The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere - Animals

Bengal Tiger

Panthera tigris tigris

Range

India, Manchuria, China, and Indonesia

Habitat

Tropical rainforest, snow covered coniferous and deciduous forests, mangrove swamps, and drier forest types represented by tropical deciduous forests.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Tigers have sharp retractile claws and powerful jaws to aid in hunting. Their hind limbs are longer than their forelimbs which aid in jumping ability.

Dietary Classification

Diet in the Zoo: ground meat, bones, and rabbits

Diet in the Wild: Generally they eat large hoofed mammals, but they will eat anything they can catch. They are stalk & ambush predators.

Life Span

15 to 17 years

Behavior/Adaptations

* Each stripe pattern is unique to that tiger
* The basic social unit is a mother and her young. Tigers generally hunt alone, however, there is a high social tolerance in captive facilities (i.e. zoos).
* Tigers hunt by ambush but generally only 1 in 10 or 20 attacks is successful.

Status

Endangered- faces threat from habitat loss as well as poaching of its parts to be used in medicinal preparation.

Classification

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family	Genus	Species
Animalia	Chordata	Mammalia	Carnivora	Felidae	Panthera	tigris