A Sentience Article from All-Creatures.org

A Look at Tiger Social Behavior (But Aren't These Big Cats Solitary?)

From PAWS Performing Animal Welfare Society
September 2023

Captive tigers cannot be introduced to the wild where tigers belong because they do not have the skills to survive. At PAWS, our focus is on providing the best life for the tigers in our care, based on their individual needs.

Rosemary and Morris at PAWS' ARK 2000 sanctuary

Tigers are solitary carnivores but in captivity we often see them housed together. The way they socialize (or not) in captivity and their social lives in the wild do not necessarily reflect one another. In fact, this presents yet another example of how captivity distorts the true nature of wild animals.

Tiger sociality is different than that of highly social animals such as elephants and nonhuman primates who have close and enduring social ties.

Although mainly solitary, there are opportunities for wild tigers to engage in complex interactions with other tigers through repeated contacts. These can include the scent marks that tigers leave to mark their territory and communicate with other tigers. Scent marks may identify a tiger as a neighbor, stranger, potential mate, or competitor – as well as help form social networks.

Research by Neil Carter, Evan Wilson, and Bhim Gurung, conducted in Nepal, provides fascinating insights into tiger social networks, which they found to be largely inconsistent.

In their study, male-female associations or “clusters” of about 3-4 animals, with a male at the center, formed and then dissolved frequently through the years. Males could be the bridge between multiple clusters in a social network.

In fact, males were more likely than females to form associations with other tigers. In the wild, males travel great distances to find and mate with multiple females, while keeping other males from accessing females in their territory. Through these movements, males maintain associations with multiple females, and, importantly, disperse their genes.

The researchers also found that resident tigers (those who were well established) were more likely than nonresidents to connect to the wider network of tigers. And interactions between two tigers were more frequent if they were of the opposite sex or are both residents.

All this gives us a picture of wild tiger sociality. But what about those in captivity, where tigers do not establish their own territories, search for mates, and interact with a number of other tigers?

For tigers born in captivity, where instinctive behaviors are often suppressed (though not eliminated), those who are caged together may form relationships that would never be seen in the wild. Others make it very clear they do not wish to socialize with other tigers.

Bigelow

At the ARK 2000 sanctuary, we care for seven tigers. Some of them are housed alone – like Bigelow (above) or Herman (below). Others, like Rosemary and Morris (top of page) share a habitat.

Herman

Housing depends on a tiger’s personal preferences, prior history with a particular tiger(s), and even relatedness. (PAWS formerly cared for three sibling tigers, Roy, Kim, and Claire, who all lived together since they were cubs. They were spayed and neutered.)

Captive tigers cannot be introduced to the wild – where tigers belong – because they do not have the skills to survive. At PAWS, our focus is on providing the best life for the tigers in our care, based on their individual needs.

This includes spacious natural habitats set in nature, with trees, green foliage, and native vegetation –where tigers can express more natural behaviors and a greater degree of freedom.

After all, that’s the least we can do for them.

Rosemary and Morris at PAWS' ARK 2000 sanctuary.

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