Watch a Tigress Try to Challenge a Much Larger Male Tiger for His Meal!

Key Points:

• In this video, a female tiger is seen facing off with a large male tiger over a freshly killed deer.
• Tigers most often hunt alone, however sometimes share their kills with other tigers if they are related or have a friendly relationship.
• When food is scarce or when they encounter unfamiliar or rival tigers, they can become aggressive and territorial.

Tigers are known as fierce and powerful predators, but sometimes they have to compete with each other for food. In this intense video, we see a dramatic encounter between a tigress and a much larger male tiger over a deer carcass (check the video out below!).

Watch the All the Action Below!

The video starts with the tigress finding a fresh deer that’s nearly dead on the road. It looks like a free lunch for her, so she decides to enjoy herself and goes to take a bite of the deer. But as we watch, we notice that the tigress is clearly aware of something off in the distance. Maybe this wasn’t the free meal she wants?

Within seconds, we see a male tiger walk into the frame, dwarfing the tigress. He is not happy to see another tiger trying to steal his prey, and he lets out a loud roar to warn her off. The tigress is not easily intimidated, though, and she growls back at him. With a meal in question, a fight breaks out between the two tigers.

The tigress tries to hold her ground, but she is no match for the bigger and stronger male tiger. The fight doesn’t go too far, with the tigress challenging the male for a mere moment or two before laying on the ground and pouting. The tigress is sort of submitting, but she is most definitely being sneaky about it. It looks like she’s keeping an eye on the deer, hoping to get another chance to snatch it.

The standoff happens for a few more moments, then the male tiger finally goes over to his meal and drags it away, clearly done playing games with the tigress. He leaves her behind, licking her wounds and looking disappointed.

Do Tigers Hunt Together?

Tigers are strong, powerful, and agile hunters equipped with sharp teeth and strong jaws. They are the biggest land mammal that has a diet made up wholly of meat.

However, unlike other carnivorous big cats such as lions, which live and hunt in groups, tigers are solitary animals and most often hunt alone. As they mature into adulthood aged around two to three years, young tigers establish their own territories. While the territories of young tigresses can overlap with that of their mother’s for a time, they do not hunt together. Males’ territories are typically further afield from the territory they grew up in.

In general, tigers spent most of their time alone, apart from seasonal gatherings between mother and offspring after birth. They do not form social groups like lions, but they can form social bonds with their mates and offspring.

Is It Normal for a Tiger to Challenge Another Tiger for a Meal?

Tigers are known to be capable of extreme, dangerous aggression toward animals and humans. It’s estimated that tigers, on average, kill about 1,800 people per year worldwide. An apex predator such as a tiger can use a hostile act such as killing prey and not eating it in a show of dominance to reinforce to other animals in its ecosystem that it is on top of the food chain.

When it comes to food, tigers can sometimes share their kills with other tigers, but that’s really only if they are related or have a friendly relationship. However, when food is scarce or when they encounter unfamiliar or rival tigers, they can become aggressive and territorial, just as you can see in the video clip.

Due to their very territorial nature, the risk of mortality for tigers is high when in direct competition with other tigers for food, and only around 40% of tigers that reach adulthood live to establish their own territories and produce young.