EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Tiger Scratches

Territorial Markings, Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), Family Felidae
Royal Chitwan National Park, Chitwan District, Nepal

Explanation:  Tiger scratches?  No, this is not about some sweet lap cat enjoying a chin rub.

This tree, here in Royal Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal, is carrying a deadly important message left by the apex predator, an adult Bengal tiger.  These scratches range over 8 feet (2.4 meters) up, left by a tiger stretched high, although most scratch marks are left lower.  

Tree scratch marks are one sign of the cat's presence, and are used in surveys of tiger presence.  

Why scratch trees?  Territoriality ... and perhaps to sharpen the claws.  Territorial scratch sites are often also urinal-scent-marked for added emphasis.  And the same tiger will return to the same tree later to add to its scratch "signature."

One study in Bangladesh (Khan 2004) found that soft-bark trees are more often used for scratching than are hard-bard trees, as the claws can dig in deeper and leave more visible and longer-lasting evidence, and provide better for claw-sharpening.  The implication is that managing forests and habitats for tigers may need to consider not just total area for their territorial needs, but also for providing different tree species with various bark characteristics.  

A field biologist colleague, here in Melghat Tiger Reserve in central India, is barely reaching the bottom of a set of tiger scratch marks on this tree.

I appreciate the size of the cat that left such marks.

Then I wonder why I wasn't constantly "checking my six" (looking behind me) while photographing and hiking these jungles.

Information:
     Khan, M. M. H.  2004.  Ecology and conservation of the Bengal tiger in the Sunderbans Mangrove Forest of Bangladesh.  Ph.D. Dissertation, Wildlife Research Group, Department of Anatomy, Selwyn College, University of Cambridge.