In this guide, we’ll answer the question:
“What eats tigers?”
First, you’ll find a short summary of what animals eat tigers in the wild and then get a detailed list of tiger predators.
Tigers are the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera in the family Felidae and suborder Feliformia. This carnivorous mammal requires large contiguous areas of habitat to support natural requirements for prey and the rearing of offspring.
Tigers live in Siberian temperate forests to subtropical and tropical forests on the Indian subcontinent, Indochina and Sumatra.
The average lifespan of a tiger is 8 to 10 years.
What Eats Tigers?
Animals that eat tigers include bears, crocodiles, dholes, and other tigers. However, tigers are apex predators, meaning they’re at the top of the food chain and don’t have many natural predators.
Tiger Predators
Bears
Bears like the brown bear and Asiatic bear are known apex predators that eats tigers. These bears also track down tigers to usurp their kills.
A report from a 1973 edition of International Wildlife Magazine describes 12 known cases of brown bears killing tigers and in all cases, the tigers were subsequently eaten by the bears.
Crocodiles
Crocodiles will are tiger predators that ambush their prey by attacking the hind legs. This typically occurs when a tiger is drinking water where the crocodile inhabits.
A crocodile cannot eat an adult tiger whole; however, and must use its powerful teeth and jaws to break the animal up into smaller pieces for consumption.
Dholes
Large packs of dholes may win conflicts against tigers. According to an article published on Ecological Society of America, “The evidence that these dogs may at times attack even tigers is too cogent to be set aside”, insists RI Pocock in his 1939–1941 study Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma (Mammalia, Volume 2; London, UK: Taylor and Francis).”
Other Tigers
Tigers are also animals that eat tigers. There have been reports of tigers killing each other in Chinese zoos. See this DailyMail article and Sydney Morning Herald article. Also, wildlife experts say that male tigers often kill cubs they come across in the wild in order to mate with the mother or to take over the territory and exert their dominance.
What Do Tigers Eat?
Tigers are also predators that must prey on other animals to survive.
You can visit our other guide on what do tigers eat to find out more about what these mammals feed on for nutrition.
Animals That Eat Tigers Summary
You now know what eats tigers in the wild and which species are the top tiger predators.
As you discovered in this guide, there are about 4 animals that eat tigers in nature.
I’m the lead editor and writer for Animal Answer Guide. I enjoy sharing expert knowledge on the various characteristics of common species within the five distinct groups of animals: amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles.
