The Tiger

The question is: "Do male tigers killed tigresses?" And the answer, in my considered opinion, is different when referring to wild tigers or captive tigers, which points to the source of what might be considered aberrant behaviour. If you have a different viewpoint, please comment and provide science in support please. I love good contributions. Captive female Sumatran tiger killed at London Zoo by male while zookeepers tried to get them to mate. Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Wild tigers In the wild, male tigers have much larger home ranges than those of females. And each male's range typically overlaps several female ranges. It seems like male tigers have a harem of females within their orbit. Consequently, there are no fights over territory between males and females, as I understand it. Clearly, fights over territory can result in the death of one tiger. Also, male tigers sometimes fight over access to a female, but this is a male-on-male fight. I have read through a lar...

Wild dogs in India are called 'dholes'. Their scientific name is Cuon alpinus . A pack of wild dogs can kill an individual tiger. There are records of it. Before I describe a fight between a tigress and a pack of dholes, I should tell you that the Indian wild dog is endangered and according to my research there are no more than 2,500 Indian, adult wild dogs left on the planet. Indian wild dogs 'dholes'. Image in public domain. This simple fact must reduce any encounters between a group of wild dogs and an individual tiger in India. Therefore, it is a little bit self-indulgent really to discuss and analyse the killing of a tiger by a band of wild dogs, but I will do so to satisfy the curiosity of any reader. Kenneth Anderson witnessed and described a battle between a pack of wild dogs and a tigress which took place near Mysore in southern India. His account is described in his book: Nine maneaters and one rogue published in New York by EP Dutton and Co in 1955. Here is ...