Do you know what do Bengal tigers eat? Let’s discuss some of the most common Bengal tigers prey and its hunting technique. Tigers are carnivorous mammals and they prey on large ungulates such as sambar, gaur, and chital; occasionally being involved in hunting water buffalo, serow, takin, barasingha, and nilgai.
Bengal tigers often kill medium-sized mammals including hog deer, Gray langur, wild boar, and muntjac. Other small prey includes peafowl, hares, and porcupines which form a small part of the tiger’s diet. Because the prey is scarce Bengal tigers also prey on domestic livestock which indeed brings them into direct conflict with humans.
What Do Bengal Tigers Eat | Bengal Tigers Diet
In many cases, Bengal tiger approaches its prey from the side as close a distance as possible and take hold of the prey’s throat to kill it. The tiger then drags the carcass to the shelter or cover where it consumes rest of the prey. The Bengal tiger consumes as much as 18 to 40 kg (40 to 88 lb) of meat each day.
They also feed on other potential predators such as foxes, Asiatic black bears, dholes, jackals, crocodiles, sloth bears, and leopards, but these animals are not regular tiger’s diet. Bengal tigers rarely kill rhinoceroses and adult elephants since they are too large to be tackled.
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Tigers hunt at night but are active in daytime. The tall elephant grass camouflages tiger in the daytime. Although they are massive in size yet they are good climbers but not as good as leopards. Bengal tigers are good swimmers and are often found to chase their prey into the water.
They can go by several days without eating after eating 30 kg of meat at a time. They are opportunistic feeders and will consume anything, when driven to hunger, ranging from crocodiles, domestic livestock, frogs, and fowls.
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Image Courtesy of gowild.wwf.org.uk
Hunting Technique
Bengal tigers survive on a daily diet of about 60 to 80 pounds (27.2 to 36.2 kg) of meat. Most of the tiger’s time is consumed in finding out food and they typically travel widely to search for enough food. Males are thought to travel much farther than the females.
A hunting tiger occasionally roams around and the movements are highly purposeful, the cat often moving from one hunting area to the next that seemed as if it had a mental map of the decent hunting areas within its territory, as well as the best routes between them.
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Tigers employ several different routes to take on its prey such as roads, trails, and gullies between hunting areas, so that they can travel quietly and easily. Bengal tigers rely on two basic hunting techniques. Small animals weighing much less than the tiger are usually killed with a single bite at the back of the neck. However, in case of large animals, tiger goes for a throat bite. It has to smash its prey in a single attempt and the attempt should not be half-hearted as it can have serious consequences in the case of large prey animals.
A stalking tiger is the embodiment of focus and concentration, consistently measuring the awareness and movement of its prey with respect to the surroundings, and before the final attack it adjusts itself before going for the final kill.
Learn more: What do Bengal Tigers Eat
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