=WPSI's Tiger Poaching Statistics}}</ref>

In 2004, all the tigers in India's [[Sariska Tiger Reserve]] were killed by poachers.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Sankar, K. |author2=Qureshi, Q. |author3=Nigam, P. |author4=Malik, P. K. |author5=Sinha, P. R. |author6=Mehrotra, R. N. |author7=Gopal, R. |author8=Bhattacharjee, S. |author9=Mondal, K. |author10=Shilpi Gupta |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |title=Monitoring of reintroduced tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Western India: preliminary findings on home range, prey selection and food habits |journal=Tropical Conservation Science |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=301–318 |doi=10.1177/194008291000300305 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In 2007, police in [[Allahabad]] raided a meeting of suspected poachers, traders and couriers. One of the arrested persons was the biggest buyer of Indian tiger parts who sold them to Chinese buyers, using women from a nomadic tribe as couriers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Banerjee |first=B. |date=2007 |title=Tiger Poaching Ring Busted by Indian Police|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071206-AP-india-tiger.html |work=National Geographic Society News |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> In 2009, none of the 24 tigers residing in the [[Panna Tiger Reserve]] were left because of excessive poaching.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ali |first=F. M. |date=2009 |title=Indian tiger park has no tigers |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8150382.stm}}</ref>

In November 2011, two tigers were found dead in [[Maharashtra]]: a male tiger was trapped and killed in a wire snare; a tigress died of electrocution after chewing at an electric cable supplying power to a water pump; another dead tigress found in Kanha Tiger Reserve landscape was suspected to have been poisoned.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Wildlife Watch Group |date=2011 |title=Central India Loses Four Tigers, including the Legendary B2 |journal=Wildlife Times |issue=20 |page=9 |url=http://citesnepal.org/download.php?id=20}}</ref> In 2021, Bangladeshi police arrested a poacher suspected of killing 70 Bengal tigers during a period of 20 years.<ref>{{Cite web|last=France-Presse|first=Agence|date=1 June 2021|title=Poacher suspected of killing 70 Bengal tigers captured after 20-year pursuit|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/01/poacher-suspected-of-killing-70-bengal-tigers-captured-after-20-year-pursuit|url-status=live|access-date=3 June 2021|website=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601111039/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/01/poacher-suspected-of-killing-70-bengal-tigers-captured-after-20-year-pursuit |archive-date=1 June 2021 }}</ref>

The Indian subcontinent has served as a stage for intense confrontations between tigers and people. At the beginning of the 19th century tigers were so numerous, that the killing of tigers was officially rewarded in many localities. The Terai region supported large numbers of tigers that were pushed into marginal habitat after the 1950s, when the conversion of natural habitat for paddy fields increased. Marauding tigers began to take a toll of human life in areas bordering cultivation. They are thought to have followed domestic livestock that wintered in the plains when they returned to the hills in the spring, and then being left without prey when the herds dispersed back to their respective villages. These tigers were the old, the young and the disabled. All suffered from some disability, mainly caused either by gunshot wounds or [[porcupine]] quills.<ref name=mcdougal1987>{{Cite book |last=McDougal |first=C. |date=1987 |chapter=The man-eating tigers in geographical historical perspective |editor-last1=Tilson |editor-first=R. L. |editor-last2=Seal |editor-first2=U. S. |title=Tigers of the World: The Biology, Biopolitics, Management, and Conservation of an Endangered Species |location=New Jersey |publisher=Noyes Publications |pages=435–448 |isbn=978-0-8155-1133-5}}</ref>

