Tiger Feeding

What do Tigers Eat?

The tiger is a carnivore which means that they are meat eaters. They tend to find both small and large prey to feed on in the wild. What they will consume generally depends on the area where they live as different types of animals will be readily available. They have no problem taking down animals must larger than themselves including buffalo and bears.

To conserve energy for the hunt and to help ensure the kill, they will get very close to their prey before pouncing in it. They are very good at moving quietly through the area around where their prey is found. Their stripes help to camouflage them so they aren’t seen until it is too late. They also find the young, the weak, or the old in a group of animals so that there is very little chance that these animals with outrun them.

Tigers have to be very careful with their prey though as a swift kick from some of them can severely injure or even kill them. For example tigers often leave baby elephants and rhinos alone due to the wrath and the physical strength of their parents. They certainly don’t want to end up getting harmed when they are trying to find food.

What is very interesting is that male tigers have been seen offering food to females and even to her cubs before eating himself. Tigers don’t always choose to share their prey but then have been known to extent such offers to others. Most of the time it is believed they share with those closely related to them but that isn’t always the case.

Those tigers that are adamant about having their kill all to themselves often take it up a tree or to another secluded location where it is extremely difficult for other tigers or other animals to help themselves to the meal as well. Sometimes they will even swim across a body of water with their prey in order to protect it. Once they get to a secluded area then they will freely consume it.

Some researches believe that tigers in the wild that have lost the speed or agility to hunt properly then can turn to villages in the area. There they may kill horses, dogs, cats, and even humans to get the sources of food that they need for survival.

Tigers do the majority of their hunting at night but they can also hunt during the day if they are desperately in need of food. They don’t have much stamina to go a long distance after their prey. This is why they must go in for the attack right away. With younger tigers they may starve due to a lack of food and energy. In fact, it is believed that even the older tigers miss the kill on several occasions.

Tigers will bite the neck region of the prey that they do capture to bring it down quickly. They also use their paws to hold the prey in place while it is struggling to get away. With smaller prey they are able to snap the neck from the spinal cord which will instantly kill the prey.

They have 30 teeth in their mouth that are extremely sharp. The incisors are used to grab the prey and to kill it. They are also used to remove chunks of meat from the bones. They use the canine teeth for killing and to bite their prey. The molars are used for chewing their food. They are all shaper than knives that are used to cut meat. Tigers also consume water from streams and lakes.