Facts About Tigers

By Dr.Fourkan Ali

Tigers are one of the biggest among the 37 species' of cats in the world today. The Cats range from the domestic tabby that stretches contentedly in front of you and occasionally gives in to its primitive hunting instincts, dropping a half dead bird at your feet, to the mighty lions of Africa and Asia which depend on their hunting instincts and skills for survival. Strictly speaking, only five of these species are 'Big Cats'.

• Tiger cubs
• Identification of Tigers
• Survival of the fittest
• Tigers as Devoted Mothers
• Tigers as man eaters and cattle lifters
• Tiger Trivia and Tales

They all belong to the Panthera family The Jaguar is found in the American continent while the others are found in the jungles of Africa and Asia. The Jaguar (Panthera onca) is found in the dense forests of America. The coat of the Jaguar is yellow with black spots arranged in rosettes of four or five around a central spot. The Jaguar weighs around 130kg. to 140kg. The other four big Cats are the Lion (Panthera Leo), the Tiger (Panthera Tigris), the Snow Leopard, also known as the Ounce, (Panthera Uncia), and the Leopard (Panthera Pardus). All these mighty predators are found in Africa and Asia.

 

Tiger Trivia and Tales

The earliest known portrayal of the Royal Bengal Tiger in India comes to us from the Indus Valley Civilization where a 2500 BC seal featuring a tiger was found.

The tiger has been depicted in the 3000 BC rock paintings of the Warli tribe in the state of Maharashtra.
In the 1960s the Kanha National Park played host to George B Schaller one of the greatest naturalists of the 20th century. He undertook the first ever scientific study of tiger behavior in a natural habitat.
Although incidents of tigers attacking humans are very rare, they do happen. In 2004 a villager was mauled while sitting at a roadside stall near Corbett Park.
In the year 2005, a US- based internet portal petsonline.com put up two advertisements for sale of the Royal Bengal Tiger. The auction started at $ 2,000.Buying and Selling of Royal Bengal Tigers is prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
One of the most magnificent forests in the country Simlipal occupies an important position as the habitat of the Royal Bengal Tiger. Popularly referred to as Tiger Country there is evidence that Simlipal is the abode of the rare black or melanistic tiger. The deep jungles provide a safe haven to these tigers.
One folk tale narrates that tigers were created because men were too fearless. However the cats soon made it unsafe for the people to even collect wood. Accordingly the gods instructed tigers to restrict their killing which is why they attack humans only sometimes.

 

Tigers as man-eaters and cattle-lifters

Tigers are often maligned for their aberrant behavior reflected in their lifting cattle and sometimes killing and eating man. It is the disturbance or damage to the tiger or its habitat that induces or compels it to act in such a manner. The tiger by training and instinct learns to avoid man. However when a wildlife habitat is degraded causing a reduction in the population of natural prey, tigers are driven to occasionally taking cattle.

This may lead to conflict between man and tiger and there may be situations when being chased away from a livestock kill a hungry tiger launches an attack on man to prevent such deprivation. A few such instances may embolden a tiger to take to man-killing. Also there are sometimes attempts by people to avenge livestock killing by shooting tiger. Often such attempts only end in wounding or injuring a tiger that out of vengeance and partly because of its inability to kill wild prey because of the injury goes for cattle or even man.

 

Tigers as devoted mothers

Tiger cubs are tiny, blind and helpless when they are born. But tigress is a loving mother and brings up her cubs with great care and effort. Despite this usually only two make it to adulthood from a normal litter of six. Until they are about three months old, the cubs are not allowed to trail the mother and food is brought to them. Their lair has to be frequently shifted because if detected they may be killed by other predators and scavengers and even by rival male tigers. They are trained and disciplined to be quiet while the mother is away on hunting errands. Their first lessons in hunting consist of learning to pounce on their mother's tail which she shifts to dodge them and playing hide and seek with her.

They learn to stalk by searching for mother who hides under cover and practice by stalking each other. Training hunts take place in bushy cover during daytime, pursuing deer fawns, langurs or monkeys foraging on the ground. The cubs are taught to keep clear of man.