Genetic Pollution of Tigers

-
Two examples of the unwitting, deliberate or reckless creation of the pollution of tiger genetics by cross breeding different subspecies, come to mind.

In captivity the South China tiger is cross-bred with the Bengal tiger sometimes. And in India there is a startling story of a British zoo supplying an Indian Bengal tiger reserve, the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, with a Bengal tiger that was in fact a Bengal/Siberian tiger cross-breed! The zoo, Twycross Zoo in England, did not know. They thought they would help out the dwindling tiger population in one of India's many reserves. Unwittingly they ruined (too strong a word?) the Bengal tiger population at that reserve. I have no idea if the tigress is still breeding in the Dudhwa reserve. She quite possibly is.

Some tigers showed signs of being Siberian tiger hybrids. These tigers have got to die in this reserve to protect other reserves. Apparently Twycross Zoo maintained no breeding records and had behaved irresponsibly. It beggars belief that so fundamental a mistake can happen at so critical a time.

And we wonder why the Bengal tiger is endangered.

Comments

Post a Comment

Please comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Mythology in China - Bai Hu (white tiger)

-
Image
About 6,500 years ago the Chinese divided the sky into four parts in Chinese astrology. They are north, east, west, and south. Each section contains seven stars which look like images of four mythical creatures and Bai Hu is a white tiger in charge of the west of the sky. The white tiger is a symbol of loyalty, power, justice and bravery. It was used by the military in Chinese history such as on a flag and seal. It probably still is. Bai Hu mythical white tiger from Chinese mythology. Image: Pinterest. Bai Hu represents autumn and it was believed to be a reincarnation of the tiger star, Alpha, in the Milky Way. According to I Ching, the tiger symbolises Yin or evil and the dragon symbolises Yang or good.  It roughly corresponds with the prominent constellation of Orion that dominates the autumn and winter night sky. Fiona Sunquist in her book (with her husband Mel), Wild Cats of the World , writes that "the breath of the Tiger creates the wind and the breath of the dragon creat
Read more

Do male tigers kill female tigers?

-
Image
The question is: "Do male tigers killed tigresses?" And the answer, in my considered opinion, is different when referring to wild tigers or captive tigers, which points to the source of what might be considered aberrant behaviour. If you have a different viewpoint, please comment and provide science in support please. I love good contributions. Captive female Sumatran tiger killed at London Zoo by male while zookeepers tried to get them to mate. Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Wild tigers In the wild, male tigers have much larger home ranges than those of females. And each male's range typically overlaps several female ranges. It seems like male tigers have a harem of females within their orbit. Consequently, there are no fights over territory between males and females, as I understand it. Clearly, fights over territory can result in the death of one tiger. Also, male tigers sometimes fight over access to a female, but this is a male-on-male fight. I have read through a lar
Read more

Tiger paw size compared to domestic cat paw and male human hand

-
Image
This is a triple comparison focusing on the paw size of a regular domestic cat. The adult tiger paw is genuinely enormous. Its size emphasises the size of the tiger. The Siberian tiger species is the world's biggest cat. I have a feeling that the paw we see in the photo is that of a Siberian tiger. Picture comparing domestic cat paw size with tiger paw size and human hand (male). Image: MikeB The strength of the tiger is very apparent in this photograph. Physically tigers are very powerful. They are burly animals supremely well equipped to single-handedly capture and subdue very large prey animals. Their strength is legendary being able to drag large prey animals across rough ground and even uphill over considerable distances to cache the animal before consuming it. The skull is large and foreshortened. This increases the bite force at the tips of the amazing set of canine teeth. The neck is short and the shoulders are broad. The forelimbs are massive, ideal for grappling with pre
Read more