The Tiger

D. Smith in his work: "The role of dispersal in structuring the Chitwan tiger population" (1993) found that young tigers became independent of their mothers at seventeen to twenty-four months of age. They continued to hunt within the natal range (the home range of their mother effectively).  When do tigers become independent? 17-24 months of age. Image: MikeB This allows them to hone their hunting skills in relative safety. After doing this for a few months the young tigers 'dispersed' (left) from the natal range to find their own range at between 18-24 months of age. Male cubs learn to kill on their own and become independent earlier than females. By 15 months of age males often leave their mother for several days at a time to test independence. Females stay with their mother for longer. RELATED:  Bengal tiger travels 1300 km to find his home range and a mate . A sister and brother, both 18 months old, were watched for their behavior at this stage of their developmen...

If two tigers meet in the wild, will they fight? Well, the first point to make is that in the wild, each tiger has a territory about as big as a modern city. Male ranges are a lot bigger than females' and male ranges include female ranges . Territorial ownership is marked out by spraying scented urine against trees and scratching the bark with sharp claws. This is a way of tigers preventing meeting up. It's a way of keeping them apart because they realise that fights between rivals can be so damaging even to the winner that it may impair their survival. So male tigers avoid other male tigers and female tigers avoid other female tigers. When a male tiger meets a female even outside the breeding season there is a small friendly greeting using a close call sounding like: fuf-fuf-fuf . But there are two instances under which tigers might fight: times of flux and tension over resources and territory. The most sought-after resources for a male tiger in the wild are female tigers and...

India and Cambodia have a memorandum of understanding on relocating some of India's Bengal tigers to Cambodia where the tiger has been extinct for at least 15 years.  The Independent tells me that: "Cambodia has reportedly identified at least 90 acres of forest land at its Tatai Wildlife Sanctuary in the Cardamom rainforest to welcome tigers from India." 90 acres is way too small an area. Male tigers need up to 150 square kilometers EACH! That is 37,050 acreas!! "For male [Bengal] tigers in Ranthambhore India; the prey concentrations are high and male tigers have territories that range in size from 5 to 150 km2 (2 to 60 mi2)." - Seaworld.org There are 247 acres in one square kilometer . 90 acres cannot satisfactorily accommodate a single male Bengal tiger. The area allocated is a fraction of the home range demanded of one male tiger. Females have a smaller range but there has to be males and females in the relocation plans. And there has to be some large prey a...

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...

Female Siberian tigers in Sikhote-Alin are estimated to have a range of 200-400 km². Male Siberian tigers have a range size between 800-1000 km². These range sizes have been estimated based on radio tracking data. The range of each male tiger overlaps with 1-3 females "but male ranges overlap almost completely". However, males do not use the same area at the same time. Between females, there appear to be no overlaps or little overlap between the ranges of neighbouring adult females. Siberian tiger in the snow with cub. Photo: Pixabay. The range sizes of Siberian tigers are considerably larger than those of the Bengal tiger. The differences are due at least in part to differences in prey density and because the prey is migratory in Siberia. Male and female tigers communicate through a combination of scent marks, visual signals and vocalisations. In the area mentioned, in Siberia, Sikhote-Alin, Siberian tigers live in a mixed coniferous and broad-leaved deciduous forest. The la...

Tigers need an enormous amount of space when they live in the wild and I believe that they still need that kind of space when in captivity even if they were born in captivity because this need is inherited. I believe that it is hardwired into their DNA. On that basis life in a zoo for a tiger is uncomfortable, sterile and without enjoyment except intermittently. And I am referring to good zoos in the West. What about the crappy zoos in Asia where we see tigers pacing to survive mentally. It is horrible to see. I shake my head when I think of it because I don't know how people can put tigers through that kind of mental torture. Only ignorant people can do it. Tiger in captivity. Photo: Pixabay I do not believe that it makes any difference whether a tiger is born in captivity, in a zoo, or whether they are born in the wild. They need a certain amount of space in order to express their natural behaviour. It is an enormous amount of space. It depends upon where the tiger lives in the w...

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