Tigers mate year round, there is no distinct time of the year in which they come together and mate. They do not come together in a group and pick the best mate, in fact the female iniciates the whole thing(7). Tigers start to reproduce when they reach full maturity, they are completely mature at about 4 years of age(5). The females allures the attention of a male by leaving scent marks (7)(which she does by peeing on things) and leaving scratch marks on trees. The female is in estrus (her most fertile time) for three to seven days. During the estrus period, the male and female will mate several times until they conceive. Like most cats, there is a change of focus when mating time arises.(7) They focus less on hunting and prey, and more on the act of mating. When a female tiger achieves pregnancy, the gestation period last 103 days (5) or three to three and a half months (7). A single pregnancy can produce up to six cubs or as little as one. Usually, tigers will have an average of 2-4 cubs (5,7)and gives birth to her young in a den. Baby tigers are born blind, and completely helpless. The mother will keep a watchful eye over her young and seldom leave them alone. She will only leave to hunt and to excrete waste.
It seems like many animals "scent mark" and are born blind based on what I've learned in these blogs.
ReplyDeleteWhen do the cubs begin to eat meat and when can they leave their mother to fend for themselves?
ReplyDeleteThey learn to hunt small prey by one year, larger prey by two, and they completely mature and live independently until about 3 years of age. I hope that answrs ur question.
ReplyDelete