Tiger Courtship - an intimate story
Intro : The courtship of two tigers over a period of 5 consecutive days allowed me to document some fantastic behavioural aspects into the secretive lives of the tigers which I will be penning down in a non-linear fashion as a photostory. What amazed me is that each action of the tigers pre- and post-mating has a significance.
Part -1 : Lordosis behaviour
Once a male tiger mounts over the female, she lowers her forelimbs, arches her spine towards the ground, raises her hips, extends her rear limbs and displaces her tail side-ward. This posture increases the sexual receptivity during copulation and is known as Lordosis behaviour, a sexual posture seen in many non-primates.
This is a motor-reflex action seen in tigresses in heat, or simply in estrus. Generally, tigresses indulging in pseudo or false mating don't arch their body in the above mentioned fashion. This reflex action occurs when the male mounts on the female and stimulates the nerves underneath the skin at the rump portion of the female. This is called tactile stimulus.
During the umpteen times these two tigers mated, I also observed that the tigress was not always getting into a Lordosis posture which indicates her disinterest in copulation throughout. Tigers mate for more than 15-20 times every day, during this heat period.
While olfactory, auditive (such as purring) and visual signals activate the reward system (making mating enjoyable), further acts by the tiger, like licking and biting the nape of the tigress also stimulate the tigress's brain to induce ovulation. Further, biting or holding the nape may be to ensure cooperation and also to prevent the tigress from biting back the tiger.
Part -2 : Passive Submission.
Though tigers are solitary animals, the male-male, male-female and old-young interactions are more complex than what was initially thought. The purview of the this article will be limited to male and female submissive behaviour, during mating.
Passive submission typically involves the individual rolling on its back with fore-paws held cocked, splayed legs, vulnerable parts such as throat, chest and abdomen exposed (as seen in the photograph). This is generally done either during mating or as a defensive ploy.
The male mounts the female during mating which in itself is a form of dominance. Because the penile spines which rake the walls of the female's vagina, triggering ovulation, cause great discomfort to the female, she often displays extreme aggression.
Hence, during mating (before or after the act), the rolling of a male (in the direction of the female) in a lowered posture and exposing vulnerable underparts is believed to be an extreme form of submission or subordination. It is believed to inhibit overt aggression by either of the mating pair.
The rolling of a female specifically has to do with the altering levels of hormones in her body in response to the induced ovulation because of the mating; she may roll to express subordination as well. Additionally, this might be an involuntary act to rub-out the male's pheromones (both tigers may occasionally lick their own paws and the body after the mating act).
