An adult tiger usually weighs 75–325 kg (165–716 lb), according to San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Males are much heavier than females. The biggest wild tigers, Amur males from the Russian Far East, reach about 300 kg (660 lb). Sumatran tigers, the smallest, top out around 140 kg (310 lb).
- Adult range: 75–325 kg (165–716 lb)
- Biggest wild tigers: Amur males, up to about 300 kg (660 lb)
- Smallest tigers: Sumatran, up to about 140 kg (310 lb)
- Typical female: about 90–167 kg (198–368 lb), depending on region
- Newborn cub: about 0.8–1.6 kg (1.7–3.5 lb)
- Heaviest on record: 423 kg (932 lb), a captive Amur tiger in 1986
How much does a tiger weigh? Males vs females
Tigers are the largest cats on Earth, but “a tiger” covers a lot of sizes. The low end of San Diego Zoo’s range is a small female from Sumatra. The high end is a big male from Russia. Three things decide where a tiger lands:
- Sex. Males are always bigger. Smithsonian’s National Zoo says females of every population are smaller than males.
- Where it lives. Tigers from cold mainland Asia grow bigger than tigers from the islands of Indonesia.
- Wild or captive. Zoo and circus tigers can get much heavier than wild ones.
A male Amur tiger and a female Sumatran tiger are so different that one average would mean little. As a guide, a male Bengal tiger averages about 220 kg (485 lb) and a female about 140 kg (310 lb), according to SeaWorld. So a female weighs about two-thirds as much as a male, a pattern seen in almost every tiger population.
Tiger weight by subspecies
For years, books listed six living tiger subspecies: Amur (Siberian), Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, South China and Sumatran. In 2017, the IUCN Cat Specialist Group’s Cat Classification Task Force proposed just two, in a review by Kitchener and colleagues:
- Panthera tigris tigris for all mainland Asian tigers (Bengal, Amur, Indochinese, Malayan and South China).
- Panthera tigris sondaica for the tigers of Sumatra, Java and Bali.
Not every scientist agreed. That is why you still see “Bengal tiger” and “Amur tiger” everywhere, including below. They are still useful labels for tigers from different places, and those tigers really do differ in size.
| Population (2017 subspecies) | Male weight | Female weight | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amur / Siberian (P. t. tigris) | 180–306 kg (397–675 lb); “up to 300 kg (660 lb)” | 100–167 kg (220–368 lb) | Toronto Zoo; Smithsonian; SeaWorld |
| Bengal (P. t. tigris) | About 220 kg (485 lb); up to 295 kg (650 lb) | About 140 kg (310 lb) | SeaWorld; San Diego Zoo |
| Indochinese (P. t. tigris) | Up to 182 kg (400 lb) | About 115 kg (250 lb) | SeaWorld |
| South China (P. t. tigris) | About 150 kg (330 lb) | About 110 kg (240 lb) | SeaWorld |
| Sumatran (P. t. sondaica) | Up to 120–140 kg (265–310 lb) | About 90 kg (198 lb) | SeaWorld; Smithsonian |
We could not find weights for the Malayan tiger in the zoo and museum sources we checked, so we left it out rather than guess.
How much does a Siberian (Amur) tiger weigh?
Amur tigers are the heavyweights. Toronto Zoo lists males at 180–306 kg (397–675 lb) and females at 100–167 kg (220–368 lb). Guinness World Records gives the same male range. Smithsonian’s National Zoo says males can reach 300 kg (660 lb) and 3 m (10 ft) from nose to tail tip. See how big is a Siberian tiger.
How much does a Bengal tiger weigh?
Bengal tigers from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan come second. SeaWorld puts an average male at about 220 kg (485 lb) and a female at about 140 kg (310 lb). San Diego Zoo says the biggest males can reach 295 kg (650 lb), so big Bengal males overlap with Amur males. More in how much does a Bengal tiger weigh.
How much does a Sumatran tiger weigh?
Sumatran tigers are the smallest living tigers. Smithsonian’s National Zoo says they max out around 140 kg (310 lb). SeaWorld gives a lower top figure of 120 kg (265 lb) for males and about 90 kg (198 lb) for females. A dense island rainforest seems to favour a smaller, nimbler cat.
How big is a tiger in real life?
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, a large male stands about 1 m (3 ft) tall at the shoulder, about waist height on an adult. San Diego Zoo gives a body length of 1.5–2.9 m (4.8–9.5 ft), plus a tail of 0.7–1.1 m (2.3–3.6 ft).
So picture a cat whose back reaches your waist, whose body is longer than a sofa, and whose tail alone is as long as a child’s arm span. Most of that weight is muscle, which tigers need to tackle prey as heavy as themselves. Our page on how strong a tiger is shows what that muscle can do.
How much does a baby tiger weigh?
Tiger cubs start out tiny. San Diego Zoo says a newborn weighs about 1 kg (2.2 lb), roughly a bag of sugar. Toronto Zoo gives 780–1,600 grams (1.7–3.5 lb) for Amur cubs. A male Amur cub may grow to be more than 100 times heavier than he was at birth.
