Bengal tigers are endangered mainly because of habitat loss due to human development and climate change. Habitat loss also means loss of prey and poaching is a danger to both Bengal tigers and their prey animals.
The exponential increase in the human population of India has led to a direct increase in building infrastructure and housing to support the population. The population increase has also triggered a need to get more materials from the jungles, such as wood for fires.
Poaching of tigers is relatively common, especially for their furs. Bengal tiger body parts are also sold on the black market for folk medicine. However, tigers are not the only animals poached, as their prey animals are often poached for food. This increases the rift between tigers and how much food they have available.
With tigers and humans living in increasingly close proximity to one another, there is also the risk of Bengal tigers attacking livestock. This triggers humans to kill the tigers in order to save their livelihood and protect their families. Even with all of these factors, however, there is hope for the species, because it still has wide genetic variability, and increased education efforts are helping keep the population from declining faster.
