Book Review

[Dr Panthera]

Book Review: "Tiger"   Stephen Mills
An amazing book and a must have for any tiger enthusiast or big cats lover, after the iconic two editions of "Tigers of The World" this is the third most informative book about tigers I have ever read ( and I have read quite a few )
Stephen Mills is a naturalist and a wildlife film maker for the BBC, he studied tigers in Nepal and India for over 25 years and he presents his own knowledge and observation as well as analyzing the works of top tiger scientists like Sunquist, Seidensticker, Dinerstein, McDougal, Smith, Karanth,and Chundawat.
The book discusses tiger predatory behaviour, feeding ecology, and prey range including some unusual prey item like a 6 meter long python and three rhino calves, it moves to the interactions with other predators ( including an account by hunter Kenneth Anderson where a large pack of dholes killed a tigress at the cost of six dead dholes)
The book discusses at length tiger relations with other tigers, mating, rearing the cubs, the role of the male as a father, the sociability of tigers versus their territorial behaviour, the dispersal of sub-adults, tiger-tiger violence in areas like Kanha and Kaziranga and its almost non-existence in areas where most tigers are related Ranthambhore and Bandhavgarh
Mills discusses man-eating tigers in different areas in Asia and throughout the documented history with particular focus on the Sundarban tigers who appear to always attack the right handed side of their human victims!! He still considers tigers to be less likely to attack humans than lions would, he was never attacked by tigers but had several frightening encounters with young lionesses in particular, with an old injured lioness in Gir forest almost killing him.
The next chapter is about tiger census and how national estimates in tiger range countries are either grossly inaccurate or overly optimistic when reviewed by international organizations ( IUCN, WCS, WWF) for example an estimate from Myanmar put the tiger numbers in the country close to 1000 tigers, when IUCN experts reviewed the status of tigers there they estimated less than 150 at best, the best strategies for conserving tigers were discussed most importantly sufficient prey base, even with sufficient space tigers can not live on rodents, also increasing the numbers of elephants, nilgai, and peafowl is not going to help tigers, maximizing the numbers of sambar, chital, and wildboar is a priority.
The last chapter is devoted to the best places to see tigers in every single country, very important information if you are planning a tiger safari at some time. Reply