In the Sundarbans, 10 out of 13-man-eaters recorded in the 1970s were males, and they accounted for 86% of the victims. These man-eaters have been grouped into the ''confirmed'' or dedicated ones who go hunting especially for human prey; and the ''opportunistic'' ones, who do not search for humans but will, if they encounter a man, attack, kill and devour him. In areas where opportunistic man-eaters were found, the killing of humans was correlated with their availability, most victims being claimed during the [[honey]]-gathering season.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Hendrichs, H. |year=1975|title=The status of the tiger (''Panthera tigris'') in the Sundarbans Mangrove|journal= Säugetierkundliche Mitteilungen |volume=23 |pages=161–199}}</ref> Tigers in the Sunderbans presumably attacked humans who entered their territories in search of wood, honey or fish, thus causing them to defend their territories. The number of tiger attacks on humans may be higher outside suitable areas for tigers, where numerous people are present, but with little wild prey for tigers.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Jackson, P. |year=1985|title=Man-eaters |journal=International Wildlife |volume=15 |pages=4–11}}</ref>

In December 2012, a tiger was shot by the [[Kerala Forest Department]] on a [[coffee plantation]] on the fringes of the [[Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary]]. Chief Wildlife Warden of Kerala ordered the hunt for the animal after mass protests erupted as the tiger had been carrying away livestock. The Forest Department had constituted a special task force to capture the animal with the assistance of a 10-member Special Tiger Protection Force and two trained [[Indian elephant]]s from the [[Bandipur Tiger Reserve]] in [[Karnataka]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Straying tiger meets with a bloody end |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/straying-tiger-meets-with-a-bloody-end/article4159420.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |date=3 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Manoj |first=E. M. |date=3 December 2012|title=Tiger gone, but tension simmers |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/tiger-gone-but-tension-simmers/article4159442.ece |newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref>

An area of special interest lies in the "Terai Arc Landscape" in the [[Himalaya]]n foothills of northern India and southern Nepal, where 11 [[protected area]]s composed of dry forest foothills and tall-grass savannas harbour tigers in a {{Convert|49000|km2|mi2}} landscape. The goals are to manage tigers as a single [[metapopulation]], the dispersal of which between core refuges can help maintain genetic, demographic, and ecological integrity, and to ensure that species and [[habitat conservation]] becomes mainstreamed into the rural development agenda. In Nepal a community-based tourism model has been developed with a strong emphasis on sharing benefits with local people and on the regeneration of degraded forests. The approach has been successful in reducing poaching, restoring habitats, and creating a local constituency for conservation.<ref name="future">Damania, R., Seidensticker, J., Whitten, T., Sethi, G., Mackinnon, K., Kiss, A., Kushlin, A. (2008). [http://si-pddr.si.edu/dspace/bitstream/10088/7930/1/986D8887-2F38-44FE-96A2-A59C8FAE96BE.pdf ''A Future for Wild Tigers'']. World Bank, Washington, D.C. {{ISBN|0-8213-6792-7}}</ref>

[[World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF]] partnered with [[Leonardo DiCaprio]] to form a global campaign, "Save Tigers Now", with the ambitious goal of building political, financial and public support to double the wild tiger population by 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.savetigersnow.org/solutions|title=WWF and leonardo partner to protect Tiger Habitat through Save Tigers Now|access-date=30 October 2012|publisher=SaveTigersNow.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130014219/http://www.savetigersnow.org/solutions|archive-date=30 November 2012}}</ref> ''Save Tigers Now'' started its campaign in 12 different WWF Tiger priority landscapes, since May 2010.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://worldwildlife.org/press_releases/world-wildlife-fund-announces-partnership-with-leonardo-dicaprio-to-save-tigers-now|year=2010|title=Global Tiger Conservation initiative kick started Conservation Campaign in 2010|access-date=30 October 2012|publisher=World Wild Fund|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419160257/https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/world-wildlife-fund-announces-partnership-with-leonardo-dicaprio-to-save-tigers-now|url-status=dead}}</ref>

 

