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 ...

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...