Prey selection by tiger (Nagarhole Tiger Reserv) 1986-89

Karanth K.U.  Sunquist M.E.   Prey selection by tiger, leopard and dhole in tropical forests  1995

"Among 153 tiger kills, 55% prey were attacked in moist forest  habitat type, 9% in teak plantations , 17% in Hadlus , 8% in short-grass clearings , and 11% in dry forest  habitat types." 

"Carcass use by tiger differed among prey species,being high for sambar (76%, n=3) and chital (65%, n=5), but these are based on small samples. True utilization for both species is probably around 65%. Carcass use of gaur is remarkably low (33%, n=14), probably because kills of adult gaur provide more meat than tigers can consume, leading to low utilization rates."

"Tigers and leopards dragged their kills over long distances,if there was insufficient cover at the attack site itself to hide the carcass, and if the prey was not too heavy. The mean drag distance for tiger kills (n=133) was 51 m, with a maximum drag of 350 m recorded for a sambar kill."

"A tiger guards its kills from other predators and scavenging animals by caching kills in cover. Of the 125 tiger kills examined, 67% were located in dense cover, 12% in moderate cover, and 21% in open cover. Kills were left in the open only if heavier cover was absent, or, if the prey was too heavy."

"The data on cover density, visibility, and edge around the actual sites of predator kills  show that tigers attack most of their prey (81%) in dense or moderate cover. However, potentially dangerous prey like gaur is attacked more often (34%) in the open. Only 24% of gaur kills took place in dense cover, and even among these, only 2 were adult gaur. This is further confirmed by comparing the mean visibility index , which is higher (0.57) for sites of tiger attack on gaur, when compared to sites of attack on other prey."

Karanth K.U.  Predator-prey relationships among the large mammals of Nagarhole national park India. 1993