In 1973, [[Project Tiger]] was launched aiming at ensuring a viable tiger population in the country and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for the people. The project's task force visualised these [[Tiger reserves in India|tiger reserves]] as breeding nuclei, from which surplus animals would disperse to adjacent forests. The selection of areas for the reserves represented as close as possible the diversity of [[ecosystem]]s across the tiger's distribution in the country. Funds and commitment were mustered to support the intensive program of habitat protection and rehabilitation under the project. By the late 1980s, the initial nine reserves covering an area of {{Convert|9115|km2|sqmi}} had been increased to 15 reserves covering an area of {{Convert|24700|km2|sqmi}}. More than 1100 tigers were estimated to inhabit the reserves by 1984.<ref>Panwar, H. S. (1987). [https://books.google.com/books?id=YdC-wfyZwZEC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA110 "Project Tiger: The reserves, the tigers, and their future"]. In: Tilson, R. L., Seal, U. S., Minnesota Zoological Garden, IUCN/SSC Captive Breeding Group, IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. ''Tigers of the world: the biology, biopolitics, management, and conservation of an endangered species''. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, N.J., pp. 110–117, {{ISBN|0815511337}}.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140822212341/http://projecttiger.nic.in/content/107_1_Background.aspx Background]. National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India</ref>

The Indian [[Wildlife Protection Act of 1972]] enables government agencies to take strict measures so as to ensure the conservation of the Bengal tigers. The [[Wildlife Institute of India]] estimates showed that tiger numbers had fallen in [[Madhya Pradesh]] by 61%, [[Maharashtra]] by 57%, and [[Rajasthan]] by 40%. The government's first tiger census, conducted under the Project Tiger initiative begun in 1973, counted 1,827 tigers in the country that year. Using that methodology, the government observed a steady population increase, reaching 3,700 tigers in 2002. However, the use of more reliable and independent censusing technology including [[camera trap]]s for the 2007–2008 all-India census has shown that the numbers were in fact less than half than originally claimed by the Forest Department.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Just 1,411 tigers in India |author=Sethi, N. |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-02-13/flora-fauna/27773614_1_tiger-population-sariska-tiger-numbers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811044737/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-02-13/flora-fauna/27773614_1_tiger-population-sariska-tiger-numbers |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 August 2011 |year=2008 |work=[[The Times of India]] | access-date=3 March 2009}}</ref>

Following the revelation that only 1,411 Bengal tigers existed in the wild in India, down from 3,600 in 2003, the Indian government set up eight new [[tiger reserve]]s.<ref>Sharma, A. (2008). [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080213-AP-india-disap.html article "India Reports Sharp Decline in Wild Tigers"]. ''National Geographic News'', 13 February 2008.</ref> Because of dwindling tiger numbers, the Indian government has pledged [[US$]]153 million to further fund the Project Tiger initiative, set up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers, and fund the relocation of up to 200,000 villagers to minimise human-tiger interaction.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Tigers flown by helicopter to Sariska reserve to lift numbers in western India |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4272945.ece |newspaper=The Times |location=London |year=2008 | access-date=26 April 2010 | first=J. | last=Page}}</ref> Indian tiger scientists have called for use of technology in the conservation efforts.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The great Panna cover-up |url=http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/panna-lost-tigers-elevated-officials-21192.php# |work=NDTV |year=2010| access-date=29 April 2009}}</ref>

In 2022, [[Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary]] was declared as the 54th tiger reserve.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://newsonair.com/2022/10/01/uttar-pradesh-gears-up-for-its-fourth-tiger-reserve-in-chitrakoot/ |title=Uttar Pradesh gears up for its fourth tiger reserve in Chitrakoot |publisher=News on Air |date=2022}}</ref>

