Tiger cubs are born blind and helpless, weighing
only 1.5 kg (3/3lbs). The cubs' eyes open after one or tow weeks. Initially
blue of blue green, the eyes will darken later to glowing amber.On average,
there are three cubs in a litter, though an exceptional seven was once recorded.
Tigresses are devoted mothers and when the cubs are young, she will move them
to places of safety, carrying them gently one by one in her huge, powerful jaws.
Cubs are very vulnerable to attack by passing predators and many perish before
their first year is out. Jackals, hyenas, leopards and pythons, as well as other
tigers, are all a potential threat.
The tigress must choose a carefully hidden den and leave the cubs alone for
as short a time as possible while she hunts. Grass fires, which are often started
deliberately to improve grazing, kill many tiger cubs.The cub remains in the
den for four to eight weeks.
They then venture into the outside world for the first time and receive their
first taste of meat. They keep in single file behind the tigress, and it is
thought that her striped tail and the large white spots behind her ears act
as beacons for the cubs to follow.
The runt of the litter, if it has survived to emerge from the den, is always
the last in the line of cubs and is often picked off by predators. It is extremely
rate that more than two cubs in a litter survive to maturity. Having said this,
it is possible that the survival rate would be much giver given sufficient pry
density.
In the mid 1980's prey density in the Ranthambore National Park was so high
that four cubs in the little survived to maturity in at least three cases. The
ratio of male to female cubs born is about one to one, but more females survive
into adulthood because the male cubs leave the family earlier and are more likely
to perish because of their inexperience at hunting.
Males can also suffer injuries in territorial disputes and may be more vulnerable
to huntress, as they are less wary of baits.In contrast with the careful nurturing
received by wild tigers, cubs born in captivity are usually abandoned or eaten
if not immediately removed by zoo keepers . Presumably the unnatural conditions
are the root cause of this aberrant behavior.
Growing Up
Tiger cubs are playful and their games together games together begin to teach
them the skills necessary for survival. They stalk and pounce on leaves, insects,
or even their mother's tail. At first, the cubs must hide in the undergrowth
while the tigress hunts, but later they are allowed to watch and eventually
join in. the young cash help the tigress by driving the chosen victim towards
her.
Learning to hunt is a difficult and dangerous process and many cubs are gored
of trampled to death. Inexperienced cubs tend to grab the legs of the prey,
leaving them vulnerable to retaliation. Sometimes the tigress will intervene.
She can bring down the prey and then leave it for the cubs to kill.
It takes many attempts before he cubs learn to kill efficiently by biting the
throat or the nape of the neck. A mother tiger may allow her cubs to feed first
. If she joins her young at a meal, she will withdraw if a cub protests and
will go without meat to ensure that they have enough.
The cubs have voracious appetites and by the time they are 14 months old , it
is a strain for the tigress to capture enough prey. The runt is the last in
queue at meals and if food is in scarce supply, it will starve to death. Their
lessons learned , young tigers must venture out in search of a territory.
Male tigers leave their mothers at about 18-22 months old. Sub-adult males are
often tolerated by other males, but this will change on reaching maturity. Each
young male must then look for a vacant territory, or one where there is a chance
of ousting an old or sick male.
Females remain with their mothers for 24 to 28 months and will help in the capture
of prey until they leave. When the tigress is ready to mate again, she might
become aggressive towards her daughters. One daughter may be allowed to settle
inside the mother's territory, but the rest must find space in the territories
of neighboring males.
Newly independent tigers lack haunting experience and a second's hesitation
may leave them to go hungry. The young tigers will become sexually mature at
three to four years old and by this time are ready to found the next generation
of cubs.