Bengal Tiger - Panthera Tigris Tigris
Predator Conservation Trust: Tiger Information: Panthera Tigris
PREY
Tigers mainly prey on large mammals such as pigs, deer, antelope, buffalo and
gaur, but they also kill and eat small mammals and birds. Tigers are
solitary hunters which stalk and then ambush their prey. They mainly use
their sight and hearing when hunting and stalk the prey, approaching from the
rear or side and get as close as possible to their prey before making a short
final dash and leaping onto the prey. The Tigers weight plus the force of
the leap forces the prey to the ground at which point the Tiger will go for the
throat to kill the prey by strangulation or a bite to the back of the neck.
The carcass of the prey is usually dragged to a place of cover before being
eaten. After eating part of the carcass the Tiger often covers the remains
and returns over several days for several more meals. Tigers are capable
of eating up to 40Kg of meat in a single sitting.
Photo courtesy of
Liz Leyden
BEHAVIOUR
Tiger Home Ranges vary hugely in size - in India they range from 50 to 1000
square kilometres, whereas in Siberia they range from 500 to 4000 square
kilometres. At the opposite end of the scale, in Nepal they range from
just 10 to 151 square kilometres. Females have smaller home ranges than males.
Except when courting and mating, or raising cubs, Tigers are solitary
animals. They scent mark their territories with urine or faeces.
REPRODUCTION
Tigers become sexually mature at around 3 to 5 years old. Females enter
oestrus every 3 to 9 weeks and advertise this condition by roaring frequently
and increased scent marking. Mating lasts for between 2 and 4 days with
the male mounting the female around 30 to 40 times a day, with each mounting
lasting around 10 to 15 seconds. This frequency of mating is why the
Tiger has been persecuted and slaughtered so its penis can be used in
traditional Chinese medicine cures for impotence (despite the lack of any
evidence as to its effectiveness, and the availability of modern effective
medicines). Gestation (pregnancy) lasts for between 93 and 111 days with
104-106 being the most usual duration.
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