In January 2008, the Government of India launched a dedicated anti-poaching force composed of experts from Indian police, forest officials and various other environmental agencies.<ref>{{Cite news |title=India launches anti-poaching force to curb tiger, wildlife trade |work=The Earth Times |year=2008 |url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/science/nature/news/article_1388051.php/India_launches_anti-poaching_force_to_curb_tiger_wildlife_trade |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523195421/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/science/nature/news/article_1388051.php/India_launches_anti-poaching_force_to_curb_tiger_wildlife_trade |archive-date=23 May 2013 }}</ref> [[Ranthambore National Park]] is often cited as a major success by Indian officials against poaching.<ref>{{Cite news | title = Tigers galore in Ranthambhore National Park | year = 2009 | author= Sebastian, S. | url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/11/stories/2009031152382000.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311163809/http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/11/stories/2009031152382000.htm| url-status=dead| work = [[The Hindu]] | archive-date=11 March 2009}}</ref>

Kuno-Palpur in Madhya Pradesh was supposed receive [[Asiatic lion]]s from Gujarat. Since no lion has been transferred from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh so far, it may be used as a sanctuary for the tiger instead.<ref name="TOI 12-2017">{{Cite news |author=Sharma, R. |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |title=Tired of Gujarat reluctance on Gir lions, MP to release tigers in Kuno |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/tired-of-gujarat-reluctance-on-gir-lions-mp-to-release-tigers-in-kuno/articleshow/61937836.cms |date=2017 |access-date=27 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="HT 2017">{{Cite news |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] |title=Stalemate on translocation of Gir lions Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh to be used as tiger habitat now |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/stalemate-on-translocation-of-gir-lionskuno-palpur-in-madhya-pradesh-to-be-used-as-tiger-habitat-now/story-hX8ELtxSSL4I8GeLTh6xYI.html |date=2017 |access-date=27 January 2018}}</ref>

Bengal tigers have been captive bred since 1880 and widely crossed with tigers from other range countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Luo |first1=S. |last2=Johnson |first2=W. E. |last3=Martenson |first3=J. |last4=Antunes |first4=A. |last5=Martelli |first5=P. |last6=Uphyrkina |first6=O. |last7=Traylor-Holzer |first7=K. |last8=Smith |first8=J. L. D. |last9=O'Brien |first9=S. J. |display-authors=5 |year=2008 |title=Subspecies Genetic Assignments of Worldwide Captive Tigers Increase Conservation Value of Captive Populations |journal=Current Biology |volume=18 |issue=8 |pages=592–596 |pmid=18424146 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2008.03.053 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In July 1976, [[Billy Arjan Singh]] acquired a hand-reared tigress from [[Twycross Zoo]] in the [[United Kingdom]], and [[Reintroduction|reintroduced]] her to the wild in [[Dudhwa National Park]] with the permission of India's then Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Singh, A. |year=1981 |title=Tara, a tigress |location=London and New York |publisher=Quartet Books |isbn=070432282X}}</ref> In the 1990s, some tigers from this area were observed to have the typical appearance of Siberian tigers, namely a large head, pale fur, white complexion, and wide stripes, and were suspected to be Siberian–Bengal tiger [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrids]]. Tiger hair samples from the national park were analysed using [[Mitochondrial DNA|mitochondrial]] sequence analysis. Results revealed that the tigers in question had a Bengal tiger [[mitochondrial]] [[haplotype]] indicating that their mother was an Bengal tiger.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Shankaranarayanan, P. |author2=Singh, L. |name-list-style=amp |year=1998 |url=http://www.iisc.ernet.in/~currsci/nov10/articles18.htm |title=Mitochondrial DNA sequence divergence among big cats and their hybrids |journal=Current Science |volume=75 |issue=9 |pages=919–923 |access-date=18 September 2007 |archive-date=12 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712160934/http://www.iisc.ernet.in/~currsci/nov10/articles18.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Skin, hair and blood samples from 71 tigers collected in Indian zoos, in the [[Indian Museum, Kolkata]] and including two samples from Dudhwa National Park were used for a [[Microsatellite (genetics)|microsatellite]] analysis that revealed that two tigers had [[allele]]s in two [[Locus (genetics)|loci]] contributed by Bengal and Siberian tigers.<ref name="Shankaranarayanan1997">{{Cite journal |author1=Shankaranarayanan, P. |author2=Banerjee, M. |author3=Kacker, R. K. |author4=Aggarwal, R. K. |author5=Singh, L. |name-list-style=amp |year=1997 |url=http://www.freewebs.com/hmgrgcb/publication/Elec%20shankar%20et%20al%201997.pdf |title=Genetic variation in Asiatic lions and Indian tigers |journal=Electrophoresis |volume=18 |issue=9 |pages=1693–1700 |doi=10.1002/elps.1150180938 |pmid=9378147|s2cid=41046139 }}</ref>

