Tiger Food Consumption & Drinking Water

Tigers are carnivores and literally consume everything that is motile but most of their prey in India consists of deer, wild boar, bison or gaur, and antelope. They are voracious eaters and one fully grown male tiger weighing around 250 plus kg can consume 30 kg of meat in one go.  

The big cat makes a kill mostly by ambush or a small chase. The death is due to a fracture in the cervical region by impact as the tiger pounces and by the rupture of blood vessels in the neck by sharp canines. The big cats can hold the neck region for quite some time till the prey dies. They can hold the massive bison as well this way which is an amazing feat considering that the bull weighs over a ton in the wild. In the wild, there is no time to chew hence they clean the animal of fur and begin eating by gulping pieces of meat.  Once the meal is over they must drink and hence they approach a waterbody or a waterhole sit down on limbs and gulp water. They consume a lot of water in one go.  

As a routine, the predators drink once in the early morning and then at dusk and this is enough. This routine is maintained even during the hot summer. The animals with fur cannot perspire and they resort to expelling heated air from their body consistently. In summer you will find the tiger panting profusely in order to control its body temperature. Another way is to wallow or bathe in muddy pools or waterholes during the summer.   I have seen big cats literally rolling in a pool to cool themselves. In the summers tiger bathing in a pool or waterhole is a matter of routine. This is when they drink to satiate thirst as well.  A pool may be frequented by a number of predators and sometimes there can be a conflict. Guides and naturalists keep an eye on water sources to search for or track wild animals in National Parks or reserves. 

Unlike other wild animals especially the prey species these carnivores need not be cautious while approaching as waterbody. They walk at ease to approach the waterbody and relax for quite a time in the safety of the reserves. 

Sometimes one can see the whole family submerged in water male, female, and cubs all together to beat the heat. I have often seen male tigers drinking water or while sitting at the edge.

These predators are purely meat eaters or carnivores but on rare occasions, I have seen them eating grass or licking sand for minerals. This is nature's way of aiding digestion and consuming healthy nutrients like vitamins and minerals not available in animal meat.

In summer the tigers limit their range and keep a lookout on the precious water bodies and pools within their territories. Thus the sighting increase due to limited movement and prey congregation near the water sources. Photographers, filmmakers, and tourists find sightings easier in the hot months. 

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Uday Freelances as Naturalist in Central India. He is an avid birder and tiger enthusiast. He blogs on tigers, wildlife, and birds. He also writes about the environment and conservation.

Uday also provides SEO Services and Website Content in English. He teaches Digital Marketing in Jabalpur in Summer Holidays.
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Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
09755089323 

Tigers Affinity with Water

The Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)

The Bengal Tiger in India shows a distinct and overwhelming affinity with water. The reason behind this proclivity is that the predator has its origin in the extreme cold climes of Siberia or Central Russia. In hot Indian summer, the animal is at the mercy of waterholes and other sources of water.   

Ten thousand years back the tiger migrated to India through the Indo Malaysia sub-region and settled down in large numbers in the Indian State of Bengal in the east. Hence it is called the Bengal Tiger of often known as the Indian Tiger. Even after such a long span of stay in the country the carnivore has not been acclimatized to the heat and humidity prevailing in many parts of the country. Since fur animals cannot sweat most of the accumulated heat is exhaled by panting and immersion in the water. 

Photographers and naturalist guides know fully well the likely hood of finding the big cat in the hot months.  In the tiger reserves waterholes, small lakes, saucers, and muddy pools abound. They are most of the mid-day time occupied by the tiger cooling off or used for wallowing besides drinking water of course.   It gets hot after 9 am in the reserves and the big cats curtail their movement and look for shade to rest or sleep. They usually drink water in the early morning time and late evening unless they have consumed a kill in the daytime. The tigers gulp water forced by their tongue and drink enough to last for long hours. 

While lying in a forest pool they slide down back into the water and head in the air. In the case of small pools, they often drink and wallow and then leave for the dense canopy to rest. My videos capture both strategies adopted by these big cats in India. 

                                                  Bengal Tiger and Gaur Drinking Together 

                                                           Tiger Drinking & Wallowing 

These wild tigers were filmed in the reserves and not in the zoo. Please watch my YouTube videos and Subscribe!

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Uday Freelances as Naturalist in Central India. He is an avid birder and tiger enthusiast. He blogs on tigers, wildlife and birds. He also writes on the environment and conservation.

Uday also provides SEO Services and Website Contents in English. He teaches Digital Marketing in Jabalpur in Summer Holidays.
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Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
09755089323 

Munna Returns! A Tiger in The Pool!

A Survival Saga in The Wild

After missing for some time we came across this magnificent beast who is a legend of Kanha National Park in India. We were actually searching for M1 the new male who is often seen in the area.

Is he a living fossil? Well No?

But his survival is miraculous and mysterious. Normally tiger's life span in the wild is 14 to 16 years. Perhaps he is the oldest living tiger in the wild. No big cat in Kanha has been able to command such a large area as a dominant male. He has virtually ruled all over the park both in the core and buffer.      

