Editing Tiger (section)

=== Reproduction and life cycle ===
{{Redirect|Tiger cub|other uses|Tiger Cub (disambiguation){{!}}Tiger Cub}}
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[[File:Tigeress with cubs in Kanha Tiger reserve.jpg|thumb|A Bengal tiger family in Kanha Tiger Reserve|alt=Tiger with cubs]]

The tiger generally [[Mating|mates]] all year round, particularly between November and April. A tigress is in oestrus for three to six days at a time, separated by three to nine week intervals.<ref name=Mazak1981/> A resident male mates with all the females within his home range, who signal their receptiveness by roaring and marking.{{sfn|Mills|2004|p=42}}{{sfn|Thapar|2004|p=145}} Younger, transient males are also attracted, leading to a fight in which the more dominant, resident male drives the usurper off.<ref name=Sankhala/>{{sfn|Mills|2004|p=42}} During courtship, the male is cautious with the female as he waits for her to show signs she is ready to mate. She signals to him by positioning herself in [[Lordosis behavior|lordosis]] with her tail to the side. [[Copulation (zoology)|Copulation]] typically lasts no more than 20 seconds, with the male biting the female by the scruff of her neck. After it is finished, the male quickly pulls away as the female may turn and slap him.{{sfn|Mills|2004|p=42}} Tiger pairs may stay together for up to four days and mate multiple times.{{sfn|Thapar|2004|p=148}} [[Gestation]] lasts around or over three months.<ref name=Mazak1981/>

A tigress gives birth in a secluded location, be it in dense vegetation, in a cave or under a rocky shelter.{{sfn|Thapar|2004|p=45}} [[Litter (zoology)|Litters]] consist of as many as seven cubs, but two or three are more typical.<ref name=Sankhala/>{{sfn|Thapar|2004|p=45}} Newborn cubs weigh {{cvt|785|–|1610|g}} and are blind and [[Precociality and altriciality|altricial]].{{sfn|Thapar|2004|p=45}} The mother licks and cleans her cubs, suckles them and viciously defends them from any potential threat.<ref name=Sankhala>{{cite journal |last1=Sankhala |first1=K. S. |year=1967 |title=Breeding behaviour of the tiger ''Panthera tigris'' in Rajasthan |journal=International Zoo Yearbook |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=133–147 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1967.tb00354.x}}</ref> Cubs open their eyes at the age of three to 14 days and their vision becomes clear after a few more weeks.{{sfn|Thapar|2004|p=45}} They can leave the denning site after two months and around the same time they start eating meat.<ref name=Sankhala/>{{sfn|Mills|2004|pp=50–51}} The mother only leaves them alone to hunt and even then she does not travel far.{{sfn|Mills|2004|p=50}} When she suspects an area is no longer safe, she moves her cubs to a new spot, transporting them one by one by grabbing them by the scruff of the neck with her mouth.{{sfn|Thapar|2004|p=51}}
A tigress in Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve maximised the time spent with her cubs by reducing her home range, killing larger prey and returning to her den more rapidly than without cubs; when the cubs started to eat meat, she took them to kill sites, thereby optimising their protection and access to food.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Petrunenko, Y. K. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Seryodkin, I. V. |author3=Bragina, E. V. |author4=Soutyrina, S. S. |author5=Mukhacheva, A. S. |author6=Rybin, N. N. |author7=Miquelle, D. G.|year=2019 |title=How does a tigress balance the opposing constraints of raising cubs? |journal=Mammal Research |volume=65 |issue=2 |pages=245–253 |doi=10.1007/s13364-019-00466-x}}</ref>
In the same reserve, one of 21 cubs died in over eight years of monitoring and mortality did not differ between male and female juveniles.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Robinson, H. S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Goodrich, J. M. |author3=Miquelle, D. G. |author4=Miller, C. S. |author5=Seryodkin, I. V. |year=2015 |title=Mortality of Amur tigers: The more things change, the more they stay the same |journal=Integrative Zoology |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=344–353 |doi=10.1111/1749-4877.12147|pmid=26096683 }}</ref>
Tiger monitoring over six years in [[Ranthambore Tiger Reserve]] indicated an average annual survival rate of around 85 percent for 74 male and female cubs; survival rate increased to 97 percent for both males and female juveniles of one to two years of age.<ref name=Sadhu2017>{{cite journal |author1=Sadhu, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Jayam, P. P. C. |author3=Qureshi, Q. |author4=Shekhawat, R. S. |author5=Sharma, S. |author6=Jhala, Y. V. |year=2017 |title=Demography of a small, isolated tiger (''Panthera tigris tigris'') population in a semi-arid region of western India |journal=BMC Zoology |volume=2 |page=16 |doi=10.1186/s40850-017-0025-y|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Causes of cub mortality include predators, floods, fires, death of the mother and fatal injuries.{{sfn|Thapar|2004|p=51}}{{sfn|Mills|2004|p=51}}<ref name=Barlow2009>{{cite journal |author1=Barlow, A. C. D. |name-list-style=amp |author2=McDougal, C. |author3=Smith, J. L. D. |author4=Gurung, B. |author5=Bhatta, S. R. |author6=Kumal, S. |author7=Mahato, B. |author8=Taman, D. B. |year=2009 |title=Temporal variation in Tiger (''Panthera tigris'') populations and its implications for monitoring |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=90 |issue=2 |pages=472–478 |doi=10.1644/07-MAMM-A-415.1 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=Sadhu2017/>

