Bengal tiger

Bengal tiger
	Adult male in Kanha Tiger Reserve, India
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Pantherinae
Genus:	Panthera
Species:	P. tigris;
Subspecies:	P. t. tigris
Population:	Bengal tiger
	Range of Bengal tiger in red

The Bengal tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies.^[1] It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today.^[2]^[3] It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna.^[4]

The tiger is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late Pleistocene, for about 12,000 to 16,500 years.^[5]^[6]^[7] Today, it is threatened by poaching, loss and 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.^[8]

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.^[6] India's tiger population was estimated at 2,603–3,346 individuals by 2018.^[9] Around 300–500 individuals are estimated in Bangladesh by 2015,^[8] 355 in Nepal by 2022,^[10] and 90 individuals in Bhutan by 2015.^[11]

^ Kitchener, A. C.; Breitenmoser-Würsten, C.; Eizirik, E.; Gentry, A.; Werdelin, L.; Wilting, A.; Yamaguchi, N.; Abramov, A. V.; Christiansen, P.; Driscoll, C.; Duckworth, J. W.; Johnson, W.; Luo, S.-J.; Meijaard, E.; O'Donoghue, P.; Sanderson, J.; Seymour, K.; Bruford, M.; Groves, C.; Hoffmann, M.; Nowell, K.; Timmons, Z. & Tobe, S. (2017). "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 11): 66–68.
^ Mazák, V. (1981). "Panthera tigris". Mammalian Species (152): 1–8. doi:10.2307/3504004. JSTOR 3504004.
^ Heptner, V. G. & Sludskij, A. A. (1992) [1972]. "Tiger". Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola [Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2. Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats)]. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation. pp. 95–202.
^ Sankhala, K. (1978). Tiger: The Story of the Indian Tiger. Glasgow: Collins. ISBN 978-0002161244.
^ Kitchener, A. C. & Dugmore, A. J. (2000). "Biogeographical change in the tiger, Panthera tigris". Animal Conservation. 3 (2): 113–124. Bibcode:2000AnCon...3..113K. doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.2000.tb00236.x. S2CID 86096562.
^ ^a ^b Luo, S. J.; Kim, J.; Johnson, W. E.; van der Walt, J.; Martenson, J.; Yuhki, N.; Miquelle, D. G.; Uphyrkina, O.; Goodrich, J. M.; Quigley, H. B.; Tilson, R.; Brady, G.; Martelli, P.; Subramaniam, V.; McDougal, C.; Hean, S.; Huang, S.; Pan, W.; Karanth, U.; Sunquist, M.; Smith, J. L. D. & O'Brien, S. J. (2004). "Phylogeography and Genetic Ancestry of Tigers (Panthera tigris)". PLOS Biology. 2 (12): e442. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0020442. PMC 534810. PMID 15583716.
^ Cooper, D. M.; Dugmore, A. J.; Gittings, B. M.; Scharf, A. K.; Wilting, A. & Kitchener, A. C. (2016). "Predicted Pleistocene–Holocene rangeshifts of the tiger (Panthera tigris)". Diversity and Distributions. 22 (11): 1–13. Bibcode:2016DivDi..22.1199C. doi:10.1111/ddi.12484.
^ ^a ^b Goodrich, J.; Lynam, A.; Miquelle, D.; Wibisono, H.; Kawanishi, K.; Pattanavibool, A.; Htun, S.; Tempa, T.; Karki, J.; Jhala, Y. & Karanth, U. (2015). "Panthera tigris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T15955A50659951.
^ Jhala, Y.V.; Qureshi, Q. & Nayak, A.K. (2020). Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India 2018 (PDF) (Report). New Delhi, Dehradun: National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India, Wildlife Institute of India.
^ Sottile, Zoe (31 July 2022). "Nepal has nearly tripled its wild tiger population since 2009". CNN. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
^ Cite error: The named reference Tempa_al2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[catsg-1] Kitchener, A. C.; Breitenmoser-Würsten, C.; Eizirik, E.; Gentry, A.; Werdelin, L.; Wilting, A.; Yamaguchi, N.; Abramov, A. V.; Christiansen, P.; Driscoll, C.; Duckworth, J. W.; Johnson, W.; Luo, S.-J.; Meijaard, E.; O'Donoghue, P.; Sanderson, J.; Seymour, K.; Bruford, M.; Groves, C.; Hoffmann, M.; Nowell, K.; Timmons, Z. & Tobe, S. (2017). "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 11): 66–68.

[Mazak1981-2] Mazák, V. (1981). "Panthera tigris". Mammalian Species (152): 1–8. doi:10.2307/3504004. JSTOR 3504004.

[Geptner1972-3] Heptner, V. G. & Sludskij, A. A. (1992) [1972]. "Tiger". Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola [Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2. Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats)]. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation. pp. 95–202.

[Sankhala1978-4] Sankhala, K. (1978). Tiger: The Story of the Indian Tiger. Glasgow: Collins. ISBN 978-0002161244.

[5] Kitchener, A. C. & Dugmore, A. J. (2000). "Biogeographical change in the tiger, Panthera tigris". Animal Conservation. 3 (2): 113–124. Bibcode:2000AnCon...3..113K. doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.2000.tb00236.x. S2CID 86096562.

[Luo2004-6] Luo, S. J.; Kim, J.; Johnson, W. E.; van der Walt, J.; Martenson, J.; Yuhki, N.; Miquelle, D. G.; Uphyrkina, O.; Goodrich, J. M.; Quigley, H. B.; Tilson, R.; Brady, G.; Martelli, P.; Subramaniam, V.; McDougal, C.; Hean, S.; Huang, S.; Pan, W.; Karanth, U.; Sunquist, M.; Smith, J. L. D. & O'Brien, S. J. (2004). "Phylogeography and Genetic Ancestry of Tigers (Panthera tigris)". PLOS Biology. 2 (12): e442. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0020442. PMC 534810. PMID 15583716.

[7] Cooper, D. M.; Dugmore, A. J.; Gittings, B. M.; Scharf, A. K.; Wilting, A. & Kitchener, A. C. (2016). "Predicted Pleistocene–Holocene rangeshifts of the tiger (Panthera tigris)". Diversity and Distributions. 22 (11): 1–13. Bibcode:2016DivDi..22.1199C. doi:10.1111/ddi.12484.

[iucn-8] Goodrich, J.; Lynam, A.; Miquelle, D.; Wibisono, H.; Kawanishi, K.; Pattanavibool, A.; Htun, S.; Tempa, T.; Karki, J.; Jhala, Y. & Karanth, U. (2015). "Panthera tigris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T15955A50659951.

[Jhala2019-9] Jhala, Y.V.; Qureshi, Q. & Nayak, A.K. (2020). Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India 2018 (PDF) (Report). New Delhi, Dehradun: National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India, Wildlife Institute of India.

[10] Sottile, Zoe (31 July 2022). "Nepal has nearly tripled its wild tiger population since 2009". CNN. Retrieved 1 August 2022.

[Tempa_al2019-11] Cite error: The named reference Tempa_al2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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