Tigers are ferocious animals and an apex predator. Their claws are four inches long and they can run at up to 40 mph. Tigers usually use their speed, power and sharp claws and teeth to hunt prey but there are occasions when they turn them on another tiger. This footage captures one of those moments in a zoo in Dublin, Ireland. The confrontation takes place between a male and female tiger although another male tiger also gets involved at one point.
These huge and magnificent cats are always popular animals in zoos. In the wild, they are highly adaptable and live in tropical forests, grasslands, mangrove swamps and rocky mountains. Sadly, due to human activity such as agriculture, forest clearance and building transport networks, they have lost 95% or their traditional habitat. This means that they are now an endangered species and zoos like the one in Dublin are trying to play a role in protecting them.
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It is not unusual for male tigers to fight over a patch of habitat. They are very territorial and will fight to the death in some cases. However, in this video we see a male and female fighting – or at least in some form of confrontation. Some experts think that tigers in captivity act like juveniles longer. So, these guys are just big kids who are still play fighting. Animals in captivity can get stressed and behave in ways that they would not do in the wild.
As the footage progresses, another male joins the scene. The female appears to adopt a submissive posture, on her back and exposing her belly. She even does a forward roll at one stage. However, she also manages to get a few useful swipes in with her front paws. It is hard to tell if she is distressed or has the situation under control!
The second male wanders off but the original one continues to antagonize the female who, by this stage, has quite clearly had enough. She backs up and they face each other in a stand off but she is always moving slightly backward showing that the male is the aggressor. Then she leaps backward and collides with the thick safety glass of the enclosure with a loud thump that makes everyone jump. They exchange a few blows and then eventually the male tiger gives up and wanders off.
There are reports of male tigers becoming very aggressive and even killing female tigers when the mating act goes wrong. Luckily, this tigress did not have such an unhappy fate and seemed fine after her encounter.
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