Questions my daughter has asked me over the years

Usually they just stay out of each other's way! Even sisters who grew up together will eventually find their own separate areas of the forest to call home.

• Younger sisters usually move a little further away to find their own space
• They can have territories right next to each other and that is totally fine
• They avoid each other mostly by smell - they can tell from scent marks whether a sister has been nearby recently

Example: Ridhi and Siddhi are sisters who both live in Ranthambore. They have their own separate zones and rarely actually bump into each other.

They sort it out without actually fighting most of the time! Tigers are quite clever about avoiding big dangerous battles.

• They spray scent and leave scratch marks on trees to say "this is mine"
• They call out to each other - their roars and growls carry for kilometres
• The weaker one usually quietly moves to a different area
• Real physical fights are rare because getting injured could be deadly for a wild tiger

It depends on the situation! Tigers are complicated.

• If she has cubs, she will almost certainly chase him away - males can be dangerous to cubs that are not theirs
• If she does not have cubs and he is a strong healthy male, she might allow him to stay nearby
• Mating usually only happens when the female is ready and accepts the male

Not very kindly, usually! A tigress is fiercely protective of her own cubs and does not welcome strange cubs nearby.

• She will usually chase away or even attack cubs she does not recognise
• This is why cubs stay very close to their mother and hide when she is away
• Cubs from the same litter play together but rarely mix with cubs from other families

It is very sad but tigresses are resilient. They will usually try again after some time has passed.

• After losing cubs, a tigress may have another litter within a year or so
• She goes back to hunting solo and rebuilding her strength first

Example: Sultana lost one of her litters but had a successful litter of 3 cubs that did survive.

Yes, but only briefly and always somewhere safe and hidden!

• A mother has to leave her cubs to go hunting - she cannot bring them as they would give her away
• Cubs hide in thick bushes or rocky crevices and stay very still and quiet
• The mother returns as quickly as she can

Example: Arrowhead and Noor were both seen carefully moving their cubs through forest corridors at night to get to safer hiding spots.

Yes but in a clever overlapping way!

• A male tiger's territory is much larger and covers the home areas of several females
• Female territories are smaller and mostly exclusive - they don't like other females in their space
• The male visits each female in his territory from time to time

Example: T-120 (Ganesh) has a large territory that overlaps with Siddhi's area - he is the father of her cub!

They live their own separate lives but are aware of each other through smell!

• Once tigresses grow up and find their own territories they rarely see each other in person
• They can smell each other's scent marks and know their sister is nearby
• As long as prey is plentiful they will avoid conflict with each other

It is very dangerous for her and especially for her cubs.

• She will hunt less and rest more while recovering
• Other tigers - especially males - may try to take advantage and move into her territory
• Her cubs are more vulnerable because she cannot protect and feed them as well
• Forest department rangers keep an eye on injured tigers and can step in if needed

They have a really clever invisible messaging system!

• They scratch trees and rocks to leave marks saying "I was here recently"
• They spray scent - which can last for days - on bushes and tree stumps
• They listen for each other's calls from far away
• If they hear or smell another tiger is nearby, they simply go a different direction

It becomes available and other tigers will notice very quickly!

• Her scent marks fade and no new ones appear - other tigers pick up on this
• Neighbouring females or her own daughters may start expanding into the empty space
• It can cause a period of instability while the territory is sorted out

Example: After Arrowhead passed away, her zone around Rajbagh became open territory. Her daughters Ridhi and Siddhi were still young cubs at the time.

Very young cubs cannot survive without their mother. Older cubs have a slightly better chance but it is still very hard.

• For the first year, cubs completely depend on their mother for food, safety and warmth
• From about 18 months they start learning to hunt but still need her guidance
• In national parks, the forest department sometimes steps in to feed and protect orphaned cubs
• This is one reason why poaching is so devastating - it orphans cubs who cannot survive alone

In Ranthambore the tigers are remarkably relaxed around safari jeeps!

• Tigers like Ridhi and Noor have grown up around vehicles and barely seem to notice them
• They treat jeeps like large harmless rocks - something to walk past without much concern
• Cubs learn from their mothers - if mum is calm near a jeep, the cubs stay calm too
• This is why staying quiet and not making sudden movements on safari is so important

The dominant male makes very sure everyone knows who is in charge!

• He marks his territory very heavily with scent and scratch marks
• He roars loudly and regularly - you can hear a male tiger's roar from 3 kilometres away
• Younger or weaker males usually avoid him completely
• Serious fights do happen but are risky for both tigers - a bad injury means no more hunting
• Younger males sometimes wait quietly at the edges and mate with females only when the dominant male is elsewhere