Tiger Communication

Range:

The area that a tiger lives in is called its range. This range can be anywhere from 10 to 30 square miles long. Young tigers will then leave there mothers range and go find a new one when they become an adult. Tigers have an amazing sense of smell. Smell is the main thing that tigers use to communicate with each other. Tigers use their own urine and dung to mark their ranges. When a tiger shoots urine at a tree the other tigers can smell it for up to 40 days.  Female tigers also use what is called scent marking which they do to attract male companions when they need to mate. This is not the only way scent marking is used. They can also use this to scare off other tigers wanting her range. The most known way for a tiger to communicate would have to be the great big roar that you can hear from 2 to 3 km away. This roar is used to fend off other tigers that are looking to harm them. It is very rare that one male tiger will accept another male tiger into his range. 

Communication: 

Prusten is a short, noisy, low intensity sound used as a friendly greeting between the mom and her cubs. A tiger’s visual is pretty much the same as any other cats. For instance when a tiger shows aggression it throws its tail up usually lashed from side to side. The ears are twisted so that they are inside out. But when greeting another tiger, the tiger’s ears are held up high and alert and the tail is also held straight up. Chuffing is a friendly way to vocalize that you want to be friends with the tiger that they are meeting. When a tiger moans it is almost like a very quiet roar made while they are calmly strolling around. Purring is the other type of communication that most people are familiar with when it comes to the tiger. This is generally believed to be a sign of contentment. Tigers are also able to meow just like any other cat. Tigers in general communicate by rubbing up against each other exchanging scents along the way.

Interesting facts:

Tigers actually have quiet good eyes, not the best but still better than humans. Due to tigers individual scent glands compared to other cats they can smell things better from further away. Tigers live anywhere between 10 to 15 years old. Due to the isolated regions where tigers generally reside, there is still a great deal we don’t know about their communication. Those in captivity are generally fine with living in a group of two at the most. More than that though is going to create issues with tigers being harmed or killed. Even in a zoo you will find that they usually leave each other alone and have their own territory that they cover in the shared area. Tigers are on the priority extinction list along with whales, dolphins, the giant panda, rhinos, gorillas, and finally marine turtles. The very sad truth about tigers unfortunately is that there are only 3062 tigers left on the earth and we aren’t doing much to keep that number from going down.