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Do you have a cat as your pet? Observe it (or any other cat in
your neighbourhood). There is a lot of similarity between the tiger
and your cat. After all, they belong to the same family. So if you
want to know how tigers behave - just observe a house cat! Of course,
tigers are bigger and live in the wild, but they are a lot like
your cat. For instance, they also spend most of the day resting
and sometimes sleep up to 18 hours a day.
Like all domestic cats, tigers have claws that are retractable
(that can be slipped back into the skin). And like all cats, they
are meat-eaters.
Solitary Beast | Aggression
| Hunting Techniques | Tiger Appetite
Solitary Beast
Unlike the lion, the tiger prefers to live alone. Each tiger has
its very own 'territory' or home area of which it is very protective.
It doesn't like other tigers entering its territory.
To mark the border of its territory, the tiger scratches on tree
trunks with its claws. It also sprays the area with a mixture of
'perfumes' from its special scent glands and urine to scent-mark
its territory. Any other tiger that strays into the area recognizes
these signs, and knows that it is in someone else's territory, so
it is on its guard.
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Aggression
Tigers walk long distances. When one tiger smells the scent of
another, it lowers its tongue and curls up its face. This is something
like the face you would make if you smelt something bad and then
got angry!
An ordinary day in a tiger's life is generally quite peaceful.
For most of the day, the tiger rests, sits around, sleeps and cleans
itself. This is because the tiger has to save up all its strength
for those few minutes when it has to hunt for its food. It roars
loudly to warn other tigers.
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Hunting Techniques
Tigers need a lot of energy to catch their prey. They usually hunt
late in the evening. Spotting a deer or a wild boar (its favourite
meals), the tiger waits in the shadows of the tall grass as silent
as a mouse until the moment is right. And then it suddenly springs
upon its unwary prey. Extremely agile for short distances, the tiger
can jump up to 30 feet. With fabulous night vision, powerful jaws,
super claws, unbelievably strong forearms and the sharpest of sharp
teeth, the tiger is a fantastic hunter.
Excellent camouflage combined with its excellent stalking techniques,
enables the tiger to approach its prey within strike distance without
being seen. Camouflage is a technique of using a particular characteristic
to melt with the background so that you can hide from both predators
and prey species, enabling the animal to attack without being seen.
Many animals from small insects to deer use camouflage to hide.
(Don't you wish that you could camouflage yourself in the classroom
so your teacher would never see you?)
As the most active hunting time of the tiger is between dusk and
dawn, it greatly depends on its excellent night vision. The tiger
can see and hear very well in the dark. This is why it can hunt
for its food in the late evening when it is almost dark.
The hunting tactic generally entails killing prey species with
a single bite - usually at the throat in the case of large animals,
or at the back of the neck of smaller prey. Its teeth are well suited
for holding prey and tearing off chunks of meat.
After a kill, the tiger drags the carcass (yet another example
of the tiger's incredible strength) to thick cover, preferably near
water to protect it from vultures, scavengers or even other tigers.
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Tiger Appetite
Tigers are carnivores. They love eating meat! Large deer make up
nearly three-quarters of a tiger's diet. They also prey on wild
pigs and cattle. As you may have noticed, all these are large-hoofed
mammals. This is because a tiger needs nearly 3,000 kg. of meat
a year. Sometimes a tiger might go for a young elephant or rhinoceros
or decide to stick with tiny creatures like crabs, fish, lizards,
crabs and small birds.
Tigers that live in Indian forests often try and attack the Indian
porcupine, which are powerful animals, weighing as much as 18-20
kg. This is, more often than not, a bad idea! Tigers may suffer
serious injuries or even death from the long spines that the porcupine
drives into the face or lungs of any who tries to threaten it.
When it's really hungry, tigers can eat anywhere between 18 to
32 kg. of meat at one time from a single carcass. Talk about a really
huge appetite! Then it will not eat again for several days, sometimes
even a whole week.
Did you know that the tiger only manages to catch its prey in one
out of 10-20 tries? This is because while predators have claws,
teeth and jaws for hunting, nature has also gifted the hunted prey
with lightning speed, one of the many tactics in their bag for escape!
Prey species
Nilgai: The nilgai is herbivorous and feeds on grass, crops
and fruits such as ber. It can manage without water for long periods.
Sambar: Sambar feed on grasses and are mostly nocturnal.
Most deer feed on grasses that are rich in calcium.
Gaur: The largest of the world's oxen, it can be nearly
thrice the weight of an adult tiger, yet the experienced tiger has
been known to prey on it successfully.
Mating behaviour
Chemical signals help male tigers to maintain a check on the receptivity
of potential mates. Females indicate their periods of heat, and
where they are located, by leaving scent markings. These signals
are crucial to the social fabric of tigers.
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