THE LIFE CYCLE OF A TIGER

About 103 days after mating with a male tiger , the female tigress will give birth to a litter of 2 to 3 cubs and sometimes up to 7 cubs which are born blind and helpless. The females rear them alone, sheltering them in dens such as thickets and rocky crevices. The father of the cubs generally takes no part in rearing them. Unrelated wandering male tigers may even kill cubs to make the female receptive, since the tigress may give birth to another litter within 5 months if the cubs of the previous litter are lost.

The female tigress looks after her babies and feeds them milk for up to 8 weeks. The chances of tiger cubs surviving without their mother's milk is very slim. In most cases , the tigress will defend her cubs against mostly any animal even a male tiger.

After that , she teaches them how to hunt. The cubs will start gaining their agility and speed through hunting. They will watch first how their mother hunts and captures a prey and then practice themselves. The cubs will stay with their mother for up to 3 years before they will go on leaving in a solitary environment.