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

[peter]

TWO INTRIGUING STORIES FROM MOTHER RUSSIA AND ONE FROM OLD AFRICA


a - The stories

1 - It started with the old and desperate male lion close to starvation who attacked an adult female Cape buffalo. Although hardly able to do anything, he hang on for a very long time. He just wouldn't give in. Only when the last spark of energy had left him, did he collapse. The buffalo later also perished. Tenacity.

2 - Than a young adult male Amur tiger got headlines. They found him close to a boar in the snow and thought he had been killed by a brown bear. The autopsy report suggested something else had happened, so the question was what. In the end, it seems like he was surprised and quickly killed by another male tiger. Trespassing, illegal hunting or overplaying his hand? We don't know. What we know is he died hard and fast. This means he hadn't been careful. Overconfidence?

3 - And then there is the intriguing story about the male Amur tiger and the male wild boar. Severely affected by a devastating disease and close to starvation some three years ago, a male Amur tiger in his prime decided for one more hunt. His last hunt. Although most probably hardly able to last in a struggle for more than a minute or so, he got to the boar, also a big male. As the power needed wasn't quite there anymore, the boar was able to free himself and decided to return the favour. The first blow, most probably from behind, broke a number of bones in the region of the pelvis of the tiger. Encouraged by the result, the boar decided for a follow-up. It was to be his last one, as it enabled to dying tiger to fasten his fangs in his throat. 

After the struggle, the tiger rose, only to find that his hindlegs had given in. Moving himself with his mighty upper arms only, he dragged himself for about 10 km. to a depression close to a road, where he lay down in the snow to rise no more. Although found in time, they couldn't do anything for him. The cancer had finished him. Tenacity.  

b - Aftermath

Reading these stories, especially the first and last one, can only result in amazement. The last story in particular is quite something. I talked about it with friends. A lot of them. As the debate heated up, more of them joined. The question was what could have happened. Not one came up with an answer backed by all. My guess is a documentary in which the tiger and the boar feature would draw millions. Won't happen, as humans don't care that much about wild animals. A geat pity.  

c - Sherlock

Excellent work and many thanks. I'll write a full report for the client soon. Reply