Siberian tigers eat mostly big hoofed animals: wild boar, red deer, roe deer and sika deer. In a GPS-collar study in Russia, those four made up nearly 90% of kills, and each tiger made a kill about every 6.5 days, found Miller and colleagues (2013). Bears and badgers are rare extras.
What do Siberian tigers eat in the wild?
Siberian tigers, also called Amur tigers, live in the snowy forests of the Russian Far East and northeast China. They hunt big animals, because one big kill gives a lot of meat for one chase. SeaWorld says tigers mostly go after prey of about 20 kg (45 lb) or more.
The best numbers come from the Sikhote-Alin mountains in Russia. From 2009 to 2012, scientists fitted tigers with GPS collars. Then they visited the spots where a tiger had stayed for a long time, and found 111 kills. The table shows what those tigers ate, from Miller and colleagues.
| Prey | Share of kills | Share of the meat eaten |
|---|---|---|
| Wild boar | 27.9% | 26.9% |
| Red deer | 24.3% | 43.6% |
| Roe deer | 23.4% | 12.6% |
| Sika deer | 13.5% | 12.9% |
| Badger | 4.5% | 0.7% |
| Brown bear | 0.9% (1 kill) | 1.6% |
| Asiatic black bear | 0.9% (1 kill) | 0.9% |
| Other animals | 4.6% | under 1% |
Red deer matter most. They were only a quarter of the kills, but an adult red deer is big, so red deer gave 43.6% of all the meat. Over 70% of the red deer killed were adults. With wild boar it was the other way round: 67.7% of boar kills were young pigs and piglets.
How often do Siberian tigers eat?
About once a week. The collared tigers made a kill every 6.5 days on average, and the likely range was 5.9 to 7.2 days. That works out to about 8.9 kg (20 lb) of prey per tiger per day, the Miller study found.
Winter is the hungry season. Tigers killed every 5.7 days in winter but only every 7.4 days in summer. In winter each tiger took about 10.3 kg (23 lb) of prey a day. The authors say this fits the idea that a tiger needs more food when it is cold.
A tiger does not always finish a big deer in one go. SeaWorld says a tiger may eat up to 40 kg (88 lb) of meat at one time. The Smithsonian gives up to 34 kg (75 lb) in one night. After a meal like that, a tiger can go days without hunting.
How do Siberian tigers hunt?
Like all tigers, they stalk and ambush, and they hunt mostly by sight and hearing, not smell, says SeaWorld. A tiger creeps up on its prey from behind, then kills it with a strong bite to the neck or throat. Tigers are built for strength, not long chases, so getting close without being seen is the whole trick. Our page on how fast a tiger can run explains why.
Finding prey takes a lot of ground. The Russian Far East has the lowest prey numbers of any place where tigers live, says the Miller study. There, male territories are 800 to 1,200 km² (310 to 460 sq mi), says SeaWorld. In India’s Ranthambhore, where prey is plentiful, a male may need just 5 to 150 km².
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance reports Siberian tigers with home ranges of more than 10,000 km² (4,000 sq mi). That is why keeping deer and boar numbers healthy is one of the best ways to help these tigers. The Miller team makes the same point.
Do Siberian tigers eat bears?
Sometimes, but not often. In the Russian GPS study, 2 of the 111 kills were bears: one brown bear and one Asiatic black bear. Together they gave only about 2.5% of the meat those tigers ate, according to Miller and colleagues.
So a Siberian tiger is not a bear hunter. A bear is an occasional meal when the chance comes up. Badgers turned up more often than bears, but they are small and gave less than 1% of the meat. If you want to know how a tiger measures up against a big bear, read tiger vs grizzly bear.
What do Siberian tigers eat in China?
Just across the border, in China’s Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, wild boar comes first. Yang and colleagues (2018) studied 217 tiger droppings, called scats. Wild boar made up 45.9% of the meat eaten, sika deer 18.1% and roe deer 16.3%. Cattle and other livestock made up only 4.2%, badgers 2.2% and hares 1.7%.
These tigers ate more boar in winter. Boar showed up in 45.7% of winter scats but only 24.4% of summer scats. The study found that tigers picked wild boar more often than you would expect from how common boar were.
Why study droppings? Wild tigers are very hard to watch. Hair, bone and teeth in a scat show what the tiger ate, without anyone getting close to the cat.
Is a Siberian tiger the same as an Amur tiger?
Yes. They are two names for the same tigers. Scientists have also changed how they group tigers. The IUCN Red List assessment of 2022 follows a 2017 review that splits tigers into just two subspecies: mainland tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) and tigers of the Sunda islands (P. t. sondaica). Under this system the Amur tiger is part of the mainland group, though its old name, P. t. altaica, is still widely used.
Siberian tigers are the biggest tigers. Males can weigh up to 300 kg (660 lb), says the Smithsonian, and females weigh 100 to 167 kg (220 to 370 lb), says SeaWorld. Big bodies need big meals, which is why red deer and boar matter so much. See how big a Siberian tiger is for more.
Tigers are Endangered on the IUCN Red List (2022). Russia counted at least 750 Amur tigers, cubs included, in its latest full census, up from about 600 in 2015, reported TASS. The IUCN lists poaching of tigers and hunting of their prey among the main threats. Our page on why Siberian tigers are endangered explains more, and you can compare this diet with what Bengal tigers eat.
Frequently asked questions
How much meat does a Siberian tiger eat in a day?
On average about 8.9 kg (20 lb) of prey a day, based on GPS-collared tigers in Russia. In winter it rises to about 10.3 kg (23 lb). A tiger does not eat every day, though. It makes a kill about once a week and can eat up to 40 kg (88 lb) in one sitting.
How many Siberian tigers are left in the wild?
Russia's latest full census counted at least 750 Amur tigers, including cubs, according to the Amur Tiger Center. That is up from about 600 in 2015. A smaller number lives across the border in northeast China. Tigers as a whole are listed as Endangered by the IUCN.
Are Siberian tigers bigger than Bengal tigers?
Usually, yes. SeaWorld gives adult male Amur tigers up to 300 kg (660 lb), while adult male Bengal tigers weigh about 220 kg (480 lb). Females follow the same pattern. The biggest tigers live in the coldest part of the tiger range.
Do Siberian tigers hunt every day?
No. GPS collars showed Siberian tigers made a kill about every 6.5 days. They kill more often in winter, about every 5.7 days, than in summer, about every 7.4 days. Between kills they rest, travel and patrol their huge territories.
Sources
- Journal of Mammalogy via University of Montana (2013). Estimating Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) kill rates and potential consumption rates using GPS collars (Miller et al., Journal of Mammalogy 94(4)).
- Scientific Reports via PubMed Central (2018). Seasonal food habits and prey selection of Amur tigers and Amur leopards in Northeast China (Yang et al., Scientific Reports, doi:10.1038/s41598-018-25275-1).
- SeaWorld Parks (United Parks & Resorts). All about tigers: diet and eating habits.
- SeaWorld Parks (United Parks & Resorts). All about tigers: physical characteristics.
- SeaWorld Parks (United Parks & Resorts). All about tigers: behavior.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Tiger.
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Tiger.
- IUCN Red List (PDF copy hosted by Nature Conservation Foundation) (2022). Panthera tigris: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022 (Goodrich et al., e.T15955A214862019, doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T15955A214862019.en).
- TASS (reporting the Amur Tiger Center) (2023). Amur tigers making a comeback in Russia.
Sources checked 15 September 2026.
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