have there ever been reports of tigers working together to catch prey?
2007-09-24 14:45:03 · 4 answers · asked by Eye Of the Tiger 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Yes. Researchers have been assuming for years that tigers are completely solitary and only come together to mate. Recent reports and video have proven this to not be the case. Some tigers, usually siblings but occasionally a mating pair, occasionally will hunt together and share meals. I worked with tigers, and other big cats, at a rescue and tigers are much happier when they are kept in an enclosure with at least one other tiger. They are not totally solitary. While cooperative hunting is extremely rare, it does happen. Sometimes same sex siblings, ie two sisters or two brothers, will stay together for a few years after leaving their mother. They do not hunt together like lions, who basically herd their prey towards other waiting lions. Instead, both tigers will leap at the prey at the same time and use their combined weight to bring down and kill the prey animal. There have been documented occurrences of communal social behavior in tigers recently in the Ranthambur preserve in India. These would be Bengal tigers or panthera tigris tigris. There have not been any documented cases in the Sumatran, South Chinese, Indochinese or Siberian tigers. There have even been documented, and videoed cases where groups of up to 5 adult tigers have been seen feeding together.
2007-09-25 17:21:30 · answer #1 · answered by tanilioness 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tigers are solitary, and the only time they are with other tigers is when they're cubs with their mothers. Tiger/Lion hybrids (the liger and the tigon) have quite a number of problems because of this; the lion part of them pushes them to be "social" while the tiger part of them pushes them towards a solitary existence.
Short answer to your question: No, not that I heard of anyway.
2007-09-24 21:52:44 · answer #2 · answered by raneofdoom 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tigers are primarily solitary predators in the wild. However siblings may occasionally hunt together. They are not group hunters in general and usually are quite capable of taking down large animals on their own.
2007-09-27 07:46:28 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
On a normal basis no, tigers do not hunt together, however that is not to say at times you do not see it happen.
If it does happen it is usually for one of two reasons:
1: cubs learning to hunt
2: male and a female who are together during breeding and who also desire a snack :)
Like I said though, overall, no it does not occur.
2007-09-24 23:41:42 · answer #4 · answered by The Cheshire 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