Tiger Predation

[Apex Titan]

@peter 

Quote:Indian tigers, apart from specialists involved in large herbivores (wild buffalo and gaur), are mainly deer hunters (cheetal and sambar).

I'm not trying to start a debate, so don't take my words the wrong way, or take this personal, but this statement is clearly incorrect. Tigers preying on large herbivores like gaur and wild buffaloes has nothing to do with individual "specialists". Tigers as a species are big game hunters. Numerous studies on tiger predatory behaviour ( Seidenstecker, Karanth, Schaller, Sunquist etc ) and habits consistently show that tigers always go after the largest prey animals. i.e. Gaur, Banteng and wild buffalo, wherever their abundant. - General tiger predatory behaviour.

Even the small Javan tigers weighing only 100-140 kg regularly preyed on banteng and killed huge banteng bulls weighing 800 - 825 kg. ( Seidenstecker )

The only reason why most tigers are "mainly deer hunters" is because majority of tiger reserves are devoid of large herbivores like gaur and wild buffalo, and in some reserves the populations of these bovines are very low making them insignificant, so tigers then have to settle for smaller prey like deer and wild boar. But wherever large herbivores like gaur and wild buffalo are abundant, tigers ( Bengal and Indo-chinese tigers ) routinely hunt and kill the adults of these wild bovines.

I have the sources and evidence if you want to see it?   

@tigerluver 

I have 4 PM messages but I can't read them because I don't have access to them. Why is this? Reply