BENGAL TIGER FOOD & HUNTING

BENGAL TIGER – FOOD & HUNTING BEHAVIOR

What Bengal Tigers Eat

Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) are obligate carnivores, meaning they rely entirely on meat. Their diet varies depending on habitat—mangrove swamps, grasslands, or forests—but includes:

Primary Prey

• Deer species

  • Chital (spotted deer)

  • Sambar deer

  • Barasingha (swamp deer)

• Wild boar

• Gaur (Indian bison)

• Water buffalo

• Nilgai (blue bull)

• Antelope

Occasional/Difficult Prey

• Young elephants (rare)

• Young rhinos (very rare)

• Fish, rodents, birds, when larger prey is scarce

• Livestock (cattle, goats) when natural prey declines—often causing human–tiger conflict

Daily Intake

• A Bengal tiger can consume 25–40 kg of meat in one sitting.

• Average daily requirement: 6–7 kg, but tigers often gorge and then may not hunt again for several days.

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Hunting Behavior

Hunting Style

Bengal tigers are solitary ambush predators. They rely on:

• Stealth (crawling silently through brush)

• Camouflage (orange coat blends with tall grasses)

• Powerful hind limbs for sudden bursts of speed

• Strong jaws and canines to deliver fatal bites

Stalking Strategy

1. Identify prey using sight, hearing, and smell

2. Approach silently from downwind (10–20 meters away)

3. Explosive charge toward prey

4. Attack, usually targeting:

   • Neck bite to sever spinal cord

   • Throat bite to suffocate larger animals

Hunting Success Rate

• Typically 10–15%, meaning most attempts fail

• Dense vegetation like in India and Bangladesh improves success

When They Hunt

• Mostly at night (nocturnal)

• Cooler temperatures give them an advantage

• They may also hunt at dawn or dusk (crepuscular)

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Territory & Behavior

• Bengal tigers maintain large territories:

  • Males: 60–100+ sq km

  • Females: 20–40 sq km

• They mark territory with:

  • Scent markings

  • Scratches on trees

  • Roaring

They avoid fighting unless territories overlap.

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Role in the Ecosystem

Bengal tigers are apex predators, helping regulate prey populations and keep ecosystems balanced. Without them, herbivore overpopulation can lead to habitat degradation.

OTHER SOURCES

Bengal tigers are primarily nocturnal, engaging in hunting activities during the night. Despite their strength and speed over short distances, they rely on stalking their prey, as they are unable to outrun faster animals. The Bengal tiger dispatches smaller prey with a bite to the back of the neck, while larger prey is killed with a bite to the throat.

Bengal tigers predominantly hunt gaur (wild ox) and buffalo. While a tiger possesses the capability to kill a bull gaur that is more than twice its own size, it tends to target younger or older animals that offer less resistance.

In the Sundarbans region, which spans India and Bangladesh, the tiger's prey includes chital (axis deer), wild boar, and monkeys. Occasionally, Bengal tigers may also attack porcupines.

Tigers have been popularized in traditional and modern media. Think of Rajah from Aladdin or Tigger from Winnie-the-Pooh. In contemporary pop culture, the most relevant reference to the popularity of tigers would have to be the Tiger King.

Tigers made that TV series popular. Seeing these exquisite, gracious creatures stirred emotion in the viewers. They were there for the tigers, just like you’re here now. You wanted to learn more about the lives of these creatures.

Bengal tigers are often larger than the other tiger species and have been endangered in India.

That is when a species of animal has had a massive disruption in its population, and they are at risk of dying out. For Bengal tigers, the cause of their endangered status is poaching, hunting, and deforestation as the human population grows.

Indeed, our growth can sometimes mean the destruction of other astonishing creatures. That’s why we must learn about these animals to better arm ourselves against our mistakes.

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