ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[peter]

CANIDS

My advice is to distinguish between hyenas, African wild dogs, wolves, coyotes, jackals, dholes, dogs, street dogs and feral dogs. All of them will attack domesticated animals (including pets) and humans in some conditions. Dholes do not. I've seen all of them them in zoos and facilities, studied their behavior, talked to people who knew them in captivity and talked to those who had seen their wild relatives. Dholes are different from all others. More wild at heart, more dangerous, more capable and more clever. They have the eye.

SANKHALA AND ANDERSON 

Sankhala didn't see wild dogs harassing tigers. Some of his collegues did. They were Forest Rangers and Forest Officers. They didn't write books, but some of them informed him about their experiences. Reliable, that is.

Kenneth Anderson didn't say he heard about this or that. He actually saw a tigress chased by dogs and he saw her kill one when she was attacked. He actually saw her run and he also saw the main pack following shortly after. In total, almost thirty dogs were involved. The people who told him about the fight that followed later were not hired by glossies. They had known Anderson for a long time. They trusted each other. In the wild, you have to. Anderson also saw wild dogs harrass, injure and kill other animals. Animals able to kill humans, like sloth bears, wild boars, leopards and hyenas.  

Kenneth Anderson wasn't the only one who saw interactions between dholes and tigers. Read a few books written by those who worked in old India in the 19th century. I'm not saying every story is reliable, but some people saw things others did not. Doesn't mean they didn't happen.   

HUNTERS

What you saw in the USA is not disputed. Hunters profit from exaggerated stories about predators with a terrible lust to kill. I know. I also know they will eliminate competitors given half a chance. Finally, I know that many spectacular stories grow in size every time they are retold. All of that, however, doesn't mean that these stories were a result of hearsay or exaggeration. If you dismiss anything out of the ordinary as crap all the time, you're no different from those accepting everything they read on the internet. I know it isn't easy to find your way, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try. 

Here's a few examples of stories considered as myths by many.   


STORIES ON THE SIZE OF INDIAN, NEPAL AND RUSSIAN TIGERS

A few decades ago, biologists just about dismissed every story on exceptional tigers. This is why they carried 500-pound scales when they started in India. When they admitted they could have been a bit too harsh, 600-pound scales were added. In Nepal, they still came up short in at least two cases.

In Russia, biologists were as sceptical as in India, if not more so. According to some, everything written on the alleged size of Amur tigers was total crap. They only trusted what they had weighed and measured themselves. The method used to measure tigers was unsound, but there was no question that Amur tigers were way smaller than the tigers featuring in all these old stories. Their table, however, included problem tigers close to starvation and young adults. Furthermore, they forgot that Amur tigers had walked the edge for nearly half a century. They also ignored the impact of habitat destruction and prey depletion. New dimensions in scepticism, if not outright arrogance.

In Russia, tigers now are protected. Protection is taken serious. There are anti-poaching teams and they're good. Penalties for poachers are more severe. Tigers responded. According to Olga Krasnykh, there could be more Amur tigers than biologists say. Much more. Conditions are improving all the time. China will add a new large reserve soon. Biologists had to, ehh, adapt a few statements on tigers and bears in the Russian Far East recently. My guess is they have to adapt a few statements on size as well. Soon, I think.

A STORY ABOUT LIFE AND DEATH FROM RUSSIA 

Wolverine posted a story about a male tiger and the big wild boar he killed. This thread. Find it. It's not based on hearsay, but facts. In Russia, a male Amur tiger in his prime was found dead close to a road. They followed the trail he had left in the snow. About ten km. away from the road, they found a dead wild boar. Big tusks, he had. What happened?

The autopsy said the tiger had been very close to death before he attacked the wild boar. The reason was cancer. It was everywhere. The cancer in particular had affected his spine and hind limbs, meaning he had been barely able to walk, let alone move properly before he attacked the wild boar.

So why did he attack? The reason is hunger.

As he was unable to move his hindlegs, the attack failed. The wild boar turned round and attacked himself. Mistake. Although he crushed the pelvis area, the tiger killed him.   

Vets said the tiger had more or less passed the gates of life before he attacked. An ex-tiger, he was. But he attacked the wild boar and killed him. First time a wild boar was killed by a dead tiger. After he died a second time (the boar destroyed the pelvis area of the tiger before he was killed), the tiger, using his front limbs only, dragged himself to a road. In the snow. Downhill. Ten km. using his arms only. Yes, ten. Close to the road, he died a third time.   

REALITY AND ATTITUDE

What I'm saying is life often is surprising and complicated. The best way to deal with reality is to stay away from fixed opinions, firm statements, arrogance, fundamentalism and all the rest of it. The only way to learn is to open up and get rid of crap. Not easy, but there are rewards. Good luck. Reply