Mating | Parenting | Tiger Cubs | Growing Up

Mating

The female tiger is ready to start a family when she is three years old. Males are ready at four years. The smell of her spray markings attracts the male and she also roars loudly. In some cases, the tigress may have to call out for many days before the male joins her.

Usually solitary creatures, this is the only time a full grown male spends time in the company of another tiger.

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Parenting

In about 90-100 days, the tiger cubs are born. The tigress is quite slim during this period and her belly becomes big only just before she gives birth.

The mother looks for a thickly vegetated area or any other secure hiding place such as a den for her cubs. Two, three or four small, blind cubs are born. They are completely helpless and have to be protected from all kinds of predators such as eagles and jackals. At the slightest indication of danger, the tigress picks up her cubs with her mouth and moves them one by one to a safer spot. The place also needs to be near a waterhole so that the tigress will be able to hunt more easily and be able to feed them properly.

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Tiger Cubs

The tiny cubs weigh about 0.9 to 1.5 kg. and measure between 22 to 29 cm. in length. The mother licks the young ones immediately after birth to stimulate and assist blood flow. As they grow, the mother spends a lot of time licking, cleaning and cuddling her cubs. For the first month, the cubs remain in their den. After that, they may go out sometimes, but they always stay very close to their mother.

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Growing Up

For about two months, they only drink their mother's milk. After that, they eat small pieces of meat. The only time tigers are known to live in a group is for two or three years from birth, when they're busy learning the facts of life from their mother.

When the cubs are three or four months old, the mother takes them out on their first visit to the forest.

By the time the cubs are six months old, they grow very fast and need to eat a lot. They travel more at this age, and over longer distances, but they still need their mother to help them learn about the sights and sounds around them.

When the cubs are almost a year old, they begin to help their mother when she hunts. They do this by causing confusion or by distracting the prey. Sometimes they try and hunt small animals like peacocks themselves. For the first few years, young tigers fail almost every time they try and attack an animal.

Tiger cubs spend a lot of time playing and jumping around. They also have a lot of play fights with their brothers and sisters. This helps them test their strength as they grow.

As the cubs grow bigger and stronger, the mother begins to spend more and more time away from her family.

By the time they are about two years old, the mother teaches them everything that they need to know. They are then ready to leave their family and start their own grown-up life.

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