How much meat might a healthy adult wild tiger consume in a single feeding session?
Answer
40 to 100 pounds (about 18 to 45 kilograms).
Wild tigers operate on an opportunistic feeding schedule dictated by hunting success, meaning they do not eat every day. When they do succeed in taking down large prey, they gorge themselves to ensure immediate caloric needs are met and to sustain themselves through the potentially lean period until the next successful hunt, which might be several days later. This massive intake is documented to range commonly between 40 to 100 pounds of meat in one session. This behavior is a survival adaptation crucial for managing an irregular food supply in their natural habitat.
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