Temporal activity patterns of different age and sex classes of a Bengal tiger population were studied at Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh between May 2006 and July 2009 using systematic camera traps. Based on the exact time of photo-capture tigers, information on temporal activity patterns of following age and sex categories of individual tigers (resident male (n= 55 photographs), female with cubs or breeding female (n= 70 photographs), female without cubs or non-breeding female (n= 72 photographs) and transient male (n= 42 photographs)) were recorded. Breeding females utilized significantly different activity period compared to transient males (P< 0.001) and females without cubs (P<0.001). Overall activity period between breeding female and resident male did not differ significantly (P >0.6) during the study period. The observed temporal segregation may provide valuable information on cub survival strategies adopted by breeding tigresses, potentially enhancing their reproductive success in a tropical deciduous forest. The adoption of camera trap-based population monitoring studies is advocated for the reproductive behavior of elusive large carnivores such as tigers in the wild on a long-term basis.
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