The Royal Bengal Tiger is one of the world's most magnificent cats, so see them in the wild and enjoy the holiday of a lifetime at the same time!

"Tiger tiger burning bright in the forests of the night what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?"

These magnificent creatures were immortalized in William Blake's poem back in the 19th century. Today, the Bengal tiger still remains a creature of awe and wonder.

Bengal tigers - The Pride Of India

The Royal Bengal tiger is the national animal of India; it is the largest living member of the cat family and possibly the most beautiful of all the big cats.

It has a graceful but strong build and is a fierce, proud animal with a combination of power and beauty, that is unmatched by other wild cats.

A creature of wonder

The reddish yellow coat with black stripes gives it a royal look, hence its name the Royal Bengal tiger. Ventrally it is white. Its ears are black on the outside and each of them has a prominent white spot on it.

Male tigers can weigh up to 600lbs and grow to 11 feet in length, while female tigers are slightly smaller and India one of the few places to see wild bengal tigers.

There are approximately 5000 tigers in India, which is more than all the other species of tigers in the world (in captivity or wild) put together.

Bengal tigers - Conservation

Bengal tigers are native to parts of Asia and India. Although an endangered species, there still are more Bengal tigers than any other kind.

The Siberian tiger has nearly been hunted to extinction and the last spotting of a White tiger was back in 1951.

In India there were over hundred thousand tigers at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, these numbers are much lower, but are building again, due to careful conservation that, has seen numbers steadily increase.

The threat of extinction forced the government of India to initiate the 'Project Tiger' in 1973. The project started with 9 sanctuaries in India which, today has increased to 23 projects.

See Bengal tigers and be inspired like Rudyard Kipling!

Here are just to sanctuaries you can see Bengal tigers and an extensive amount of other wildlife.

The twin national parks of Kanha and Bandhavgarh which have been immortalized by Rudyard Kipling's classic "The Jungle Book" are a good place to start

Kanha National Park is located in the eastern part of the central Indian highlands.

The jungle comprises of dry woodland on hill tops interspersed with dense forests and grassy expanses at lower elevations. The park is immensely rich in game; and the home to predators such as tiger, leopard and wolf.

One of India's most famous wildlife sancturies

Corbett is famous for Asian elephants and its tigers, as well as a host of diverse wildlife and is one India's most famous animal sanctuaries.

Other herbivores found here include the hog deer, muntjak, spotted deer, sambar, goral and the retiring Serow (both goat antelope).

The reserve also has a high density of tigers leopards. Other mammals include the Indian Pangolin, Leopard Cat, Sloth Bear and the himalayan black bear. The Ramganga River in the reserve also has gharial (fish eating crocodile), marsh crocodile and various species of turtles.