Tiger Predation

[Leo Aslan]

Tiger warfare in South Africa - Shy Boy/Tiger Boy vs Sunderban/Corbett (2013 & 2015)

Ranger’s Report: This is the incredible moment a pair of bloodied tigers slashed each other with their claws in a dramatic fight over territory. The dramatic battle was caught on camera at the world famous 'Tiger Canyons' in the Londolozi private game reserve in Pretoria, South Africa.
Sunderban was in Shy Boy's territory and was the bigger and more aggressive of the two. Five years old Sunderban weighed easily 200 kilograms while Shy Boy 8 years old weighs less, maybe 185 kilograms.This fight had been building up for months and I was interested to see whether Sunderban would take his coalition partner, Mahindra, into the fight. If he won the fight, Sunderban would get access to a larger territory and 4 additional females. The stakes were high, to say the least.
Shy Boy did his best to bluff his way out of the fight but Sunderban was pressing for the kill. After a number of boxing sessions, Shy Boy tried to take refuge in the river. Launching off the bank, Sunderban had the advantage of height and knocked Shy Boy down and got him in the death grip, by the throat. Suddenly Sunderban thinking Shy Boy was dead, relaxes his grip momentarily. Shy Boy kicks ferociously catching Sunderban throwing him backwards. Like a flash, Shy Boy is back on his feet, boxing, ripping, fighting for his life. Both tigers are a brown colour from the mud, the eyes and white teeth stand out against the dark background. The red blood flows from both tigers and steam rises in clouds from their bodies and snarling mouths.
A couple of weeks later, Tiger Boy captured his own territory on the east side of Tiger Canyons. Tiger Boy came close to death in a fight with Sundarban. Sundarban got him by the throat and was throttling him. Suddenly Tiger Boy's body relaxed and we all presumed him dead. Sundarban also thought he was dead and released him. (Tiger Boy was ‎in fact starved of oxygen) After 30 seconds Tiger Boy became revived and continued to fight, eventually surviving.
In late September of 2015 Tiger Boy attacked Zaria and her 3 cubs. Zaria defended her cubs. Corbett, the father of Zaria's cubs, immediately joined Zaria and attacked Tiger Boy. Tiger Boy got the better of the fight and got Corbett down. Zaria jumped onto Tiger Boy forcing him to release Corbett. During the fight Zaria's cubs became separated and the next morning Tiger Boy killed one of the cubs.
It appeared that Tiger Boy and brother Shy Boy had renewed their coalition and by standing together in fact had displaced Corbett from his territory. However on the  27th of September 2015, Tiger Boy's body was discovered. On examining the bite marks on Tiger Boy's body, I deduced that Corbett had crippled him with a spine bite and then suffocated him. (I estimated Tiger Boy to weigh 190 kg while Corbett weighs 210kg). Corbett, bigger, stronger and younger than Tiger Boy was too powerful for Tiger Boy. (Tiger Boy was 9 while Corbett is 6 years old)
During his life Tiger Boy taught me many new things about Tiger behaviour. He was an Ambassador Tiger and readily posed for pictures. He had an extremely calm and relaxed nature. He is one of the few wild tigers that have ever greeted me with a chuff.  He will be sorely missed.
Rest in Peace Tiger Boy (by John Varty) Reply