Male Tiger and Female Tiger Fiercely Fight, Filmed Throughout by Photographer, Action Truly Cute
In Rajasthan, India, a male tiger and a female tiger engaged in a fierce battle, with this rare scene being filmed by the photographer throughout the process. The expressions and actions were incredibly intense.
The photographer speculated that the motivation for this struggle might not only be territorial disputes, but perhaps also the male tiger's romantic pursuit of the young female tiger. After all, the male tiger was older, and the female tiger was only 22 months old. The male tiger was eager to take things to the next level as soon as possible.
In zoos, when female tigers reach a stage suitable for mating with males, the male and female tigers can be kept together for mating. If the female tiger has not yet reached the mature condition for mating, the male and female tigers will fight, and after mating, the female tiger will immediately turn against the male tiger and attack him. If the male tiger doesn't escape in time, he will be bitten.
This is because tigers are solitary animals, while lions are social animals. Both are cats, and this evolutionary result is related to their living environment.
The tiger originated 2 million years ago in the Henan province of China. The South Asian tiger is the oldest member of the tiger family. Through testing of 100 samples of blood, fur, and tissue, the six existing and extinct modern tiger species can be divided into continental tigers and island tigers. Continental tigers include Northeast tigers, Bengal tigers, South Asian tigers, Indochinese tigers, and Malayan tigers, as well as the extinct Caspian tiger and the extinct Altai tiger. Among them, Northeast tigers and Caspian tigers are closely related, while the other four species are similar. Island tigers include Sumatran tigers, extinct Java tigers, and Bali tigers, with a common ancestor. The extinct two subspecies are closer related.
Tigers separated from other panther-like animals millions of years ago. Their survival environment determined that they could only live in forests and hunt.
Lions became social animals because there were many large herbivores on the grasslands, such as elephants, water buffaloes, rhinoceroses, and zebras. Cooperative hunting is much more efficient than solitary hunting, and the success rate is about 30% higher than solitary hunting, which is something that solitary cats cannot match.
Especially lions' running speed is not fast, although they can run up to 60 kilometers per hour, the burst speed is also fast, but their prey is often faster, so they can only use group encirclement tactics. They like to hunt large prey such as zebras and water buffaloes, which is a way to compensate for unequal distribution.
And in the forest, it's not suitable for cooperative hunting. Compared to forests and open grasslands, forests are more suitable for concealment. In order to survive and adapt to the jungle environment, tigers evolved mottled fur colors, and the stripes in the forest are the best camouflage. In order to kill prey, in addition to their incredible jumping ability, they also have thick meat pads on their feet, so that tigers can walk in the forest without making a sound, which allows them to walk on snow and accurately step on their footprints. The masseter muscle is highly developed in cats, which gives tigers a powerful bite.
Besides, in the entire food chain, energy supply is in a pyramid shape. The higher the level in the food chain, the less energy supply. The energy transfer efficiency of the food chain is about 10% to 20%. The higher the level of the food chain, the less energy available, which is the most economical way to reproduce.
As a top predator, the tiger occupies the top of the food chain, forming a pyramid of energy. To support a top-level predator, a lot of producers are needed. For a tiger to survive, its activity range and hunting space should be very large.
In this forest, other animals can only support one tiger. If there are more tigers, the ecosystem will lose balance, more animals will be hunted by tigers, which will lead to the extinction of other animals in this forest, and eventually the tigers will run out of food.
Even lions in Africa, although they have many large meat-eating animals as prey, because of the social relationship, male lions want their male lion cubs to compete in the future, so they evolve genes that promote growth in young lions, but female lions secrete growth-inhibiting genes, so that the two can be neutralized, so lions will not grow too big, thus reducing the amount of food needed.
And because of the different living environments, and to ensure enough food, the tiger's territorial consciousness is strong. Tigers often apply a liquid with a special smell to the boundaries of their habitat to remind or warn other tigers: this is my territory. Any intruder crossing the line will be attacked.
As a typical territorial animal, tigers are curious about things in their territory, including distant, approaching, and unfamiliar things. This curiosity is usually divided into several stages, including observation from a distance, gradually approaching, and exploratory attacks. According to the results of observation, they will take different actions to respond.
If there are two tigers in one mountain, most of the time it's the mother tiger with her cubs. After the mother tiger gives birth, she won't eat her own children, but will take care of the cubs wholeheartedly. The mother tiger and her cubs live together for 2-3 years, which can maximize the growth and learning of the cubs, ensuring the continuation of the species. Adult tigers, especially brothers and sisters, may cooperate and share harvests for a period of time (the duration is unknown), and some may not live together, but they will often go to the mother tiger's territory, sometimes allowing cubs to share prey with them.
