Research overview: land-tenure territoriality in tigers

Tigers maintain a land-tenure system in which resident adults hold largely exclusive territories advertised and defended through scent marks, scrapes, and vocalisations. This overview surveys radio-telemetry and camera-trap research showing that female territories are sized to support cub-rearing while male territories overlap several females, that residents tolerate transient individuals only weakly, and that vacancies trigger competition and turnover. It discusses how scent marking allows spacing without constant confrontation and how territory quality drives reproductive success. The topic illustrates the solitary, spatially organised social system of a large felid and its central importance to tiger conservation and population recovery.