LONE HUNTER WITH A HUGE APPETITE

The ability to hunt animals far bigger and heavier than itself makes the tiger unique among large predators – lions and cheetahs do go after big prey, but usually they hunt as a team rather than on their own. Not so the tiger, which always hunts alone. Once a tiger has successfully killed, it will drag the body of its victim into cover, so it can feed without being disturbed. This reduces the danger of any of the meat being taken by other predators – including rival tigers.

When feeding, Raj Bhera gorges herself on the meat, starting at the fleshy hindquarters of the animal, and using her side teeth to rip off huge chunks of flesh, before then moving on to the rest of the carcass. A large adult tiger can eat up to one-fifth of its bodyweight from a single kill, during two or three days.

Having finished feeding, Raj Bhera will often cover up the remains of the carcass using whatever material comes to hand, including leaves and grass, to hide them in case she needs to return later to feed some more.