However, samples of two hybrid specimens constituted a too small sample base to conclusively assume that ''Tara'' was the source of the Siberian tiger genes.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Menon |first=S. |date=1997 |title=Tainted Royalty |url=http://www.india-today.com/itoday/17111997/wild.html |magazine=India Today |access-date=9 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630013849/http://www.india-today.com/itoday/17111997/wild.html |archive-date=30 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Indian zoos bred tigers for the first time at the [[Alipore Zoo]] in [[Kolkata]]. The 1997 International Tiger Studbook lists the global [[captivity (animal)|captive]] population of Bengal tigers at 210 individuals that are all kept in Indian zoos, except for one female in North America. Completion of the Indian Bengal Tiger Studbook is a necessary prerequisite to establishing a captive management program for tigers in India.<ref>{{Cite report |author=Srivastav, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Malviya, M. |author3=Tyagi, P.C. |author4=Nigam, P. |year=2011 |title=Indian National Studbook of Bengal Tiger (''Panthera tigris tigris'') |location=New Delhi, Dehradun |publisher=Central Zoo Authority, Wildlife Institute of India |url=http://cza.nic.in/uploads/documents/studbooks/english/Bengal%20Tiger%20Studbook%202011.pdf}}</ref>

The government aimed at doubling the country's tiger population by 2022 at the Global Tiger Summit in 2010. The tiger population reached 355 in 2022, almost tripling the population of 121 in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-29 |title=Tigers have nearly tripled in Nepal, but at what cost? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/tigers-have-nearly-tripled-in-nepal-but-at-what-cost |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=Animals |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sottile |first=Zoe |date=2022-07-31 |title=Nepal has nearly tripled its wild tiger population since 2009 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/31/world/nepal-wild-tiger-population-scn-trnd/index.html |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

 

In May 2010, [[Banke National Park]] was established with an area of {{Cvt|550|km2}}.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bhushal |first=R. P. |year=2010 |title=Nod to Banke National Park |work=[[The Himalayan Times]] |url=http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=Nod+to+Banke+National+Park&NewsID=244047 |access-date=25 September 2010 |archive-date=18 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218003640/http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=Nod+to+Banke+National+Park&NewsID=244047 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2000, the Bengal tiger re-wilding project ''Tiger Canyons'' was started by [[John Varty]], who together with the zoologist [[Dave Salmoni]] trained captive-bred tiger cubs how to stalk, hunt, associate hunting with food and regain their predatory instincts. They claimed that once the tigers proved that they can sustain themselves in the wild, they would be released into a free-range sanctuary of [[South Africa]] to fend for themselves.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2001 |title=Meet the Tiger Men: John Varty |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/tigers/trainers/trainers_02.html |website=Discovery Channel |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603034011/http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/tigers/trainers/trainers_02.html |archive-date=3 June 2008}}</ref>