What is the heaviest tiger ever recorded?
The heaviest tiger in Guinness World Records never hunted a thing. Jaipur was a captive Amur tiger owned by an American animal trainer. In 1986, aged nine, he weighed 423 kg (932 lb) and measured 3.32 m (10 ft 11 in) from nose to tail tip. That is far more than any wild tiger scientists have weighed.
Many “record” weights come from old hunting stories, and some grow bigger each time they are repeated online. Here is what the records say, sorted by how much you can trust them.
| Type of record | Tiger | Weight | How reliable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captive | Jaipur, Amur tiger, USA, 1986 | 423 kg (932 lb) | Listed by Guinness World Records. A show animal, not a normal tiger. Online claims of 465 kg are not backed by Guinness. |
| Hunting era (wild) | Bengal tiger shot in northern India, 1967 | About 389 kg (857 lb) | Listed by Guinness, which notes the tiger had a full stomach from a recent meal. Not a scientific weighing. |
| Hunting era (wild) | Amur tiger, Russian Far East, 1950 | 384 kg (846 lb) | An unconfirmed report. |
| Normal wild adults | Amur males | 180–306 kg (397–675 lb) | Range given by Toronto Zoo and Guinness World Records. |
A healthy wild tiger over 300 kg (660 lb) would be exceptional. Numbers far above that come from captive tigers or from old reports that nobody can check today.
Quick quiz: which is heavier, an average male Bengal tiger or the biggest female Amur tiger? The Bengal male wins. He averages about 220 kg (485 lb), while even a very large female Amur tiger tops out around 167 kg (368 lb). Being male matters more than coming from the “biggest” population.
Why are record tigers heavier than wild tigers?
Look at where the records come from. The heaviest, Jaipur, lived in captivity with easy food and little need to hunt. The heaviest wild tiger in Guinness had just eaten a big meal, and a tiger can eat as much as 34 kg (75 lb) in one night, says Smithsonian’s National Zoo. That alone could add about a tenth to a big male’s weight.
Old hunting records were also weighed by hunters, not scientists, and nobody can recheck them now. So the fairest answer to “how much does a tiger weigh” uses zoo and field ranges, not one-off records.
Is a tiger heavier than a lion?
Usually, yes. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives male lions 150–260 kg (330–570 lb) and females 122–180 kg (270–400 lb). A male Bengal tiger averages about 220 kg (485 lb), and Amur males reach about 300 kg (660 lb). Big lions and small tigers overlap, but the biggest tigers outweigh the biggest lions. See tiger vs lion for the full match-up.
How much does a tiger eat?
A lot at once, then nothing for days. Tigers hunt about once a week and can eat up to 34 kg (75 lb) of food in a night, says Smithsonian’s National Zoo. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says tigers usually kill once or twice a week. Our page on what Bengal tigers eat lists their prey.
Are tigers endangered?
Yes. The tiger is Endangered on the IUCN Red List (2022 assessment), with 3,726 to 5,578 tigers left in the wild, says the IUCN. Tigers now live in only about 7% of their old range, says Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Poaching, the hunting of their prey and the loss of forest are the main threats. Read why Bengal tigers are endangered.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a tiger weigh in kg?
Adult tigers weigh about 75 to 325 kg. Most wild males from mainland Asia weigh about 150 to 300 kg, while Sumatran males top out around 120 to 140 kg. Most females weigh about 90 to 167 kg, depending on the region they come from.
What is the tiger weight in pounds?
Adult tigers weigh about 165 to 716 lb. A typical male Bengal tiger weighs around 485 lb and a female around 310 lb. The heaviest wild males, Amur tigers from Russia, can reach about 660 lb, while Sumatran tigers are much lighter.
How much does a female tiger weigh?
Female tigers usually weigh about 90 to 167 kg (198 to 368 lb). Sumatran females are at the light end, at about 90 kg, and Amur females at the heavy end, up to 167 kg. In every population, females are smaller than males, usually about two-thirds of their weight.
How much does an adult tiger weigh?
An adult tiger weighs about 75 to 325 kg (165 to 716 lb), according to San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Where a tiger falls in that range depends mostly on whether it is male or female, and which part of Asia it comes from.
Is a Siberian tiger heavier than a Bengal tiger?
Usually, but not always. Amur (Siberian) males weigh 180 to 306 kg, according to Toronto Zoo, while Bengal males average about 220 kg and can reach 295 kg. So the biggest Bengal males overlap with Amur males. Both now belong to the same subspecies, Panthera tigris tigris.
Sources
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Tiger.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Tiger.
- SeaWorld. All about tigers: physical characteristics.
- Toronto Zoo. Amur tiger.
- IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group via Smithsonian Research Online (2017). A revised taxonomy of the Felidae (Kitchener et al., Cat News Special Issue 11).
- Guinness World Records. Largest feline carnivore.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica. Tiger.
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Lion.
- IUCN (2022). Migratory monarch butterfly now Endangered: IUCN Red List (includes the 2022 tiger reassessment).
Sources checked 15 September 2026.
this is very helpful
hanyou
Very nice best for me