Tiger Directory

[Rishi]

A ques. was asked on Quora "What does the Tiger's life cycle consists of?" 
Here's the answer!!!

-3 & 1/2 months - 0 months: Gestation period


0 months-6 months: Birth...Hiding in a hole or cavern while mum hunts…Probable death during infancy due to pneumonia, parasites or predators...Sibling rivalry (Youngest member of a 4 cub litter might often die of malnutrition)…Licks & cuddles with family…Weaning.

6 months - 1 year: Watching mum hunt from a far…Making noise, scaring away her prey…first hunt (usually rats or rabbits)…Probable grave injury from messing with porcupines..Probable death from snake bite…Meeting dad for first time…Bothering mum…Bothering dad…Chasing everything in presence of parents…Eat..Play..Sleep..Repeat…(Having no idea that mum almost died, protecting them from that intruder male)

l year - 2 years: Bullying everything under the sun…Understanding some neighbours are better left alone, the hard way…Probable almost dying in hands (not literally) of a leopard…More fights with siblings, over everything, shade to sharing…Spooning with same sibling half-hour later…Dissappointing mum…Attempting hunts with 5% success rate…Mum pregnant again (WHAT?! HOW!? WHEN!?!?!)…Pestering mum for food…Mum getting crancky…Pestering mum for more food…Mum struggling to feed almost grown-up cubs…Not liking company anymore…Rare group hunts with family for big prey like gaur, elephant calf etc…Rarer get-togethers with family…Short explorations outside childhood home territory…Probable disembowlment by a bear or boar…Probable getting spanked by older-stronger brother/sister…Mum gives birth to new litter…Mum not approachable anymore…Dad (a bit) less hostile…Hearing an unknown roar occationally…Sometimes getting horny…Probable near death experience while drinking from crocodile infested waters.

2 years - 5 years: Everyday exploring a bit further…Curiosity overcoming nostalgia for first time (Yes, they are probably capable of that..How else do you explain them returning to birthplaces)…Picking up a female’s tracks for the first time, on a tree…Seeing the female after a week of stalking…Getting attacked by her visciously as her cubs run for cover…Finding little-sister seducing a stranger male on the border of mum's territory…Approaching her...Running from him…Probable getting run-over by a truck, while crossing a highway…Entering a nice valley…Feeding from a lying kill…Loving the place…Picking up a new males scent…Determining to challenge him…Not going against better judgement on his sight (his stature actually)…Figuring out he’s found out & is now tracking back…Retreating…Attacking a few gaurs…Being counter-attacked by a lot more gaurs…Probable mauling to death by a dominant male…Moving towards forest fringes…Reducing prey density making life tougher…Sometimes going hungry…Probable getting run-over by a train, while crossing a railway line…Observing a village from a far…Scaring away people…Probable death by forest fire…Probable death from lynching by getting stranded in a settlement…Probable catching rabies from a dog…Making it to new part of the jungle alive…No resident tiger population…Moving on.
5 years - 10 years: Hearing mating calls of a female in heat…Following the sounds…Following her continuously for days, in a very creepy manner…Courtship with her…Caught in the act by the resident male…Not being intimidated by an old male…Recieving severe ass-kicking from the old male…Narrowly escaping death…Hiding till the shame & inferiority complex withers away…Probable getting poached…Returning to find the old male…Failing to find the old male…Concluding he's dead…Succeeding to find the female, WITH his cubs…Concluding the cubs need to die…Failing to bypass the female…Deciding “I'll be back”…Killing the cubs while she's away hunting…Eventual mating with female…Charging at a safari vehicles…Charging at rangers…Charging at Forest-Department elephants…Eating from mate's kills…Killing elephant calves to impress females…Intruding into neighbouring males territory…Neighbouring male intruding back…Killing each others' cubs…Probable permanent disfigurement…Being caught with one female by another…Being attacked by both females…Leading a “Thug-life” altogether.

10 years - 15 years: Patrolling home-range getting harder…Accumulating number of scars…Battles becoming inconclusive…Repeated failures to drive away challenger males…Probable becoming KIA (killed in action)…Probable crippling…Probable loss of eyes, ears…Imminent loss of control over territory…Avoiding younger males…Difficulty to hunt…Cattle killing near forest borders…Probable death from retaliatory poisoning…Probable turning man-eater…Harassment by “lesser” predators like dholes…Eventual Death.

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