Tigers occupy a variety of habitats from tropical forests, evergreen forests, woodlands and mangrove swamps to grasslands, savannah and rocky country. They are mostly nocturnal and are ambush predators that rely on the camouflage their stripes provide. Tigers use their body weight to knock prey to the ground and kills with a bite to the neck. They are also very good swimmers and have been known to kill prey while swimming.

Tigers essentially live solitary lives, except during mating season and when females bear young. They are usually fiercely territorial and have and mark their large home ranges.
Males have larger territories than females. An adult male's territory will usually overlap several females' territories. The larger area contains more than enough food, water and shelter resources, but is larger to accommodate more females' territories. Therefore, females are the most coveted resource for males. Aggression amongst adult male tigers can be influenced by the number of tigers in a given density and whether there is a social disruption in which males are competing to take control of a territory. The intensity of aggression increased when there are high tiger densities for a given area because there is more competition of resources and mating opportunities. Resident male territory-holders may be challenged by other young males for possession of the territory or the young males may challenge each for ownership if the resident male has vacated or dies. The strongest male will take possession of the territory. These times of social disruption may also cause aggression between females. Tigresses' territories are smaller than that of males but focus on vital resources required for rearing young. Tigresses usually occupy territories adjacent to or take over parts of their mother's territory.

Mating Season, In tropical climates, mostly from around November to