VIII. Diet: Tigers hunt primarily by night, feeding on deer, cattle, wild pigs and occasionally monkeys, birds, reptiles, fish and carrion. Their main prey species are large animals such as deer, buffalo and wild pigs, but they will also hunt fish, monkeys, birds, reptiles and sometimes even baby elephants. Occasionally, tigers kill leopards, bears and other tigers. The have also been known to attack young rhinoceroses and elephants. Tigers are solitary hunters. They love the water, and are not afraid to chase their prey down into the water. In fact, this is how tigers often get food. The wait for an animal to be drinking at a water hole, then scares the animal into the water, where the tiger will chase it farther into deeper waters, making it easier to catch. Tigers have retractable claws. This enables them to walk through rocky, grassy, muddy, or sandy areas without dulling their claws, which they need to hunt with. Tigers eat almost anything in their range that they can catch. Large and medium sized prey, ungulates, rabbits, wild boar, deer, buffalo, young elephants and rhinos, waterfowl, and elk, make up the majority of their diet. They stalk their prey, and pounce when they are about 30 feet from their quarry. They kill by a lethal bite to the back of the throat, which often dislocates the backbone and severs the spinal cord. Often, a lethal bite is applied to the throat, which cuts off air supply and asphyxiates (suffocates) the animal. Tigers can eat as much as 40 lb (18 kg) of meat in one sitting. Tigers, like other felines, need to eat some grass to provide nutrients and roughage.
Tigers will usually avoid humans because they do not provide much meat, and they prefer the taste of wild game. However, if a tiger becomes a man-eater, there is usually a reason for it. One reason is that the tiger is very old, to the point where his teeth are worn down, and cannot catch wild game anymore. Humans are much easier to catch and kill, so they prey on humans. Another, more common reason, is the tiger was injured or sick, and can no longer hunt for itself. However, many tigers, like those that live in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, seem to have a taste for humans. No one knows why they do this, as these tigers are young and healthy. Some speculate that they are guarding their territory; others think that the salty waters in the marsh they drink make them irritable. These tigers, however, do not come into human settlements; they only kill humans that have wandered too far into the mangrove forests. People who venture into the forests to gather wood and food wear masks on the backs of their heads since tigers only attack them from behind. Since they started this, the numbers of tiger attacks have been greatly reduced. However, once a tiger becomes a man-eater, it will not cease, and has to be destroyed to protect people.
The large canines are used to make the killing bite, but they tear meat when feeding using the carnassials teeth in the wild, tigers mostly feed on larger and medium sized animals. Sambar, gaur, water buffalo, chital, wild boar and nilgai are the tiger's favored prey in India. In Siberia the main prey species are Mandchurian elk, wild boar, sika deer, roe deer and musk deer. In Sumatra rusa deer, wild boar and Malayan tapir are preyed on. In the former Caspian tiger's range saiga, camels, Caucasian Wisent, yak and wild horses were preyed. Like many predators, they are opportunistic and will eat much smaller prey such as monkeys, peacocks, hares and fish. They also may kill such formidable predators as dholes, leopards, and pythons. Tigers have been known to kill even crocodiles on occasion, although predation is rare and the predators typically avoid one another. Siberian tigers and brown bears are a serious threat to each other and usually avoid confrontation; however, tigers will kill bear cubs and even some adults on occasion. Bears (Asiatic black bears and brown bears) make up 5-8% of the tigers diet in the Russian Far East.
Sloth bears are quite aggressive and will sometimes drive young tigers away from their kills although the opposite happens as well and in some cases Indian tigers even prey on sloth bears. Adult elephants are too dangerous to tigers to serve as common prey, but conflicts between elephants and tigers do sometimes take place. A case where a tiger killed an adult female Indian rhino has been observed. Young elephant and rhino calves are occasionally taken. Tigers sometimes prey on domestic animals such as dogs, cows, horses and donkeys. These individuals are termed cattle-lifters or cattle-killers in contrast to typical game-killers. Especially old and injured tigers have been known to attack humans and are then termed as man-eaters, which often leads to them being captured, shot or poisoned. Man-eaters have been a recurrent problem for India, especially in Kumaon and Garhwal in the early part of the twentieth century, notable accounts of the hunting of which have been written by [Jim Corbett]. The Sundarbans mangrove swamps of Bengal, where some healthy tigers have been known to hunt humans, have had a higher incidence of man-eaters.