The project has received controversy after accusations by their investors and conservationists of manipulating the behaviour of the tigers for the purpose of a film production, ''[[Living with Tigers]]'', with the tigers believed to be unable to hunt.<ref name="envirolink">{{Cite web |title=Tiger Film a Fraud, says The Chinese Tigers South African Trust |url=http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/Week-of-Mon-20030901/005990.html |date=2003 |agency=PR Newswire |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727084010/http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/Week-of-Mon-20030901/005990.html |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}</ref><ref name="wildeye">{{Cite web|title=Discovery Film Proclaimed A Fraud; Broadcaster to be Sued |url=http://www.wildeye.co.uk/wildlife-film/Wfn/wfn56.htm |website=Wildlife Film News 56 |date=February 2004 |access-date=27 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607012741/http://www.wildeye.co.uk/wildlife-film/Wfn/wfn56.htm |archive-date=7 June 2009}}</ref> Stuart Bray, who had originally invested a large sum of money in the project, claimed that he and his wife, Li Quan, watched the film crew "[chase] the prey up against the fence and into the path of the tigers just for the sake of dramatic footage."<ref name="envirolink" /><ref name="wildeye" />

The four tigers involved in this project have been confirmed to be crossbred Siberian–Bengal tigers, which should neither be used for breeding nor being released into the [[Karoo]]. Tigers that are not genetically pure will not be able to participate in the tiger [[Species Survival Plan]], as they are not used for breeding, and are not allowed to be released into the wild.<ref name="arrick2007">{{Cite web |author1=Arrick, A. |author2= Mckinney, K. |date=2007 |url=http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070813/NEWS01/708130305 |title=Purrrfect Breed? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111090603/http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070813%2FNEWS01%2F708130305 |archive-date=11 January 2009 |work=TylerPaper |url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{Multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical |image1=Uttama coin.png |caption1=An early silver coin of [[Uththama Chola]] found in Sri Lanka showing the tiger emblem of the Cholas.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. |year=2003 |title=A history of South India : from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar |location=New Delhi |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition=Fourth |isbn=0195606868}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author1=Chopra, P. N. |author2=Ravindran, T. K. |author3=Subrahmanian, N. |name-list-style=amp |title=History of South India; Ancient, Medieval and Modern |year=2003 |page=31 |publisher=S. Chand & Company Ltd |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-219-0153-6}}</ref>

  |image2=Shiva Pashupati.jpg |caption2=The ''Pashupati'' seal with tiger to right of the seated divine figure ''Pashupati''}}

The tiger is one of the animals displayed on the [[Pashupati seal]] of the [[Indus Valley civilisation]]. The tiger crest is the emblem on the [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] coins. The seals of several Chola copper coins show the tiger, the [[Pandyan Dynasty|Pandya]] emblem fish and the [[Chera Dynasty|Chera]] emblem bow, indicating that the Cholas had achieved political supremacy over the latter two dynasties. Gold coins found in Kavilayadavalli in the [[Nellore district]] of [[Andhra Pradesh]] have motifs of the tiger, bow and some indistinct marks.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Singh, U. |year=2008 |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |location=India |publisher=Pearson Education |pages=51–57 |chapter=Numismatics: the study of coins |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA54 |isbn=978-8131711200}}</ref>

Today, the tiger is the [[List of national animals|national animal]] of Bangladesh and India. Bangladeshi banknotes feature a tiger. The political party [[Muslim League (Pakistan)|Muslim League]] of Pakistan uses the tiger as its election symbol.<ref name="Jackson1999">{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=P. |date=1999 |chapter=The tiger in human consciousness and its significance in crafting solutions for tiger conservation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbQ8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA50 |editor1-last=Seidensticker |editor1-first=J. |editor2-last=Christie |editor2-first=S. |editor3-last=Jackson |editor3-first=P. |title=Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |pages=50–54 |isbn=978-0-521-64835-6}}</ref>

