Ethology and tigers

There was a study done in tigers held in captivity at zoos and the animals pacing behavior. Tigers and lions were placed into different habitats, where their daily behavior patterns were observed. It was seen that the tigers spent various amounts of time pacing in each different exhibit. “These differences suggest changes to the cats' immediate housing environment may decrease pacing but provide little insight into altering specifics. Carnivores' pacing relates to their inability to control sensory access to social partners. Both environments with increased pacing contained chain-link fencing, allowing uncontrolled sensory contact.” (April, 2007.) So, it is limiting the animal’s senses in a way and this study has shown that is linked with the amount of pacing that these carnivores do.

Speceisim and tigers

 I think the biggest aspect of speciesism with Tigers is the fact that they are hunted, and their fur is used as rugs, fashion, or a sort of treasure symbol. The bones of a tiger are crushed up and used in wine that is sold at Safaris in China, and the bones are even used in medicine that supposedly is a cure for rheumatism, which causes aches and pains like arthritis, but affects the joints and connective tissue. According to an article I read, “China has about 5,000 tigers in privately-run tiger farms, which have admitted stockpiling tiger carcasses in the hope that the 14-year old trade ban will be lifted.” ( Oryx, Oct. 2007 ) It is hard to believe that we would collect dogs and cats on a farm only to harvest them for their bones. I think that tigers are treated with cruelty in society because they are basically thought of as only a product. It could be argued that tigers could possibly be treated in the same inhumane manner that people consider farm animals to be treated. Chinese medicine, whether it be ancient or not, used every part of the tiger as some remedy. It only shows a piece of how the tiger is viewed, as its viewed as what uses it has for healing.

Current social perceptions of tigers

 In today’s society, there are still a lot of negative views on tigers as dangerous animals, which they are; therehas been media coverage of tiger attacks – mainly with exotic pets or tigers used in magic shows. Also, now there is a problem of this species becoming extinct due to poaching, prey decreasing, and habitat loss. Today, tigers are used for their fur and bones, and the depletion of the species is mainly due to poaching. I believe the media coverage of all the attacks or accidents that have happened is what fuels the negative limelight.

The social history/domestication of tigers

Tigers are solitary animals that chose their territory and its size based on their available prey. They usually also live in separate territories; the territory also has to be close to a body of water. This wild, exotic animal has remained that way, for this animal is not typically domesticated. It is clear the world has tried through entertainment and as pets. When kept as pets or used in magic shows perhaps they are thought to be domesticated, but there have been tragedies in magic acts and in other instances. This tragedies go to show that such an animal never loses its instinctive nature no matter how long you have bonded or have taught it commands, etc.

The biggest threat to their species is civilization, the loss of their habitats, and being poached.

They are built predators, but in actuality they miss more of their prey then they catch them. They hunt by stalking and trying to surprise attack the prey from behind. Typically, they live up to fifteen years in the wild, but it has been heard of a tiger reaching up to twenty-six years.

The Tiger

I have decided to research the history of the tiger, or Panthera (the Genus classification) species. This animal by large is considered to be an exotic animal, and one that is native to other regions of the world. The only chance we have to see a Tiger in the United States is by going to the zoo, for it is more native to regions in Asia.   


Status: Endangered
Population: as few as 3,200
Weight: 220-660 lbs
Length: 4-10 ft
Habitats: Tropical rainforest, evergreen forest, mangrove swamps, grasslands, savannas, and temperate forest


Tigers are typically solitary animals that hunt alone, and these animals typically rely on their sight and sound senses. They usually give birth to around two to three cubs and that is roughly around every two years, but if all the cubs of the litter die then a second litter can occur as soon as five months later. The biggest problem tigers face is the morality rate for the young is high, as most do not make it past two years.

The different classifications of tigers: 

P. tigris altaica (Siberian, Amur or Northeast China tiger)
Typically range in south east Russia and north east China
There is estimated to be about 430-500 which maybe in China; forty years ago, it was estimated as low as 24 in Russia.

P. tigris amoyensis (South China tiger)
Range in China
It is estimated to be around 20-30 (may be fewer or even extinct) across broad range which includes a large amount of reserves.

