Study
The role of dispersal in structuring the Chitwan tiger population
Smith, J. L. D.
Behaviour, 1993
Individually known tigers were followed from birth to independence and beyond over more than a decade, recording where each settled, how far it moved and whether it succeeded in acquiring a range.
- Studied in
- Panthera tigris
- Sample size
- known-identity tigers tracked from birth through dispersal
The sexes disperse very differently. Females usually settle close to where they were born, often adjacent to their mother and sometimes on ground she gives up. Males leave, travel far further, and spend an extended period without a range before they can acquire one, if they ever do.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Sex-biased dispersal structures the population into local female kin clusters with males circulating between them, which determines how the population responds to loss of individuals.
How NatureHQ reads it
The mother-daughter land inheritance is the part that changes the picture of the animal. A tigress is not a solitary individual on neutral ground; she is very often living next door to her mother, on ground her mother arranged for her. That is a social relationship with consequences lasting years, in a species routinely described as having none.
- A single population in high-quality habitat where philopatry is affordable.
- Dispersing males frequently leave the study area and their fate is unknown.
- Long-term studies of this kind cannot be replicated quickly, so generality rests on agreement with other sites.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Brill journalsPublished in a Brill journal.
doi.org/10.1163/156853993x00560
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref on 2026-08-11.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-11.