Felids Interactions - Intraspecific Conflicts

[Pckts]

To the victor go the spoils...

Abhiram Srinivasan

Gabbar(Male Tiger) and Maya(Female Tigress) bonding| Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve
Bonding between tigers is indeed one of the rarest sightings which are visible to tourists and especially from such close angles, it was a treat for all the wildlife enthusiasts at Tadoba.
A day previous to this wonderful sighting these tigers were seen nearby cuddling with each other.
It was quite early in the morning, where we were the first jeeps to enter 97 Waterhole to spot the tigers as it was seen at the same place the previous day but inside the bush. To our surprise both Gabbar and Maya were sitting in the open beside the waterhole. It was splendid to see them so close by and especially in the open.
They both were casually lying down beside the waterhole and after a while these two bold tigers started mating with each other right in front of us. It took place around 4 times. An exotic and a unique sighting as these things occur very rarely in front of tourists.
The interesting part in this story is about Maya. This tigress has 3 cubs currently which are around 10 months old. It would be interesting to know as to how those cubs would survive or will maya actually give birth to a new litter of cubs.
‪#‎veryraresighting‬ ‪#‎bonding‬ ‪#‎wildlifephotography‬ ‪#‎tadoba‬
Canon 7D Mark ii | F 4.0 | 1/1600 | ISO 1000
https://www.facebook.com/abhiramsrinivasanphotography/
— with Aravind Srinivasan at Tadoba - Andhari Tiger Reserve.

*This image is copyright of its original author

I wonder what will happen with Maya's cubs,
Did she mate with Gabbar to throw him off the cubs scent?
Are the cubs Gabbars or one of the many other males she's mated with?
The last I saw, Maya was seen with Saturn, are the cubs his?

We all know how saturn and gabbar feel about each other.

Very interesting... Reply