Common Name: Bengal Tiger
Scientific Name: Panthera Tigris
There are only about 2,500 Bengal tigers left in the wild today. Most of their populations are in India, but have smaller populations in China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar. They can grow to be over 500 lbs and longer than 10 feet. This fierce animal roams a variety of different habitats including mangroves, grasslands, tropical rainforests, deciduous forests, and scrub forests. The biggest threats to Bengal tigers are habitat destruction, poaching, and human conflict. As their habitat continues to diminish, tigers are being pushed to find new territory. Tigers have nowhere to go due to forests and natural grasslands being destroyed for agriculture, logging, and homes. In the search for food and habitat, they often end up in villages where people fear tigers and attempt to fight them.
The high demand in Asian countries for bones, fur, meat, and other body parts is a huge problem for the Bengal tiger along with other wild cats. Tiger skin is commonly used to portray wealth and is commonly used in decor. There are also some cultures that believe tiger bones have medicinal healing effects when consumed, despite medical research proving otherwise. Unfortunately, this has not stopped the high demand for tiger parts. With the tiger population declining, the more valuable tigers become to poachers and other people that benefit from their illegal trade on the Black Market. Most tigers now live on reserves in India but they are poorly funded and don’t have the necessary resources to employ rangers or fight off poachers. To help support the reserves in India, Slacktyde gives a 10% of the sales for every item sold with the tiger design to World Wildlife Fund.
