Research overview: infanticide and male turnover in tigers

As in lions, the takeover of a tigress's range by a new male can lead to the killing of her dependent cubs, after which she returns to breeding condition. This overview synthesizes field evidence for sexually selected infanticide in tigers, examining how the death of a resident male or the intrusion of a stronger rival exposes cubs to risk and how the timing of takeovers influences cub survival and litter spacing. It reviews how females may respond by avoiding unfamiliar males or accelerating dispersal of older offspring. The synthesis links male turnover to the demographic rhythm of a population, paralleling patterns seen in social cats. For enthusiasts it explains why the stability of resident males matters for cub survival even in a solitary species, and why shifts in territory ownership are pivotal events in the life of a tigress and her young.