The Tiger

NEWS AND COMMENT: This tiger story from India irritates me a hell of a lot. The authorities rescued a tiger that had survived an arduous 75 mile swim down a swollen river. This is a large adult male who was swept into the Brahmaputra River in the North-east Indian state of Assam (as reported). The tiger was spotted by passers-by who were out walking on Tuesday. He was submerged up to his neck and apparently fighting to stay afloat long enough to reach an island in the river. Tiger rescued from river and sent to a bloody zoo. Image provided by the Telegraph newspaper. Aswani Kumar from the Assam State Zoo reported that the tiger was tranquilized after capture and sent to a veterinary hospital where they discovered lacerations to his body and where he was kept under observation. It is the following information which irritates me a lot. They're going to keep the tiger there and when the veterinarians give clearance that he is well enough to be moved they will take him to the Guwahati ...

When Mike Tyson was released from prison in 1995 after a three-year stretch, he was talked into buying a white Bengal tiger for around $65,000. In all he owned three white Bengal tigers over a period of time. He lived in Las Vegas at the time in between two houses and in one was a businessman who kept dogs. One day he was walking his Bengal tiger on a leash like a pet and the tiger saw the dogs. It jumped up onto his neighbour's property's wall to attack the dogs to eat them. The owner of the property saw this and Mike Tyson managed to pull the tiger down. Good old Mike used his innate strength to good effect. Mike Tyson with at pet white Bengal tiger in 1989. Credit: Getty - Contributor It seems that the property owner telephoned the ASPCA about it and they came around to Mike Tyson's home and told him that he was not allowed to keep the tiger in captivity. Clearly in Las Vegas you need a licence to keep a tiger. That isn't the case across the whole of the USA but it p...

NEWS AND COMMENT-Sathyamangalam, Tamil Naidu, India: Sathyamangalam is a town and municipality in Erode district in the Indian state of Tamil Naidu. It is near the Western Ghats. There are rolling landscapes covered with dense forests. They have some beautiful tiger reserves. The Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve is located there with 80 tigers. The reserve is contiguous with other reserves. Clearly, tiger conservation is important in the area and a major part of the lives of the citizens. Tamil Naidu has five tiger reserves and 15 wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve. Picture in public domain. However, the Communist Party of India (CPI) spokesperson in a meeting to discuss measures to protect the livelihood of tribal people and other forest dwellers stated that tiger conservation should not undermine the livelihoods of the hill people. This was a reference to an order passed by the Madras High Court that banned vehicle movement during night hours on Dhimbam...

It is reported that Bengal tigers killed more than 100 people in India in three years. In fact, 108 died between 2019 and last year according to junior environment minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey in Parliament. The human conflict with the Bengal tiger is an ongoing problem. It is brought about because of a lack of space. India is a highly populated country. Tigers require very large amounts of territory in order to behave naturally. The tiger reserves in India are arguably too small. At least some of them are. And you will get settlements on the outskirts of tiger reserves and you will even see people living inside the reserves. To an outsider that seems strange. A tiger walks past a vehicle carrying tourists at Ranthambore National Park, India. Photo in public domain. You will get farmers being attacked by tigers. In the Sundarbans which straddle the border with Bangladesh, there appears to be more human-tiger conflict than in other tiger reserves. This is probably because there are mo...

Four Paws International have successfully rescued four Bengal tigers, two of which (the parents) had spent 15 years of captivity in a tight enclosure on a train carriage. The history is interesting and sad. In 2007 a circus troupe abandoned a male and female tiger in San Luis, Argentina. Four Bengal tigers, two of which were trapped in a train carriage for 15 years, now freed. Photo in public domain. On a temporary basis, a local farmer was asked to take care of them but the animal's handler never returned to claim them. As a consequence, this male and female Bengal tiger were caged in a metal train carriage on the farmer's property. The tigers were not sterilised. They bred. They produced two offspring who were born into captivity and remained in captivity until released with their parents by Four Paws International. The train carriage was filthy, as expected, with leftover bones and meat. The tigers probably engaged in pacing which is a displacement activity due to the stress...

