Watch This Hungry Tiger Decide to Go for an Unconventional Meal and Snatch a Whole Turtle

This poor turtle was in the wrong place at the wrong time! There it was, minding its own business in the water when BANG, a speedy tiger intercepts it. It didn’t even have time to withdraw any body parts inside its shell! See below to watch the whole unfortunate episode.

Click Below to Watch the Fascinating Footage

Where Do Tigers Normally Live?

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a magnificent ‘big cat’ species. It is across six ‘bioregions’ that roughly represent the six subspecies. To be more precise, the Bengal tiger is on the Indian sub-continent, namely, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. The Indochinese tiger is north of the Malayan peninsula but the Malayan tiger is on the Malayan Peninsula. Sumatran tigers are found on the Island of Sumatra whilst the Amur tiger is found in the far east of Russia and parts of northeastern China. Sadly, the South China tiger is most likely extinct in the wild.

When it comes to habitat, they are pretty tolerant of several environments. They like areas of dense vegetation and can cope with a range of elevations from sea level to around 6,500 feet. Tigers are not normally far from water and will always be found where most of their prey is. The greatest densities of populations are found in grasslands and forest mosaics with a mix of many vegetation types.

Is it Normal Behavior For Tigers To Eat Turtles?

Tigers are carnivores and obligate meat eaters. Their preferred prey animals are usually large ungulates. You will see them hunting both large bovids (including antelope, water buffalo, and wild cattle) and large cervids (including deer).

Tigers have preferred prey species in each region. So, in Russia they hunt elk, red deer, and wild pigs but in Nepal deer and swine are the primary prey species.

However, tigers are also opportunists and have been spotted taking primates, reptiles, birds, and fish. On rare occasions, they will take the calves of elephants or rhinos. As we see in this clip, they will also take the opportunity to snag a turtle. Although turtles are not part of a tiger’s regular diet, when they can, they will consume this reptile.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Thorsten Spoerlein/Shutterstock.com