Empty space need to balance something, too much allows any drama in the scene to leak away so make the tiger bigger in the frame
The brightest part of any scene should be the center of interest.
Having the center of interest, an animal with stripes, in part shade/part light makes the center of interest much too confusing to look at.
Yes, I know the animal was lying there and you couldn't make it move but then you must wait until the light is better.
That's the entire role of the photographer - get the subject in the right place with the right light.