Tiger is an animal known as the “lord of the jungle” when possessing outstanding strength, able to quickly defeat prey. However, an alarming situation today is that the number of tiger species is gradually decreasing and in danger of extinction due to illegal hunting. This has also affected the number of tiger cubs born each year. In this article, let’s find out how tigers reproduce to know more about the birth process of this animal.
Tigers are not herd animals, they often work alone. Only during mating season do male and female tigers come together. For female tigers, they tend to be very loyal and meticulous in choosing partners to mate with, while for male tigers, this is quite the opposite. Female tigers at the age of 3.5 years will begin to develop sex, while for male tigers, this process usually occurs later.
1. Acquaintance process
For a male and female tiger to meet and get to know each other is a complicated and long process. Male tigers may have to roam the jungle for several months to find a mate. And a female tiger has the pursuit of 4-5 male tigers. This has created great competition leading to frequent battles in the wild between male tigers. In particular, many children because of their weakness and lack of strength can be injured or killed. Of course, the male tiger that wins will have the opportunity to mate with the female tiger.
However, winning this scramble is only partial. In order to mate, this male tiger must receive the consent of the “prideful” female tiger. Because if not satisfied, it may show resentment and refuse to mate. Therefore, to please, male tigers often have to hunt and bring food to the female tiger.
2. Mating process
After mating, if pregnant, the female tiger will growl and drive away the male tiger. Each such pregnancy usually lasts an average of 105 days. So how many cubs do tigers give birth to each litter? Each time a tiger is pregnant, it is from 1 to 5 cubs but only gives birth to 2-3 cubs per litter. Normally, tiger cubs will take about 3 years to mature and during this time, the mother is responsible for raising them. When they are 18 weeks old, the cubs will begin to learn how to hunt.
As for the male tigers, after the female tiger gives birth, they will return to their territory to look for a new mate. There are also cases where male, female and cubs will live together as a family, but this is very rare.
Normally, a tiger living in the wild has a lifespan of 10-15 years. If kept in good conditions, they can live up to 20 years. Up to now, the longest recorded tiger life is 26 years.
In what season do tigers breed?
Many people still wonder in what season do tigers usually breed? In fact, this is a carnivore, living alone, only in pairs in spring and summer. Each time such pairings, two tigers can have sex 2-3 times per day, each time does not exceed 1 minute and lasts from 5-7 days. The tiger breed is quite thick, usually every 5 months the tigress will give birth, which means an average of twice a year.
Above are the content we share so you can know how many cubs a tiger usually gives birth to and in what season? Thus, tigers usually breed twice a year, about 5 months apart, each litter gives birth to 2-3 cubs. Hopefully, through the article, you have gained more interesting knowledge about the lord of the green forest.