[[File:Panthera tigris altaica 13 - Buffalo Zoo.jpg|thumb|A Siberian tigress with her cub at [[Buffalo Zoo]]|alt=Tigress with cub in snow]]
After around two months, the cubs are able to follow their mother. They still hide in vegetation when she goes hunting. Young bond through play fighting and practice stalking. A hierarchy develops in the litter, with the biggest cub, often a male, being the most dominant and the first to eat its fill at a kill.{{sfn|Mills|2004|pp=61, 66–67}} Around the age of six months, cubs are fully weaned and have more freedom to explore their environment. Between eight and ten months, they accompany their mother on hunts.{{sfn|Thapar|2004|p=63}} A cub can make a kill as early as 11 months and reach independence as a juvenile of 18 to 24 months of age; males become independent earlier than females.{{sfn|Schaller|1967|pp=270, 276}}<ref name=Sadhu2017/> Radio-collared tigers in Chitwan started leaving their natal areas at the age of 19 months.<ref name=Smith1993/> Young females are [[Sexual maturity|sexually mature]] at three to four years, whereas males are at four to five years.<ref name=Mazak1981/> [[Generation time|Generation length]] of the tiger is about 7–10 years.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Generation length for mammals |author=Pacifici, M. |author2=Santini, L. |author3=Di Marco, M. |author4=Baisero, D. |author5=Francucci, L. |author6=Grottolo Marasini, G. |author7=Visconti, P. |author8=Rondinini, C. |journal=Nature Conservation |year=2013 |volume=5 |issue=5 |pages=87–94 |doi=10.3897/natureconservation.5.5734 |doi-access=free |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>
Wild Bengal tigers live 12–15 years.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Majumder, A. |year=2023 |title=Survival strategy – Temporal segregation of different age and sex classes of a Bengal tiger (''Panthera tigris tigris'' Linnaeus) population in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh India |journal=Journal of Animal Diversity |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=43–54 |doi=10.61186/JAD.2023.5.3.5 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Data from the International Tiger [[Studbook]] 1938–2018 indicate that captive tigers lived up to 19 years.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Tidière, M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Müller, P. |author3=Sliwa, A. |author4=Siberchicot, A. |author5=Douay, G. |year=2021 |title=Sex-specific actuarial and reproductive senescence in zoo-housed tiger (''Panthera tigris''): The importance of sub-species for conservation |journal=Zoo Biology |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=320–329 |doi=10.1002/zoo.21610 |pmid=33861886 |url=https://findresearcher.sdu.dk/ws/files/182491417/zoo.21610.pdf}}</ref>

The father does not play a role in raising the young, but he encounters and interacts with them. The resident male appears to visit the female–cub families within his home range. They socialise and even share kills.{{sfn|Mills|2004|pp=59, 89}}{{sfn|Thapar|2004|pp=55–56}} One male was recorded looking after cubs whose mother had died.<ref>{{cite news |author=Pandey, G. |date=2011 |title=India male tiger plays doting dad to orphaned cubs |work=BBC News |accessdate=14 February 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13598386 |archive-date=8 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408231242/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13598386 |url-status=live}}</ref> By defending his home range, the male protects the females and cubs from other males.{{sfn|Mills|2004|p=59}} When a new male takes over, dependent cubs are at risk of [[Infanticide (zoology)|infanticide]] as the male attempts to sire his own young with the females.{{sfn|Thapar|2004|p=66}} A seven-year long study in Chitwan National Park revealed that 12 of 56 detected cubs and juveniles were killed by new males taking over home ranges.<ref name=Barlow2009/>