Bengal tigers eat meat, mostly deer and wild pigs. Chital (spotted deer), sambar and wild boar are their main prey across India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. A review of 48 diet studies found that six kinds of prey make up about 90% of what they eat, report Bhandari and colleagues (2025).
What do Bengal tigers eat most?
Deer come first. The 2025 review, in the journal Oryx, covered 48 studies from 1992 to 2022. It found six main foods: chital, sambar, wild boar, Tarai grey langur (a monkey), northern red muntjac (a small deer) and farm animals.
Which prey tops the list depends on the forest. In Chitwan National Park, Nepal, scientists read the DNA in tiger droppings. Chital made up about 72% of the meat eaten, reports a 2026 study by Acharya and colleagues. Sambar came next at about 14%, then hog deer at about 9% and wild boar at about 5%. No farm animals turned up at all.
| Prey | Share of meat eaten in Chitwan, Nepal | What other studies say |
|---|---|---|
| Chital (spotted deer) | About 72% | One of six main foods across the range (Bhandari et al.) |
| Sambar deer | About 14% | Strongly preferred across the tiger’s range (Hayward et al.) |
| Hog deer | About 9% | Taken more often than its numbers suggest in Chitwan (Acharya et al.) |
| Wild boar | About 5% | Strongly preferred across the tiger’s range (Hayward et al.) |
| Langurs, rodents and jungle fowl | Under 2% each | Tarai grey langur is often eaten despite weighing about 8 kg (Bhandari et al.) |
| Farm animals | None found | Cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and yaks recorded in all four countries (Bhandari et al.) |
The Chitwan shares are for 58 droppings collected in and around the park, so they show one place, not every tiger forest.
Why do Bengal tigers prefer big prey?
Big prey means more meat for each hunt. In 2012, Matt Hayward and colleagues pulled together records of 3,187 tiger kills and droppings, covering 32 prey species. Tigers most preferred animals weighing 60–250 kg (130–550 lb), about the same as a tiger, reports Bangor University. Wild boar and sambar were the clearest favourites.
Tigers can take even bigger animals. The Oryx review says they eat prey up to about 400 kg (880 lb). San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says tigers now and then kill a young rhino or elephant. Smithsonian’s National Zoo adds sloth bears, leopards and crocodiles to the list of animals tigers can kill.
How much does a Bengal tiger eat?
A tiger feasts, then goes hungry for days. Tigers hunt about once a week and can eat as much as 34 kg (75 lb) of meat in one night, says Smithsonian’s National Zoo. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says tigers usually make a kill once or twice a week.
That is a lot of meat for one cat. A male Bengal tiger averages about 220 kg (485 lb), so a big night’s meal can be around a sixth of his body weight. Our page on how much a Bengal tiger weighs has the details.
You may see exact yearly totals online, such as “3,000 kg of prey a year”. We could not trace those to a checked source, so we have left them out.
How do Bengal tigers hunt?
Tigers are ambush hunters and hunt mostly at night. Their stripes help them stay hidden. They pounce, pull the prey to the ground and finish it with a bite to the neck, says Smithsonian’s National Zoo. A tiger may creep towards its prey for 20 or 30 minutes before it strikes (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance).
Cubs start learning to hunt at about six months old. Their tools are canine teeth 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) long and claws of 7.5–10 cm (3–4 in), says San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Read about the speed behind the pounce in how fast is a tiger and the power in how strong is a tiger.
Do Bengal tigers eat farm animals or people?
Farm animals, sometimes. The Oryx review found cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and yaks in tiger diets in all four Bengal tiger countries. The Chitwan team found none inside or near the park, and argued that plenty of wild prey lowers the risk of tigers killing livestock.
People are not normal tiger food, but tigers are big, strong hunters and can kill people. The risk is highest where villages sit right next to tiger forests. In a tiger reserve, always follow the park’s rules and your guide’s advice.
What do Bengal tigers eat in zoos?
Smithsonian’s National Zoo feeds its tigers ground meat. On top of that they get knucklebones, cow thigh bones twice a week and rabbits once a week. The bones and whole rabbits give the cats something to tear and chew, a bit more like a wild meal.
What other animals do Bengal tigers eat?
Tigers are opportunists, so the full list is long. Earlier versions of this page pictured nilgai, antelope, barasingha, gaur, water buffalo, takin, porcupines, peafowl, hares and rhesus monkeys. Hayward’s review suggests barasingha, a swamp deer, is probably preferred prey where it still lives.
The others did not show up as main prey in the studies we checked, so think of them as occasional meals. Gaur and water buffalo can be far heavier than the 250 kg top of the tiger’s preferred range.
Prey matters for the tiger’s future. The tiger is Endangered on the IUCN Red List (2022), with 3,726 to 5,578 left in the wild. Poaching of the deer and pigs that tigers eat is one of the main threats, says the IUCN. Read why Bengal tigers are endangered and where Bengal tigers live.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Bengal tiger's favourite food?
Deer and wild pigs. A 2012 review of 3,187 tiger kills and droppings found that tigers most prefer wild boar and sambar deer, and animals weighing 60 to 250 kg in general. Where chital are common, as in Nepal's Chitwan National Park, they can make up about 72% of the meat a tiger eats.
How often do Bengal tigers eat?
Not every day. Smithsonian's National Zoo says tigers hunt about once a week, and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says they usually kill once or twice a week. After a kill, a tiger can eat up to 34 kg (75 lb) of meat in a night, then rest and digest.
Do Bengal tigers eat other predators?
Sometimes. Smithsonian's National Zoo lists sloth bears, leopards and crocodiles among the animals tigers kill. These are rare meals rather than regular prey, because fighting another predator is risky. Most of a Bengal tiger's food comes from deer, wild pigs and monkeys.
Do Bengal tigers eat plants?
No. Tigers are carnivores, which means their bodies are built to live on meat. Their long canine teeth and sharp claws are made for catching and holding prey, not for chewing leaves. Any grass or plant bits a tiger swallows are not a real part of its diet.
Sources
- Oryx, Cambridge University Press (2025). Bengal tiger Panthera tigris tigris diet landscape: implications for conservation and management (Bhandari et al., Oryx).
- Ecology and Evolution via PubMed Central (2026). Diet and prey preference of tigers (Panthera tigris) in and around Chitwan National Park, Nepal (Acharya et al., Ecology and Evolution).
- Bangor University research portal (2012). Prey preferences of the tiger Panthera tigris (Hayward, Jędrzejewski and Jędrzejewska, Journal of Zoology 286: 221-231, doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00871.x).
- Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Tiger.
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Tiger.
- IUCN (2022). Migratory monarch butterfly now Endangered: IUCN Red List (includes the 2022 tiger reassessment).
Sources checked 15 September 2026.
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