Although many people think of tigers as diurnal based on their size and reputation for ferocity, tigers are actually nocturnal. Armed with this knowledge of tiger behavior, we can better understand these incredible animals and possibly help protect them from danger in the future. Read on to learn more about tiger sleeping behavior.
Tiger species
A tiger’s tongue is finely textured and can scrape flesh off bones.
© Thorsten Spoerlein/Shutterstock.com
There are nine subspecies of tigers, each with distinct characteristics and geographic ranges. While three of these subspecies are now extinct, the remaining six include the Bengal, Indochinese, South China, Amur, Sumatran and Malayan tigers.
Bengal tigers inhabit parts of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. In contrast, the Indochinese tiger is mainly native to Vietnam and Cambodia. The South China tiger once ranged across most of China, but is now considered completely extinct in the wild. Only 47 remain, living in zoos in China.
The remaining three subspecies – Amur, Sumatran and Malayan – are all critically endangered due to habitat loss and poaching. Thankfully, efforts have been made to protect these magnificent animals and hopefully ensure a sustainable future for all tiger subspecies.
General behavior
Tigers are known for their ferocity and powerful temperament. They are also highly territorial animals, with individual tigers often claiming large areas. Despite living alone, tigers occasionally come into contact with each other, usually to mate or share a valuable food source.
In addition to these limited interactions, tigers communicate with each other through a variety of visual signals.Some of these signals include patting the ground or urinating to mark their territoryIn addition, they rub their scent glands along prominent landmarks to leave evidence of their presence and territory. Other forms of communication include vocalizations, such as growling and growling.
Tiger sleep time
Given their natural affinity for the night and their tendency to avoid humans, it’s no surprise that tigers typically hunt at night.
© mgnovenia/Shutterstock.com
Tigers typically sleep 65.8 percent of their cycle in a 24-hour period. This percentage works out to approximately 15.8 hours per day spent resting or sleeping. The rest of the time, tigers engage in other activities such as hunting, feeding and wandering around the border.
This sleep duration appears to be long compared to other animals that sleep for shorter periods due to more active lifestyles. However, this extended rest period is necessary for the tiger to stay healthy and strong. Also, being mainly nocturnal, these magnificent creatures mainly sleep during the day. After all, these big cats spend a lot of time hunting for prey at night, which requires a lot of energy and stamina.
Why Tigers Are Nocturnal
Most tigers like to hunt at night and sleep during the day. A number of factors appear to work together to influence people’s preference for nighttime activities. While some are not necessarily inborn, it is undoubtedly an actual adaptation.
Human existence
Given their natural affinity for the night and their tendency to avoid humans, it’s no surprise that tigers typically hunt at night. During the day, these wonderful creatures tend to rest or groom themselves, getting up only when necessary.
This adaptation helps prevent encounters with people and ensures they can thrive in habitats where humans are often present. Through extensive research, we know that tigers typically hunt and travel almost entirely under cover of darkness.
This behavior indicates that they will avoid human contact as much as possible. Ultimately, it says a lot about the incredible resilience and adaptability of these beautiful animals. It also shows their conservation awareness, helping the few remaining tigers spend more time on Earth.
Prey
Tigers’ nocturnal behavior is also linked to their prey. Research shows that most tigers prey on animals that are naturally nocturnal, such as wild boar, deer, elk, buffalo and bison.
Additionally, tigers sometimes target other large, primarily nocturnal or twilight animals. Examples of such animals include leopards, pythons, crocodiles, Asiatic bears, brown bears and sloth bears.
Additionally, when tigers live in close proximity to humans or livestock in rural areas and villages, they often raid farms, taking cattle, goats, horses and pigs. So it’s clear that tigers’ food preferences help shape their nocturnal habits in a variety of ways.
Dyeing
Coloring is an essential characteristic of tigers. Their specific coloration serves as an important camouflage when stalking and ambushing prey. Most tigers are known for their striking orange and black stripes. These fine fur markings act as camouflage, ensuring they can blend seamlessly into dense undergrowth and trees while sneaking up on unsuspecting prey.
Additionally, these natural markings also help provide camouflage at night, when most tigers hunt. Because of their color, tigers can stalk prey from 30 or 35 feet away. At the right moment, they break out of cover, rush to their target and strike with swift movement.
Territory patrol
Tigers use their tracking skills, speed and quick movement to take down prey.
©iStock.com/Ondrej Prosicky
One of the tiger’s most interesting traits is its nighttime roaming of its territory, patrolling for signs of other tigers or potential threats. Female tigers have territories ranging from 75 to 385 square miles, while male tigers typically have 15 times that size.
These large roaming areas mean they cover great distances each night. When prowling, a tiger checks the boundaries of its range and looks for any potential rivals or dangers. This activity is vital to maintaining a strong and healthy tiger population, ensuring that each individual has enough space to thrive within its territory.
Where tigers sleep
There isn’t a concrete answer to where tigers sleep. Tigers are adaptable animals and can sleep on different surfaces in different environments. These spaces include bushes, rocks, caves, tall grass, dense trees, shallow bodies of water, and even shady areas between muddy or sandy game paths.
Tigers like to sleep in cool places, which can provide them with good cover. While there may be regional variations in their specific sleeping places and preferences, they must rest comfortably. Tigers use these natural habitats to protect themselves from threats from other predators or human activity.
Eyesight of the nocturnal tiger
Tigers have the most powerful and developed senses of any animal. Their eyesight is especially good, thanks to several unique adaptations that give them an advantage over their prey and competitors. For example, a tiger’s eyes face forward rather than on the sides of the head. This positioning provides them with binocular vision, as the field of view of each eye overlaps.
Binocular vision gives tigers greater visual acuity and depth perception. With their excellent eyesight, they can more accurately assess distance and maneuver in complex environments. Also, because tigers rely on their vision to hunt at night, they have more rods (responsible for detecting shapes) than cones. The cones in their eyes (responsible for color vision) allow them to pick up motion even in the dark, where color vision may be limited.
Mirror lens
Tigers have a superior night vision called the tapetum. It’s located at the back of the tiger’s eye behind the retina. This structure acts as a mirror, bouncing light multiple times across the retina rather than letting it escape the eye. The tapetum maximizes the amount of light that the photoreceptors can absorb in the retinal tissue.
These adaptations allow the tiger’s highly coordinated vision to see and catch prey even in dim or extreme light conditions, such as dense jungle or icy landscapes. As such, the Tiger has one of the best night vision capabilities around.
Night vs. Day: What’s the Difference?
Navigating to Night vs. Day: What’s the Difference? More information on nocturnal and diurnal phenomena in various organisms.
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.
