Who Shrunk the Tiger?

The Royal Bengal Tiger has shrunk. It has become smaller and lighter, and experts think it’s because of adverse conditions in the Sunderbans.

The Royal Bengal Tiger has shrunk. It has become smaller and lighter, and experts think it’s because of adverse conditions in the Sunderbans. In recent months, tigers that strayed into inhabited islands of the Sunderbans were found to weigh much less and were smaller than regular Royal Bengal Tigers. An adult female tiger caught last week weighed about 98 kg, while the standard weight is 140 to 150 kg. Adult male tigers have been found to weigh about 180 to 190 kg, less than the standard weight of 220 kg. Also, while an adult male measures about 300 cm (from head to tail) and females measure 250 cm, an adult male Sunderbans tiger measures about 180 cm and a female 235 cm. “The terrain, lack of big prey like bisons and acute salinity could be probable causes,” says tiger expert Pranabesh Sanyal. 

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Jaideep Mazumdar