XI. Behaviors:

Tigers are solitary (with the exception of mothers with cubs) although they may sometimes come together to share a kill. Unlike most other cats, tigers are fond of water and are strong swimmers. Tigers stalk and ambush their prey. They use dense covering to conceal themselves and sneak up on their prey. When the tiger is close enough it suddenly rushes at its prey and kills it by grabbing the throat or nape of the neck. Females occupy ranges between 25-1600 sq. km. Males occupy larger ranges which may overlap with the ranges of several females. More than other big cats, tigers have a reputation as man-eaters. In truth, it is rare for a tiger to attack people. It is normally old or injured tigers who are the culprits, as they are less able to catch their usual prey. The tiger hunts alone, primarily between dusk and dawn, traveling six to 20 miles in a night in search of prey. A typical predatory sequence includes a slow, silent stalk until the tiger is 30 to 35 feet from the selected prey animal followed by a lightening fast rush to close the gap. The tiger grabs the animal in its forepaws, brings it to the ground, and finally kills the animal with a bite to the neck or throat. After dragging the carcass to a secluded spot, the tiger eats. A tiger eats 33 to 40 pounds of meat in an average night, and must kill about once per week. Catching a meal is not easy; a tiger is successful only once in ten to 20 hunts. An adult tiger defends a large area from all other tigers of the same sex. The primary resource of this territory is food. A female's territory must contain enough prey to support herself and her cubs. A male's territory, additionally, must offer access to females with which to mate. Thus, a male's territory overlaps with that of one to seven females. Male territories are always larger than those of females. But territory size varies enormously and is directly related to the abundance of prey in a given habitat. For instance, Indian tigers in prey-rich habitats in Nepal defend quite small territories: female territories average just eight square miles. At the other extreme, in the prey-poor Russian Far East, Amur tiger female territories average 200 square miles. In both areas, male territories are proportionately larger.
Except for a mother and her cubs, tigers live and hunt alone. But that does not mean they are not social. Scent marks and visual signposts, such as scratch marks, allow tigers to track other tigers in the area, and even identify individuals. A female tiger knows the other females whose territories abut hers; in many cases, a neighbor may be her daughter. Females know their overlapping males (and vice versa) and probably know when a new male takes over. All tigers can identify passing strangers. So, solitary tigers actually have a rich social life; they just prefer to socialize from a distance. Tigers are solitary animals, with the male and female only getting together to mate. Males can occupy territories of 10 to 30 square miles (26-78 sq. km), that is often connected to many smaller females' territories. Siberian tigers have the largest ranges, being up to 120 sq mi (264 sq km). The size of the territory is determined by the amount of available prey. The more abundant the prey is in a particular area, the smaller the territory. Both male and female tigers spray urine on raised objects to mark their territory. They also use a secretion from their anal glands to mark their territory, and will sometimes even deposit feces to mark boundaries. They also scratch on trees to leave a visual mark. Tigers are very territorial animals, and will fight any strange tiger in their home range, male or female. Both sexes increase their territorial behavior around the mating season, where scent marking will help to attract a mate and deter any wandering males. One the female has mated with the male or males, she will have nothing to do with him and will kill him if she sees him in her territory, since male tigers will kill her cubs.
Males always live alone. However, during the majority of her life, the female is surrounded by cubs and sub-adults that will stay with her for up to three years. She will only care for one litter at a time, so until her last litter leaves, she will not breed. Females tend to stay near their mother, and have even been known to establish territories within or adjacent to their mother's territory. However, males tend to leave earlier, and will travel several miles to establish a territory of his own. The fact that tigers are solitary animals can be a virtue as well as a handicap. By themselves, they do not have to support any one but themselves, and cubs if they have them. No sharing food means that they can grow big without any competition. However, the downside is that if the tiger should happen to become injured during a hunt, it will die because if it cannot provide for itself, no one else will. Often, old tigers, or those who become injured, either by a trap or from a hunt, become livestock and man-eaters, because they cannot catch anything but weak animals like humans, or penned up animals. What most farmers don't realize is that putting traps out for tigers, or shooting them and not making sure they are dead, encourages man-eaters, because the animals are injured. Tigers are excellent swimmers, and tend to spend a lot of time in the water, especially during the summer when temperatures can get very hot. It also helps to relieve them from all the flies. Tigers often mate in the water. Tigers are essentially solitary animals, except for courting pairs and females with young. Tigers with adjoining ranges may have friendly relationships, but even individuals with overlapping ranges usually keep 2 to 5 km (1-3 mi.) apart. Though they hunt alone, tigers sometimes share their kills with other tigers. Female tigers regularly share kills with their young dependent cubs. Sibling tigers, when learning how to hunt independently in their mother's range, occasionally share kills. Male and female tigers may share a kill during courtship. Groups of two or more tigers, of various ages and sexes, may share a kill if food is plentiful. These aggregations are most often observed at manmade feeding stations where prey is regularly provided (to attract tigers). When young tiger cubs share a kill with each other and/or their mother, they often feed simultaneously. When adult tigers share a kill, usually only one tiger feeds at a time. In general, tigers tend to avoid each other rather than fight. When tigers do fight, they seldom fight to the death, but injuries may occur that later cause death. Both male and female tigers will fight other tigers if necessary to defend, expand, or acquire a territory.
Male tigers may fight another male if both are attracted to the same breeding female. Male tigers may occasionally attack and kill young tiger cubs. Conversely, female tigers will attack male tigers and other predators to protect their young. Tigers are essentially nocturnal. Most tigers are active and moving primarily at night (sunset to sunrise). Night activities include hunting (a tiger's prey is also active at night), patrolling and marking home ranges, courting mates, and tending to young. These same activities may also occur during the day, but less frequently. If hunting is unsuccessful during the night, a hungry tiger will hunt during the day. Mother tigers will also hunt during the day to provide enough food for their cubs. Tigers are least active from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Activity steadily decreases after sunrise, reaching its lowest point at mid-day. Movement gradually increases again until the hour before sunset, when the majority of tigers are active. Mid-morning to mid-afternoon is the hottest part of the day. To stay cool, tigers often rest in dense vegetation, or lie along, and in, streams and rivers. Most daily movements take place on land, but tigers are also good swimmers. Tigers can easily cross rivers 6 to 8 km (4-5 mi.) wide, and have been known to swim distances of up to 29 km (18 mi.).