It is reported that Joe Exotic 58, is going to be released early from his 22-year prison sentence for conspiring to murder Carole Baskin. The Sun tell us that his sentence is due to be changed. They say he will soon walk free from prison. And on that basis, he has big plans.  Joe Exotic and tiger. Pic in public domain. He wants a new boyfriend and to meet that requirement he is preparing to star in his own dating show. The TV companies will be lining up to hire him. He also has plans to start up his own cannabis production line. The dating show will be called "Bachelor King" after the label that the media has given him which is "Tiger King" because he peddled in captive tigers and abused them. It is funny how people forget how he exploited and abused tiger cubs. He was one of the big four exploiters of tigers in America for many years. He was cruel to tigers . At one time he had the largest private zoo in America with the greatest number of big cats. You may reme...

COMMENT AND REPORT ON TIGER NEWS: This is a tragic story because the Amur tiger is rare. There are desperate measures being taken to protect and conserve this iconic animal. They live in the Far East of Russia, in that icy wilderness of birch trees and snowy landscapes. They are large animals. They've evolved that way to keep warm in the cold climate. It is believed that there are 500 left in the world. This puts pressure on zoos to try and breed them successfully.  Artificial insemination of a captive Amur tiger killed it. Photo: Cheyenne Mountain Zoom. Tigers usually breed well in zoos but in this instance, at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, they tried artificial insemination of a female, Savelii, because their resident male wouldn't mate with her to produce offspring naturally. The operation went badly wrong and it killed her. A spokesperson for the zoo, Bob Chastain, said that: "She passed due to complications during recovery from this impo...

COMMENT ON THE NEWS: Joe Exotic (not his real name which is believed to be Joseph Allen Schreibvogel) was dubbed 'Tiger King' by Netflix for their documentary series about him and his relationship with Carole Baskin the founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue (BCR) Colbert interviews Joe Exotic from his prison. Video screenshot. Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in prison for conspiring to murder Baskin . He asked for a presidential pardon from Trump who failed to respond to the request .  Baskin hates the Netflix documentary as it portrays her as being of the same ilk as Joe Exotic. They painted a picture of a feud between them. There was not. Exotic clearly hated her because she campaigned against people like Exotic who abused and exploited tiger cubs for profit. I think that it is accepted that Exotic disposed of tiger cubs when they became sub-adults as they were no longer assets but liabilities in terms of turning a profit .  He only wanted those cute cubs which he could expl...

You may have heard about the loss of all tigers at the Sariska tiger reserve. It was a highly embarrassing situation for Project Tiger - now National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) -  management. It gradually dawned on management what had happened in and around 2004. The loss of all tigers from poaching was confirmed in January 2005. There were 15 tigers at the Sariska tiger reserve before they were poached. They probably all ended up in tiger bone wine and medicinal products in Asia. This is tragic for people who care. There has been a gradual restocking of the park. And it seems to be very gradual. Two tigers, a male and female, were translocated in 2008. And a search of the internet indicates that as at 2011 there are five tigers (2 males and 3 females) and two new translocated cubs. Cats are reportedly poor travellers, meaning poor at translocation and introduction to new habitats . This is due to the land tenure system employed by tigers and all wild felids. Also br...

The news at 23rd July 2010 is that the Sariska Tiger Reserve has imported one tiger, a male. I presume that he came from another reserve (can the other reserve afford the loss?). The confusing thing for me is that earlier news declared that all the tigers in Sariska had been poached! There were none left - see Indian Bengal Tiger Reserves . So one new tiger wouldn't do much good in terms of breeding. If the earlier news was wrong it was probable that there were few tigers left and I would have thought that this latest exercise is doomed to failure. I am sorry if I am being too negative. The Sariska reserve is very small as well. This calls into question if it can sustain a tiger population on the grounds of range size alone. Source: http://www.i-to-i.com/campfire/news/sariska-national-park-in-india-steps-up-tiger-breeding-efforts.html

Madhya Pradesh is a state in India. I think the word "state" is the correct one. It has been reported in the Hindu Times (July 20, 2010) that of the 24 tigers that died in this state in various reserves over a three year period, most were killed in territorial disputes. Is that an expected number? Two died in road traffic accidents. It makes you think. What if the reserves are too small. What if the reserves are too small for the home ranges of the tigers that live in a reserve. Wouldn't this force young tigers who are seeking a home range of their own? This would lead to more territorial fights and deaths. Just a thought. I believe that a number if not all the Indian tiger reserves are too small and as a consequence the Bengal tiger is doomed in India. View Larger Map