The Tiger

NEWS AND VIEWS -ATTICA ZOOLOGICAL PARK, ATHENS GREECE: This is an astonishing variation on the classic cat dumping story. We know that not uncommonly people abandon their unwanted pet cats by dumping them outside cat rescue centres or sometimes, far more callously, in a rubbish dump somewhere, anywhere. In this instance, ABC News report that medics are fighting to save the life of a 3-month-old female white tiger cub after she was found in an appalling state in a rubbish bin outside the Attica Zoological Park by a cleaner on February 28, 2023. The rubbish bin is in a parking lot. White tiger cub abandoned outside Greek zoo in Athens. Image: Attica Zoological Park. The zoo's founder is dumbfounded. Jean-Jacques Leseur said: "It is the first time ever we had such an animal dumped outside our zoo. I mean, we had a number of cases of animals dumped, but usually these are abandoned pets; puppies, kittens, tortoises but a tiger? Never." Law enforcement is trying to identify the...

There was a time when American citizens were interested in the price of white tigers. That was before the enactment of the Big Cat Public Safety Act 2022 which very recently came into force. Big cats including of course, white tigers cannot be owned or possessed by private individuals in private zoos anymore in the USA.  Existing big cat owners can keep their tigers until they die but they can't then buy another one. Potential new owners are barred from buying. Accredited zoos can own them but the only reason why they want to own them is to entertain the public and make some dosh. There is not conservation value at all in white tigers as they are heavily inbred and extinct in the wild. In fact, they were extinct in the wild as long ago as 1951. A maharaja shot the last white tiger family but left one cub alive, Mohan (who was abused), from which the entire current world population of white tigers at zoos have been created. Horrible. A f***ing awful history of humankind's stupid...

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 ...

Mabel Stark, a former Kentucky nurse became the world's first female tiger trainer. She spent almost 3 decades as a circus performer working with tigers and another 30 years working at Jungleland, an animal theme park in California where she raised cubs to be performers. All of her career took place in America. Mabel Stark with a leopard cub. Image: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. (Library of Congress) On April 20, 1968, Stark took own life at the age of 79. It was about a year or so after the Jungleland general manager dismissed her because the park's insurance provider decided that they could no longer cover her. At that moment, Mabel Stark told a cage hand at the park: ""If ever I can't have my tigers, it's sayonara, my friend." It seems that she meant it and decided to check out. She was born in Princeton, USA on December 10, 1889. Her real name was Mary Haynie. She was one of seven children and was raised on a farm. Her parents die...

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...

Yes, Siberian (Amur) and Bengal tigers can definitely mate. They are two subspecies of tiger. They are very similar. In my mind it is like asking whether a person living in the West can mate with a person living in the East. There's nothing stopping it from a DNA point of view. Big Cat Rescue states that crossbreeding Bengal tigers with Siberian tigers might increase the odds of producing white cubs. North China amur tiger crossed with a Bengal cat as shown in a museum specimen. This image comes from messybeast.com courtesy Sarah Hartwell. There is also the issue of mongrel tigers being quite commonplace in zoos and other facilities where tigers are used to entertain customers. They become mongrelised in zoos and circuses. In other words, the tigers are no longer purebred. The tigers that you see in zoos or circuses are often generic tigers and not a definitive subspecies. That's because they been breeding with each other which makes my point. The expert on hybrid wild cats is ...

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...

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...

There is no God-given rule, no absolute diktat from up above as to why tigers should be kept in captivity. They shouldn't. In a better world, with half the current human population, there would be enough space for tigers to live in their own reserves without coming into conflict with people. In other words people would be living in harmony with tigers rather than persecuting them, exploiting them, abusing them and banging them up in prison cells with concrete floors and nasty bars.  Why shouldn't tigers be kept in captivity? Because it is a f**k**g failure. Pic: Pixabay. Tigers like to enjoy space. In the natural world they may roam over hundreds of square miles in their home range. You imprison them in a zoo and no matter how wonderful you make that zoo they are still confined to a space much smaller than they would be enjoying in the wild. And let's remind ourselves that very many zoos are terrible dumps. They are disgusting places in Third World countries where tigers...

The exact date of the foundation of the royal menagerie appears to be uncertain. My source tells me that around 1120 King Henry I established a 'flourishing menagerie near Oxford which included the first recorded captive tiger in England'. Royal menagerie in 1816. Picture in the public domain. Another source tells me that the menagerie was founded at the Tower of London during the reign of King John (1199-1216). I favour the first date!  On that basis, the menagerie was moved to the Tower of London about 100 years after it was established.  The animals were gifts from other royalty. Various other tigers were presented to the Crown by rulers such as Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor. The zoo was closed to the public until the middle of the eighteenth century (around 1750). Until then royalty and guests were allowed to see the animals which were rare and exotic to the English of that era. Knowledge of managing captive animals was relative poor and it is said that many died...

Tigers need an enormous amount of space when they live in the wild and I believe that they still need that kind of space when in captivity even if they were born in captivity because this need is inherited. I believe that it is hardwired into their DNA. On that basis life in a zoo for a tiger is uncomfortable, sterile and without enjoyment except intermittently. And I am referring to good zoos in the West. What about the crappy zoos in Asia where we see tigers pacing to survive mentally. It is horrible to see. I shake my head when I think of it because I don't know how people can put tigers through that kind of mental torture. Only ignorant people can do it. Tiger in captivity. Photo: Pixabay I do not believe that it makes any difference whether a tiger is born in captivity, in a zoo, or whether they are born in the wild. They need a certain amount of space in order to express their natural behaviour. It is an enormous amount of space. It depends upon where the tiger lives in the w...