Tiger! Tiger!
BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN INDIA
‘I ONCE was walking along a narrow ridge,’ recalls Dr. Charles McDougal, who has spent many years studying the tiger in the Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal. ‘As I was walking, a tiger was coming from the opposite direction. We kind of met at the top, and there was a little distance between us—about 15 paces.’ Dr. McDougal stood still. Rather than staring the tiger in the eye, which a tiger regards as a challenge, he let his gaze go over the tiger’s shoulder. The tiger remained crouched down but made no move to attack. After several long minutes, Dr. McDougal took a few steps backward. ‘Then,’ he says, ‘I simply turned around and walked back to where I came from.’
At the turn of the century, there were 100,000 tigers in their native Asia, including about 40,000 in India. But by 1973 the world population of these magnificent creatures had been reduced to under 4,000, mainly as a result of hunting. The tiger, the largest cat on earth, came to be threatened with extinction by man. But is the tiger a threat to humans? What is this great cat really like? Have efforts to save it from extinction been successful?
Tiger Family Life
Years of patient observation have given naturalists a clearer picture of the life of the tiger. Let us imagine that we are looking in on a typical tiger family in the beautiful forests of Ranthambhore, in northern India. The male is almost 10 feet [3 m] long from his nose to the tip of his tail and weighs some 450 pounds [200 kg]. His mate is approximately 9 feet [2.7 m] long and weighs about 300 pounds [140 kg].a There are three cubs, one male and two females.
The temperature in these forests can exceed 112°F. [45° C.], but the tiger family finds shade under the leafy trees. And they can always enjoy a dip in the cool waters of a nearby lake. Cats that swim? Yes, tigers love the water! In fact, they have been known to swim more than three miles [5 km] without pausing.
Sunlight filters through the trees on the tigers’ shiny orange coats, making them seem to glow. The black stripes glisten, and the white patches above their amber eyes flash brilliantly. After we watch the three cubs for a while, it becomes easy for us to distinguish one from another by their different stripes and facial markings.
Growing Up as a Tiger
When the mother tiger was expecting her cubs, she sought out a suitable den, well hidden by thick vegetation. From there, the family now enjoys a view down onto a plain with a water hole that attracts other animals. The tigress selected this spot so she could hunt for food without being far from her cubs.
From birth, the cubs received lots of attention. Throughout their infancy their mother cuddled them between her paws, nuzzled them, and licked them, as she murmured softly. When the cubs got older, they began to play hide-and-seek and fight mock battles. Although tiger cubs cannot purr, beginning at about one year of age, they exhale in great, loud bursts when their mother returns from an absence.
The cubs love to swim and play in the water, along with their mother. Picture the tigress sitting at the edge of the lake with her tail in the water. Every now and then, she jerks her tail out to give her hot body a cool shower. And speaking of tails, the cubs never tire of trying to catch their mom’s tail as she swishes it from side to side. By doing this, the tigress is not just playing with her cubs; she is also teaching them the skill of pouncing, which they will use later, when they begin hunting. The cubs are also fond of climbing trees. But by about 15 months of age, they have become too bulky and heavy to climb them easily.
The Father’s Role
Until recently, many believed that the mother tiger brought up her cubs alone and that the male would kill the cubs if given the chance. With most tigers, however, this is not the case. The father tiger does disappear into the jungle for long periods, ranging through his territory of over 20 square miles [50 sq km]. But he also visits his family. When he does, he may join the tigress and the cubs in hunting, even sharing the kill with them. The more aggressive male cub may take his turn to eat first. If he greedily keeps his sisters away too long, though, his mother nudges him or even swats him with her paw to allow the female cubs to get their fair share of the feast.
The cubs enjoy playing with their huge father. A favorite place for this is in the nearby water hole. The father tiger eases himself backward into the water until he is submerged up to his head. (Tigers do not like water splashing in their eyes!) He then allows his cubs to nuzzle him as he licks their faces. Clearly, there is a strong family bond.
Man-Eaters?
Books and films often depict tigers as fierce, aggressive creatures, stalking and attacking humans, then mauling and eating them. This is far from the truth. Tigers are not all man-eaters. Usually, if a tiger sees a man in the forest, it prefers just to slip away quietly. Interestingly, human scent does not appear to have any effect on a tiger.
However, under certain conditions a hungry tiger can become dangerous indeed. If it loses teeth as a result of old age or has been injured by humans, it may be unable to hunt normally. Likewise, if human habitation encroaches on the tigers’ habitat, the tigers’ natural prey may become scarce. For reasons like these, about 50 people a year are killed by tigers in India, though this is a hundred times fewer than the number killed by snakes. Tiger attacks occur mainly in the swamps of the Ganges delta.
According to Dr. McDougal, tigers are not as dangerous as most people think. Though surprising a tiger at close range could provoke an attack, “the tiger is a very calm, cool, and collected animal,” he says. “Normally, if you encounter a tiger—even in fairly close quarters—it won’t attack.”
Among tigers aggression is rare. For instance, a young tiger may wander into the territory of another tiger and bump into the resident male. Deep growls, bloodcurdling roars, and fierce nose-to-nose snarling ensue. But when the older male shows his superiority, the younger one will usually roll onto his back with his paws in the air in a sign of submission, and the confrontation is over.
The Future of the Great Cat
Instead of being in danger from the tiger, man has proved to be the only real danger to the tiger. At present, efforts are being made to save the tiger from extinction. Several Asian countries have established tiger reserves. In 1973, a special effort called Project Tiger was launched in Corbett National Park, in northern India. Funds and equipment for Project Tiger poured in from all over the world. Eventually, 18 tiger reserves were set aside in India, with a total area of more than 10,000 square miles [28,000 sq km]. By 1978, tigers were also put on the endangered-species list. There were amazing results! Before tiger hunting was banned, the tigers had become elusive and mainly nocturnal because of fear of man. But after some years of protection, tigers began to move about the reserves and hunt in broad daylight!
Still, there is a continuing threat to the tiger: the international demand for traditional Asian remedies made from parts of the tiger’s body. A bag of tiger bones, for example, can bring over $500 in India, and by the time the bones are processed and reach the markets of the Far East, the value has escalated to more than $25,000. With this much money at stake, poor villagers are tempted to cooperate with tiger poachers in outwitting forest guards. At first, efforts to save the tiger were considered successful. But since 1988, the situation has taken a turn for the worse. Today, only about 27 tigers roam Ranthambhore, compared with the 40 that were there 20 years ago. And the world tiger population may be as low as 5,000!
Up until the end of the last century, tigers and humans coexisted in India in relative harmony. Will they ever be able to do so again? For now, the excited call “Tiger! Tiger!” can still mean a sighting of the world’s largest feline. Whether conservation programs will ensure the tiger’s safety in the future remains to be seen. But the Bible assures us that one day the whole earth will be a paradise like the Garden of Eden. Then man and wild creatures like the tiger will share the earth in peace.—Isaiah 11:6-9.
[Footnote]
a Siberian tigers, the largest subspecies, may weigh over 700 pounds [320 kg] and reach 13 feet [4 m] in length.
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The White Tiger
A national treasure in India, the rare white tiger is the result of a recessive mutant gene. In 1951 a white male cub was caught in India’s Rewa Forest. Mated to a normal-colored tigress, normal litters were produced. However, when a female from one of these litters was mated with the white sire, she gave birth to four white cubs. Careful breeding has made it possible for people in many places to see this rare beauty in their zoos.
[Picture on page 16]
Cats that swim? Yes!
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Tigers are not as dangerous as most people think