[[Tipu Sultan]], who ruled [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]] in late 18th-century India, was also a great admirer of the animal. The famed 18th-century [[automaton]], [[Tipu's Tiger]] was also created for him.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brittlebank |first=K. |date=May 1995 |title=Sakti and Barakat: The Power of Tipu's Tiger. An Examination of the Tiger Emblem of Tipu Sultan of Mysore |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=257–269 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X00012725 |jstor=312813|s2cid=145790819 }}</ref> The tiger was the dynastic symbol of this dynasty.<ref name=Sramek2006>{{Cite journal |last1=Sramek |first1=J. |date=2006 |title='Face Him Like a Briton': Tiger Hunting, Imperialism, and British Masculinity in Colonial India, 1800–1875 |journal=Victorian Studies |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=659–680 <!-- |doi=10.1353/vic.2007.0035 broken --> |doi=10.2979/vic.2006.48.4.659 |jstor=4618910|s2cid=145632352 }}</ref>

The iconography persisted and during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], [[Punch (magazine)|Punch]] ran a political cartoon showing the Indian rebels as a tiger, attacking a victim, being defeated by the British forces shown by the larger figure of a lion.<ref name="Carter_1893_Medals">{{Cite book |location=London |title=War medals of the British army, and how they were won |url=https://archive.org/details/warmedalsofbriti00cartrich |last=Carter |first=T. |author-link=Thomas Carter (writer) |edition=Revised, enlarged <!--|publisher=Norie and Wilson -->|publisher=W. H. Long |year=1893 |ol=14047956M}}</ref>

* The main antagonist of ''[[The Jungle Book]]'', [[Shere Khan]], is a Bengal tiger.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Kipling, R. |author-link=Rudyard Kipling |year=1910 |title=The Jungle Book |location=London |publisher=Macmillan}}</ref>

* The ''[[Man-Eaters of Kumaon]]'' is based on man-eating tigers and [[Indian leopard|leopards]] in [[Kumaon Division]].<ref name="Corbett1944">{{Cite book |author=Corbett, J. |year=1944 |title=Man-Eaters of Kumaon |location=Bombay |publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref>

* In the fantasy adventure novel ''[[Life of Pi]]'' and in its 2012 [[Life of Pi (film)|film adaptation]], a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker is the lead character.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Martel, Y. |year=2001 |title=Life of Pi |location=Toronto |publisher=Knopf Canada |edition=First |isbn=0-676-97376-0}}</ref>

* The ''[[Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo]]'' is based on a real story of a tiger that escaped from [[Baghdad Zoo]] in 2003 and haunts the streets of Baghdad seeking the meaning of life.<ref name="Tiger_at_the_zoo">{{Cite web |url=http://www.centertheatregroup.org/tickets/productiondetail.aspx?id=11438 |title=Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo |website=centertheatregroup.org |publisher=Center Theatre Group |access-date=3 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412134352/http://www.centertheatregroup.org/tickets/productiondetail.aspx?id=11438 |archive-date=12 April 2010}}</ref><ref name="Nordland2008">{{Cite web |url=http://www.newsweek.com/tigers-return-baghdad-88163 |title=Tigers Return to Baghdad |website=[[Newsweek]] |author=Nordland, Rod |date=7 August 2008 |access-date=1 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |author=Itzkoff, D. |date=2008 |title=N.E.A. Gives Grants to Seven Productions |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/theater/28arts-NEAGIVESGRAN_BRF.html?ref=arts}}</ref>

* The ''[[Lost Land of the Tiger]]'' is a documentary by the [[BBC Natural History Unit|BBC]] on tigers in Bhutan.<ref name="BBC2010Lost">{{Cite web |title=BBC team discovers "lost" tigers |publisher=BBC Press Office |date=2010 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/09_september/20/tiger.shtml |access-date=1 March 2011}}</ref>

* The 2014 [[Cinema of India|Indian film]] ''[[Roar (2014 film)|Roar – Tigers of the Sundarbans]]'' is about a white Bengal tigress in the Sundarbans.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans |people=Sadanah, K. /director |date=2014 |medium=Motion picture |location=Mumbai |publisher=Abiz Rizvi Film}}</ref>

