ENDANGERED SPECIES - BENGAL TIGERID92920061
A.P.E. BENGAL TIGER COIN
For the year 2022, being aware of the importance of conserving the integrity and diversity of nature by ensuring the equitable and sustainable use of natural resources, the FNMT-RCM is issuing a collection of 16 coins dedicated to a selection of endangered animals catalogued as Critically Endangered (CR) and included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The complete collection consists of sixteen coins, issued in the year 2022, and an album-case in which to store them in an orderly fashion.
On the obverse, in a central circular area, an image of the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is reproduced in colour. At the top, in a circular shape and in capital letters, the legend BENGALA TIGER. At the bottom, in a circle and in capitals, the legend ESPAÑA (SPAIN) and the year of issue 2022.
On the reverse (common to all the coins), within a central circle, the legend ANIMALS IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION appears at the top, in a circular shape and in capitals; below it, the value of the coin 1.5 EURO, in two lines and in capitals; and, below it, the mint mark.
| Series | Endangered Species |
| Year | 2022 |
| Colour | Yes |
| Diameter (mm) | 33 |
| Face Value (Euro) | 1.5 |
| Metal | Cupronickel |
| Weight (g) | 15 |
| Maximum Mintage (units) | 5,000 |
BENGALA TIGER (Panthera tigris tigris)
There are several subspecies of tigers, all of them endangered, with the Bengal tiger being the best known, with just 2,500 living in the wild. The largest of all the planet's felines lived just over a hundred years ago in most of Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Russia and even Turkey. Of the estimated 100,000 tigers that existed at the beginning of the 20th century, their population has been reduced by 95%, with only 4,500 tigers, due to hunting for their skins, as trophies, and the advance of human civilisation with the consequent loss of their natural habitat.
The morphology of tigers varies from one subspecies to another, the Bengal being the second largest, with an average weight in the case of males of about 200 kg, a length of 3 metres (including tail) and a height of more than one metre. The orange-coloured coat (white in the abdominal area) with black stripes is a constant in all subspecies of tigers, although in the Bengal there are individuals with only white coat and black stripes -the so-called white tigers-, due to the fact that their organism does not produce pheomelanin, responsible for the orange pigment.
Very territorial animals, they require large areas of land to hunt. Like almost all felines, they are solitary animals and only gather with others of their species during the rutting season. They have virtually no natural predators, except for other tigers, and any terrestrial animal can form part of the diet of this huge carnivore.
Unlike many felines, Bengal tigers are water-loving animals, abundant in the jungle and forest environment in which they live, for which they are excellently adapted. Their claws have developed interdigital membranes that allow them to swim easily and quickly. They share with the other members of the Felidae family an extraordinary sense of hearing and sight.