Tigers' extremely strong jaws and sharp teeth make them superb predators.Tigers hunt alone and prefer medium to large sized herbivores. They ambush their prey as other cats do, overpowering them from any angle, using their body size and strength to knock large prey off balance. Even with their great masses, tigers can reach speeds of about 49-65 km/h (35-40 mph). Tigers prefer to bite the throats of large prey and use their muscled forelimbs to hold onto the prey, bringing it to the ground. The tiger remains latched onto the neck until its prey dies. With small prey, the tiger bites the nape, often breaking the spinal cord, piercing the windpipe, or severing the jugular vein or carotid artery. The prey is killed instantly.
In the wild, tigers can leap as high as 5 m (16 ft) and as far as 9–10 m (30–33 ft), making them one of the highest-jumping mammals (just slightly behind cougars in jumping ability).
They have been reported to carry domestic livestock weighing 50 kg (110 lb) while easily jumping over fences 2 m (6 ft 6 in) high. Their heavily muscled forelimbs are used to hold tightly onto the prey and to avoid being dislodged, especially by large prey such as gaurs. Gaurs and water buffalos weighing over a ton have been killed by tigers weighing about a sixth as much. The combination of claws and power behind a tiger's paws enables it to kill an adult human with one swipe.
Tigers are solitary hunters and actively search for prey using their eyesight and hearing. They depend on concealment and a stalk and ambush approach to capture prey. When prey is located, the tiger begins its stalk. It approaches the prey from the side or rear, in a semi-crouch or crouch position. Remaining concealed, quiet, and cautious, the tiger attempts to get within 20 m (66 ft.) of its victim. Once the tiger is close enough, it suddenly rushes the prey. Using its powerful forelimbs and sharp claws, the tiger seizes the prey by the shoulder, back, or neck, and forces it to the ground. Unless the prey is quite large, tigers usually keep their hind feet on the ground. During or after the attack, the tiger administers a lethal bite to the nape (back) of the neck or the throat of its victim. When prey weighs more than half as much as the tiger, the tiger will usually bite the throat, causing suffocation. When prey is smaller, the tiger commonly bites the nape of the neck, damaging the spinal cord. Tigers mainly attack prey weighing 50 to 200 kg (110-441 lb.), but regularly take animals weighing up to 400 kg (882 lb.). Before feeding, kills are often carried or dragged to an area of dense cover. Tigers usually begin eating at the animal's rump. Because of their size and build, tigers can kill prey large enough to provide meals for several days. Tigers can consume 20 to 35 kg (44-77 lb.) of food at one sitting; but they usually eat about 15 to 18 kg (33-40 lb.) of food a day, over several days. They don't seem to mind eating decaying flesh. After meals, tigers cover the remains of the kill with vegetation or debris. This conceals the carcass from scavengers such as vultures and jackals. Tigers mainly rest and drink between meals, but may kill other prey if the opportunity arises. Tigers usually gorge themselves at a kill, and they may not need to eat again for several days. If their food requirements are averaged per day over a year, female tigers need about 5 to 6 kg (11-13 lb.) of food per day and males need about 6 to 7 kg (13-15 lb.) of food per day. Kill frequency varies between tigers. Researchers in Nepal found that female tigers without young killed every 8 to 8.5 days (42-45 kills per year). Researchers in India had similar findings. Female tigers with two cubs ages six to ten months old killed every five to six days (61-73 kills per year). Not all attempted attacks are successful. Tigers probably have only one successful attack in every 10 to 20 tries. Potential prey may see the tiger and escape before the attack, or if the prey is large enough, manage to escape after attacked. Tigers will not chase prey over long distances. Powerful prey animals, like buffalo and guar, may injure or kill tigers during attacks. Packs of Asiatic wild dogs, called dholes, are quite dangerous, and may actually pursue and kill tigers. Tigers don't always kill their own food. They'll drive other predators, such as leopards, away from their kills.