Notable Bengal tigers include the [[man-eater|man-eating]] [[Tigers of Chowgarh]], [[Chuka man-eating tiger]], the  [[Bachelor of Powalgarh]] and [[Thak man-eater]],<ref>{{Cite book |author=Corbett, J. |year=1944 |title=Man-Eaters of Kumaon |location=London |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://archive.org/stream/maneatersofkumao029903mbp/maneatersofkumao029903mbp}}</ref> [[Tiger of Segur]], [[Tiger of Mundachipallam]], and the Wily Tiger of Mundachipallam.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Anderson, K. |year=1955 |title=Nine Man-Eaters and One Rogue |location=New York |publisher=Dutton}}</ref>

Apart from the above-mentioned uses of the Bengal tiger in culture, the fight between a tiger and a lion has, for a long time, been a popular topic of discussion by hunters, naturalists, artists, and poets, and continue to inspire the popular imagination to the present-day.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nh1rlJ8sg58C&pg=PA61 |title=Meditations on Hunting |chapter=The Essence of Hunting |pages=55–66 |author=Gasset, J. O. |isbn=978-1-932098-53-2 |year=2007 |location=Belgrade |edition=Second |publisher=Wilderness Adventure Press, Inc.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=I. |last=Thomas|year=2006|title=Lion vs. Tiger|publisher=Raintree |isbn=978-1-4109-2398-1}}</ref> There have been historical cases of fights between Bengal tigers and lions in captivity.<ref name="Sankhala1978"/><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/wildbeastsstud00port#page/239 |title=Wild beasts; a study of the characters and habits of the elephant, lion, leopard, panther, jaguar, tiger, puma, wolf, and grizzly bear |author=Porter, J. H. |year=1894 |page=239 |location=New York|publisher=C. Scribner's sons}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Beatty |first1=C. |date=1939 |title=Which is the King of Beasts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA562 |magazine=Popular Mechanics |pages=563 |access-date=16 November 2014}}</ref>

* [[Tiger#Populations|Tiger populations]]

** [[Panthera tigris tigris|Mainland Asian populations]]

*** [[Caspian tiger]]

*** [[Indochinese tiger]]

*** [[Malayan tiger]]

*** [[Siberian tiger]]

*** [[South China tiger]]

*** [[Sumatran tiger]]

{{Div col end}}

* {{Hlist|Prehistoric tigers: ''[[Panthera tigris soloensis]]'' | ''[[Panthera tigris trinilensis]]'' | ''[[Panthera tigris acutidens]]''}}

* {{Cite journal |last1=Schnitzler |first1=A. |last2=Hermann |first2=L. |title=Chronological distribution of the tiger ''Panthera tigris'' and the Asiatic lion ''Panthera leo persica'' in their common range in Asia |journal=[[Mammal Review]] |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=340–353 |doi=10.1111/mam.12166 |date=2019|s2cid=202040786 }}

* {{Cite web |url=http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=564 |website=Cat Specialist Group |title=''Panthera t. tigris''}}

* {{Cite web |url=http://www.wild-team.org |website=WildTeam |title=Tiger conservation in the Bangladesh Sundarbans |access-date=26 May 2021 |archive-date=6 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006142656/http://wild-team.org/ |url-status=dead }}

* {{Cite web |url=http://www.panthera.org/species/tiger/subspecies#Bengal |website=Panthera |title=Bengal Tiger |access-date=24 October 2011 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924064701/http://www.panthera.org/species/tiger/subspecies#Bengal |url-status=dead }}

* {{Cite news |title=Bengal tigers found in Tibet, with plenty of prey |date=2019 |author=Li, Y. & H. Liqiang |publisher=China Daily |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201908/08/WS5d4b646ea310cf3e355647c2.html}}

* {{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2009/apr/15/bengal-tigers-faces-photography?lightbox=1 |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |title=The four faces of the Bengal tiger}}

* {{Cite web |url=https://bigcatrescue.org/himalayan-bear-killed-by-tiger/ |title=Himalayan black bear killed by tiger |website=Big Cat Rescue|date=12 November 2009 }}