A look down below the steep precipice resulted in a tiger being sighted in a pool. We did not know who it was but the subsequent roaring definitely suggested Munna. We could see him well from all angles, a tiny diminutive figure hardly suggested a big cat but it was. I could then see it moving and as per our judgment, we too moved a small distance forward and came to stop in front of the dry stream.

In summers in Kanha, most of the sources of water come to an end but this rivulet contained a pool some distance away from where we were stationed. And it was at this pool that we saw the tiger. Expecting it to emerge at the dry portion of the stream we waited patiently. Since it was time for the Sun to set the likelihood was great.      

The beast did emerge roaring as he used to do in his heydays. He came close on to the dry stream and began scent marking before he sat down near the tree to eat sand. Tigers do this to make up for lack of minerals. 

Munna had a habit of repeating his moves and so we reached the same spot the other evening. We were not disappointed Munna tiger emerged from a pathway and came to a halt near our jeep. He looked much feebler than before and could walk a few steps and rest. He looked terribly sad and forlorn as old age overtook him and he was no longer capable of warding off dominant males.

He was not active as usual and appeared hungry unable to make a kill perhaps. He moved some distance away roaring profusely and came to rest again. The male tiger continued to roar as he sat resting under the shade of a tree. 

We watched the magnificent creature emphatically perhaps saddened by his plight and aware that his time has come. Will we see him next season? Well, you never know ageing Munna is capable of springing surprises thanks to his indomitable survival instinct.

Presumed dead being over eighteen years of age and feeble he surprised everyone by appearing near the same spot in June 2019. Long Live Munna I Hope To See You in October Again.  

Fifty Years of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

I remember sighting my first-ever male tiger at Bandhavgarh in 1974. This was at Kill Khuta where bait was tied overnight to attract a tiger. Well, it was successful, but I could see the magnificent beast only at the fag end of the day.  

Tiger

The forest belts encompassing the Vindhyan Ranges near Umaria were constituted as National Park in the year 1968. This was earlier the hunting reserve of erstwhile Maharajahs of Rewa. Mohun the first and only white tiger found in the wild was discovered somewhere in these forests by HH  Martandsingh Deo. The discovery threw light on the remote and isolated kingdom of the tiger. 

Fort Wall

Temple

Look Out

The success as a conservation unit was augured whence Bandhavgarh was brought under the aegis of Project Tiger, and hence became a tiger reserve. This happened in 1993 and today the big cat population is constantly on the rise surviving in approx 1100 sq. km of Sal forests. The protection accorded to the tiger eventually helped all life forms. They benefited from the enrichment of the ecosystem as a whole and the protection accorded to the habitat niches.

Bengal Tiger

The limelight has also been brought out into the open, with remains of ancient civilizations that once thrived here. While the fort is in ruins many architectural splendors survive and enchant during the safaris.  

Ancient Stable

With the increase in tiger numbers sighting increased as well and Bandhavgarh from a sleepy little reserve became a popular destination as well. Though visited by few interested in the wilderness since its inception, the number of visitors increased substantially in the late nineties. This called for greater tourism infrastructure and as a result, a number of hotels and resorts were built. 

Tourism Gate Bandhavgarh

Tourists flocked from all over the globe to see the legendary tigers as well as amazing birds that thrived in the National Park. Big cats like Banka, Barka, Sita, Charger, and B2 to name a few became legendary and attracted lots of tourists, wildlife photographers, and filmmakers alike. The reserve also contains training and research centers. Animal translocation and disease management are crucial elements of conservation and the techniques are being applied here.  

Leopard

Apart from conservation, the park benefited immensely from the thriving tourism industry. Jobs and small businesses fulfilling the needs of tourists increased fourfold and the empowerment of local communities took place rapidly.                

Reclining Vishnu 

Today the park is one of the fifty tiger reserves set up in India. But the name and fame of Bandhavgarh continue to climb higher and higher. With greater efforts, the tiger population in the reserve is going to increase thus helping in fetching the animal species out of danger of extinction. 

Sambar deer

Hotels

Image Courtesy Tirath Singh

White tiger in the wild

The white tiger was discovered in the State of Rewa besides its hunted mother. So far in the wild there has been no sightings of the amazing animal which has become world famous.

The white tiger is the same species as the normal orange Bengal tiger panthera tigris tigris and is not a separate subspecies as many believe. The lack of yellow pigmentation is attributed to a recessive gene which perhaps is present in all tigers. If this is true than may be once a again a white tiger will be born in the wild if the tiger species survives that is.

The white tiger has bred successfully in the zoos and the number is good all over the world. Some white tigers may be with private zoos or collector of animal species in USA and elsewhere. There are many white tigers in Indian zoos which are breeding fairly well.

White tiger is an amazing sight to behold and visitors to the zoo are wonder struck. It will create history if the white tiger is discovered again in the wild.