Mating takes place all year round. Gestation is around 103 days and an average litter is two or three cubs. Cubs reach independence between 18 and 28 months. Females first breed after three years and usually reproduce every two years until they are about nine or 10 years old. The average breeding life of a female is 6.1 years.
Males start to breed when they are four or five years old.
Longevity of tigers in the wild is little studied but some are known to live up to 17 years. Tigers are territorial and occupy relatively large habitats, the size of which usually depends on the density of their prey. Tigers have adapted to living in each different habitat and therefore prey on a wide variety of animals. In general, they feed predominately on large deer species and wild boar. Occasionally they will kill larger species such as wild cattle, elephant and rhino calves.