The Bengal tiger lives in the cold forests of the Himalayas to the warm, humid mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans region which lays in between the northeastern region of India & Bangladesh.
These large cats love the water & are excellent swimmers. They like to hang out by slow moving rivers & shady pools--a great place to hide & ambush prey or just to chill out on a hot day.
They need large territories with lots of dense vegetation for cover while stalking their prey. Male tigers have the largest range, up to 40 square miles. Unfortunately, human encroachment has shrunk their territories considerably.
Breeding
Spring heralds breeding time for Bengal Tigers. The female becomes fertile for 3 to 7 days. After mating with a male, they stay together for a few days & then the male just up and leaves the female. He plays no part in the raising of cubs.
Two to four cubs are born about 15 weeks later. They will nurse for up to 6 months. But Mom brings home occasional small prey for her babies at around 6 weeks old. Once weaned they join Mom on hunting trips where she teaches them the tricks of the trade on how to catch dinner. By 18 months, the cubs can hunt for themselves.
Behavior
Tigers are quite solitary, simply because they need such a large range in order to hunt. But a male's territory usually overlaps several other females'. So they are social---at a distance.
Every few days the tiger makes the rounds marking the boundaries of their territory. This includes shredding the bark on trees with its claws & then scent marking these "signpost" with urine. This informs other tigers that this is their boundary, tells of the owners sex, size, social status and if female, her breeding status. This boundary marking helps to prevent conflicts over food & territory.
Food & Hunting
Tigers can bring down & kill very large prey such as a 2000 lb. water buffalo---nearly 4 times the cat's weight. After catching their prey, they drag it to a secluded spot & eat up to 60 pounds of meat in a sitting. When the tiger is done feasting, it will cover the carcass with leaves. It will return every night & feast on this carcass till it is gone or is too rotten to eat.