The Tiger

Wild dogs in India are called 'dholes'. Their scientific name is Cuon alpinus . A pack of wild dogs can kill an individual tiger. There are records of it. Before I describe a fight between a tigress and a pack of dholes, I should tell you that the Indian wild dog is endangered and according to my research there are no more than 2,500 Indian, adult wild dogs left on the planet. Indian wild dogs 'dholes'. Image in public domain. This simple fact must reduce any encounters between a group of wild dogs and an individual tiger in India. Therefore, it is a little bit self-indulgent really to discuss and analyse the killing of a tiger by a band of wild dogs, but I will do so to satisfy the curiosity of any reader. Kenneth Anderson witnessed and described a battle between a pack of wild dogs and a tigress which took place near Mysore in southern India. His account is described in his book: Nine maneaters and one rogue published in New York by EP Dutton and Co in 1955. Here is ...

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...

A rare Malay tiger was shot dead at a zoo in Florida after a cleaner employed by a contracting cleaning company put his arm through the fencing. He was in an unauthorised area. It's reported that his behaviour was in breach of contract and reckless. Sadly, it is the tiger who paid with his life despite behaving instinctively. Eko, the Malayan tiger shot dead by a sheriff's deputy because he would not release the hand of a cleaner. The photograph comes from the zoo's Facebook page. The cleaning company was responsible for cleaning restrooms and the gift shop. They were not responsible for cleaning animal enclosures. Enquiries indicate that the man was either petting or feeding the animal. Reports indicate that the tiger grabbed the man's arm after he traversed an initial barrier and put his arm through the fencing. The tiger concerned was a four-year-old Malayan tiger whose name was Eko. A sheriff's deputy arrived. He kicked the fence to try and startle the tiger int...

Tigers will kill any animal that puts itself in a vulnerable position and there are few animals which the tiger avoids and does not try and kill. Elephants and rhinoceroses are rarely killed. But tigers have a tendency to attack and kill animals which are considerably larger than themselves. In fact they need large prey items in order to consume enough flesh to survive in relative comfort. Massive Indian bison can kill a tiger and you can see why. Photo in public domain. However, large prey animal such as water buffalo and Indian bison (gaur) can be very formidable, dangerous and there are records of tigers being killed by these animals often after a gruesome and deadly struggle. Scientists have recorded these events and I can repeat a couple of their accounts here. A scientist called Anderson reported a long battle in which an Indian bison repeatedly gored and trampled to death a tiger. The undergrowth where the battle happened was trodden down and flattened. "The undergrowth ...