We report measurements of the laser induced breakdown threshold in lithium tantalate with different number of pulses delivered from a chirped pulse amplification Ti: sapphire system. The threshold fluences were determined from the relation between the diameter D-2 of the ablated area and 2 the laser fluence F-0. The threshold of lithium tantalite under single-shot is found to be 1.84 J/cm(2), and the avalanche rate was determined to be 1.01 cm(2)/J by calculation. We found that avalanche dominates the ablation process, while photoionization serves as a free electron provider. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.