Behavior of tigers in the presence of humans and gunfire
This story is set in our current time period, and the particular scene I'm working on takes place in a desolate region of eastern Russia, just as winter is ending.
If a tiger has just made a fresh kill, and notices a human nearby -- approximately 13 to 15 feet away, and the human moves very, very slowly from kneeling to standing, and keeps eye contact with the tiger -- what is the tiger's most likely reaction?
Would it be likely to just jump at the human? Or stare at him for a few seconds before approaching? Would it growl/roar/snarl etc?
If it is threatening to attack, and another human (farther away than the first one, and located -behind- the tiger) fires several gunshots without actually shooting the tiger, would it be scared enough by the sudden, loud noise that it would flee?
If a tiger has just made a fresh kill, and notices a human nearby -- approximately 13 to 15 feet away, and the human moves very, very slowly from kneeling to standing, and keeps eye contact with the tiger -- what is the tiger's most likely reaction?
Would it be likely to just jump at the human? Or stare at him for a few seconds before approaching? Would it growl/roar/snarl etc?
If it is threatening to attack, and another human (farther away than the first one, and located -behind- the tiger) fires several gunshots without actually shooting the tiger, would it be scared enough by the sudden, loud noise that it would flee?