The magnificent tiger, Panthera
tigris (Linnaeus), is a striped animal. It
has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination
of grace, strength, agility
and enormous power has earned the tiger its
pride of place as the national animal of India. Out of eight
races of the species known, the Indian race, the Royal
Bengal Tiger, is found throughout the country except
in the north-western region and also in the neighbouring countries,
Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. To check the dwindling population
of tigers in India ‘Project Tiger’
was launched in April 1973. So far, 25 tiger reserves have been
established in the country under this project, covering an area
of 33,875 sq km. |
