Wildlife lovers and environmentalists took Twitter to mourn the death of Raja- The Royal Bengal tiger at South Khairbari Rescue Centre in West Bengal. The world’s oldest tiger in captivity, Raja was 25 years and 10 months old.
The Union Minister for environment Bhupendra Yadav expressed his grief over demise of Raja. “Saddened to know that Raja, the oldest living tiger in the world in captivity, is no more. As the pride of India that lived for over 25 years, Raja will be sorely missed,” Yadav said in a tweet.
The Tiger (Panthera tigris) is most recognizable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. A predator, it mainly preys on deer and wild boar. Tiger cubs stay with their mother for about two years, then become independent and leave their mother’s home range to establish their own.
The tiger is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. As of 2015, the global wild tiger population was estimated to number between 3,062 and 3,948 mature individuals, with most of the populations living in small isolated pockets. India currently hosts the largest tiger population. Adult tigers lead largely solitary lives and they establish and maintain territories but have much wider home ranges within which they roam.
