In many story books, films and theatre shows for under 5s there are animals that can talk. The tiger in Judith Kerr’s The Tiger Who Came to Tea, for example, is very polite when he asks if he could have tea with Sophie and her mummy - and then eats all the food in the house! Of course, animals can’t talk in real life, but what if they could? What would a tiger really say if you asked one about what it likes to eat and what it gets up to every day? We’ve imagined an interview with a Bengal tiger to help you learn more about these wonderful creatures. 

Tigers are known for being solitary creatures. Describe a typical day for you.

A lot of my day is spent sleeping in cool, shady spots. I need between 16 and 20 hours of sleep every day, not because I’m lazy, but because I need to save up my energy for hunting. I usually go out at dawn or dusk to find food and I often travel between 6-12 miles during a hunt. If I am successful, I’ll eat up to 50kg of meat to keep me going for the next few days.

So you don’t eat every day?

No. Tigers often only hunt about once a week, and bigger prey like a deer can give me enough food to eat over a few days. I’ll also eat wild boar, fish and birds if I need to top up. Only one in ten of my hunts is successful, so I need to eat a lot when I make a kill. 

You mentioned walking 6-12 miles on a hunt. You must have a large territory.

Yes, as a Bengal tiger my territory is around 90 square miles because there’s plenty of food and shelter for me in that amount of space. If I was an Amur tiger living in the Russian Far East or Northeast China, I might have a territory of 300 square miles or more. 

How do you make sure you don’t wander into another tiger’s territory?

Tigers do a lot to make sure no other tigers come into our territory. For example, we mark trees, rocks and other objects with our scent to show it’s ours and warn others not to cross into it. We also leave visible signs like scratch marks on trees. The height and depth of these shows other tigers how large and strong we are so they think twice before making a challenge. We also roar - a tiger’s roar can be heard up to three miles away and helps us to avoid unnecessary conflicts. 

What happens if another tiger strays into your territory?

We prefer to avoid conflict, so usually if a male intruder enters my territory I’ll show my dominance by roaring. If he displays a submissive posture I’ll let him leave. If not we might fight each other. My territory overlaps with that of one or two female tigers in places, and that doesn’t typically cause a problem. 

Join the tiger for tea

You may not want to join a real tiger for tea, but why not join a friendlier tiger and see the theatre family show, The Tiger Who Came to Tea? Touring the UK throughout 2026, it’s one of the best examples of theatre for preschoolers, being specially produced for children aged three and up. Browse tour dates only and book your tickets at your local venue.