Male tiger portrait, Kanha National Park

Male tiger portrait, Kanha National Park. A powerful male tiger known as Junior Bajrang walking through the long grass in Kanha Meadows in beautiful morning light. Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India.

There is nothing ‘junior’ about this massive tiger. Bajrang actually roughly translates to ‘having a steel frame, very strong and sturdy’. It’s always a huge adrenaline rush being so close to such a powerful predator in the wild.

The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is one of the worlds most beautiful and easily recognisable animals. These imposing felines are also commonly known as the Royal Bengal Tiger or the Indian tiger and they are the tiger subspecies with the largest population (around 50% of all wild tigers). At one time there was nine different tiger subspecies, but three sadly became extinct during the 20th century (the Bali tiger, the Caspian tiger and the Javan Tiger). Over the last century, hunting and forest destruction have vastly reduced tiger populations from hundreds of thousands of animals to fewer than 3000, although populations are slowly increasing in some areas thanks to strict conservation efforts.

The Bengal Tiger is India’s national animal where they have become an integral part of the traditions and cultural beliefs. The largest world populations of Bengal tigers are in India, where they can be found in tropical rainforests, marshes, and grasslands with good cover. Here their striped coats camouflage them perfectly in their jungle habitat. Interestingly their stripe pattern differs from individual to individual and as a result, there are no two tigers with the same stripe pattern; much like our unique fingerprint patterns. Although India has the largest population there are also smaller populations in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal. The tiger census of 2016 indicates that there are 106 tigers in Bangladesh, 103 in Buthan, 198 in Nepal and 2,226 in India. 

You can find out more about Bengal Tigers here.