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Mythology in China - Bai Hu (white tiger)

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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
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Can tigers meow?

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Yes, tigers can meow in their own way. According to a true expert on carnivore vocalisations, Gustav Peters, tigers have several types of vocalisations. These include the meow. They also include the prusten, roar, growl, snarl, coughing snarl, grunt, moan, spit and hiss. Tigers can meow in their own way. Is it a true meow? Photo: Pixabay. That's it. There is nothing more to say about tigers meowing but I'll go on! I had thought that they were incapable of meowing because they can roar.  But it depends on how you describe the meow sound. It is a 'elastic' sound in that it varies so much. You can't expect a tiger with their voice box to meow like a domestic cat.  There is a certain amount if imagination required to shoehorn the tiger meow into the category of sounds called the 'meow'. This is why it is a tricky subject to discuss. I have just written a page on the wild cats which meow . And that was difficult because except for the wild ancestor of the domesti
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Reliable weight data for wild tigers are difficult to find

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People are interested in the weight of tigers. They are the biggest cat on the planet after all. I have a page on the weight of all the wild cat species ranked in descending order which you can access by clicking here . I also have a page on the average weight of the tiger in pounds. It is a comprehensive page which you can access by clicking here . This page provides some insights. Bengal tiger size and weight. Image: PoC (MikeB). Mel and Fiona Sunquist in their excellent book Wild Cats of the World , published in 2002, make the point that it is difficult to find accurate information about the weights of tigers because the guys who hunted tigers didn't carry scales! They could measure the length of the tiger and the height to the shoulder, all that kind of stuff, but how were they going to weigh the animal? That presents a problem but we do have some data on this. They say that the heaviest Bengal tiger on record with a male that weighed 258.2 kg. They say that the weight is no
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