Book Review

[Dr Panthera]

Book Review: "Riding The Tiger" John Seidensticker and others.
Published by Cambridge University Press this book remains along with the two editions of "Tigers of The World" the best books written about tigers.
Dr. Seidensticker is a professor of biology, a conservationist, and a field biologist, he did great work with radio-telemetry studies of Pumas in the American west in the early 70's, he was a member of the team that caught and radio collared the first wild tigers in Chitwan in the 70's, he is the only scientists who studied Javan tigers in the wild in the 1970's before they became extinct and he did some work in the Sundarban as well.
The book is divided into three parts:
1-introducing the tiger: its ecology, predatory behavior, genetics, subspecies versus cline
2-Update on tiger ecology with contributions from field work in Russia, Nepal, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Sumatra by scientists like Sunquist, Karanth, Chundawat, Franklin, Smith, Miquelle, Smirnov,McDougal, Rabinowitz, Tilson and others.
3-Tiger Conservation and its future.

Points of interest:

* A great analysis on how the tiger distribution in Asia mirrors the distribution of large cervids and wild boar and encompasses large bovids and medium cervids
* Explaining the importance of large deer to tiger survival...Manchurian red deer, Bukhara red deer, Sambar, Barasingha, Eld's deer , and Rusa deer. Protecting these ensures adequate prey base for tigers.
Depending on wild boad did not save Caspian tigers from extinction after the demise of Bukhara deer, depending on Banteng did not save Javan tigers ( Rusa deer and wild boar were almost extinct, Banteng distribution and its anti-predator defense pushed tigers towards small prey and extinction.)
* The Muntjac-Only Scenario and its grave consequences for Indochinese tigers
* The dispersal abilities of sub-adult tigers ( up to 150 kms from natal area for young males)
* The "migratory" Caspian tigers that followed wild boar herds for about 1000 kms in 2-3 months
* Comparison of feeding ecology studies from Chitwan, Kanha, Huai Kha Khaeng, and Nagarahole.
* Andrew Kitchener explains clinal variation versus subspecies and groups tigers as: mainland tigers and Sunda tigers
* Mean weight of vertebrate prey across Asia, comparing results obtained from scat analysis with kills.
* How to distinguish tigers based on their stripe pattern
* How to distinguish tiger footprints from leopards and their kills from one another
* The disasters that the Indochinese tiger is facing and the myths about this poorly studied eco-type
* Reintroducing tigers versus protecting existing areas
* Prey Depletion being the biggest threat to tigers more than habitat destruction and even tiger poaching Reply