P. tigris corbetti (Indochinese tiger)
Range in south  China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia

It is estimated around 100-200 in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos
250-600 in Thailand
600-650 in peninsular Malaysia
200-300 in Vietnam

P. tigris sumatrae (Sumatran tiger)
Range in Indonesia
Estimated around 400-500 animals mainly located in the five national parks.

P. tigris tigris (Bengal tiger)
Range in  India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and north west Myanmar
Estimated around 3,600-4,700 living in over 100 protected areas, but these numbers are skeptical.

The extinct species of tigers: 

P. tigris (Bali tiger)
Ranged in Indonesia
Considered extinct in the 1940s

P. tigris sondaica (Javan tiger)
Ranged in Indonesia
Considered extinct in 1980s

P. tigris virgata (Caspian tiger)
Ranged in Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Mongolia, Russia
Officially declared extinct in 1970s

Sources

Book reviews. Nature [serial online]. September 22, 1994;371(6495):296. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 6, 2013.

Joseph Ford. Nature 371, 296 (22 September 1994) doi:10.1038/371296a0 Comments and Opinion 

Ge, G., Dong, Y., & Guo, H. (2008). Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright. China Today, 57(6), 42-43.

Børdahl, V. (2007). The Man-Hunting Tiger: From "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" in Chinese Traditions. Asian Folklore Studies, 66(1/2), 141-163.

Tigers in controversal topics

On PETA's website, there are numerous articles about Tigers and the illegal exotic animal trade. One of them being about tigers in Balm, Florida that were kept by owner, Lance Ramos, whom was an unlicensed animal exhibitor through the Hawthorn Corporation. The owner of the corporation had their permit refused to be renewed, so they will not be allowed to exhibit or keep Tigers in Florida. The corporation has also had it's license suspended twice before in light of a case of abuse to elephants and release of the 16 elephants that were housed after one had died from chemical burns that went untreated. There has also been around or more than 30 tigers that have died under captivity of this corporation and that is since 2000.

In my personal opinion, I think it is awful that people can obtain licenses, so easily or quickly and then hoard and abuse these exotic animals. I think more precaution, prevention, and punishment on this matter would help to control it. The illegal trade needs to be stopped through punishing the crime and making these animals less obtainable. I'm not sure if it would be too strict or too hard to manage, but background checks could be a good tool used in prevention before people can get a license to exhibit and keep exotic animals, especially the endangered kind, which it is my belief should not be kept unless it is for conservation and re-population of the species. 

Tigers in Film

Aladdin is another Disney classic that involves the story of Princess Jasmine and the pauper Aladdin falling in love, it is a classic princess fairytale with the happy ending. As usual, Jasmine has an animal companion by the name of Rajah, and the animal is a tiger. It's a common sort of belief that the wealthy own such exotic creatures, but whether that is true or just a myth I'm not sure.  What I find very curious about the scenes to the left is the anthropomorphism of the tiger, for you see the sadness in the features in     the top moving gif.  You even see the animal hug her back as she cries against her companion, much like we would hug our cats and dogs in times of sorrow.

This second moving gif from the movie also shows Jasmine loving on the tiger and there appears to be a happy smile on the animal's face, and in both scenes these are very different depictions of the animal that the public knows as vicious and dangerous, for in this movie it appears as if the tiger is as gently as our house cats. There is also a scene in the movie where Aladdin comes to visit Jasmine as a prince where Rajah is fiercely snarling at Aladdin, being protective of Jasmine, and portraying the image of the tiger that the public and media know.

I think the reasoning behind why they use the tiger and anthropomorphize it is to get the children to relate to the animal, to connect similar characters or emotions that make it more likable than Iago, the parrot.

 I would certainly deem the Life of Pi a more adult movie as it is about a boy's survival on this boat for 227 days with this tiger. The directors and producers spent time studying tigers, which I think adds immensely to the portrayal of the animal in the movie. You can see in both gifs that the animal certainly does not have any of the anthropomorphized emotions that are shown in Rajah, in the Disney movie Aladdin. You can see how the boat ride for the boy in the movie quickly became one of life or death survival. For tigers, as predators, were certainly trying to go after the boy as prey.

This shows a more realistic version of the tiger that we would think of today or that was told in story in the past. There is nothing about that massive paw and teeth that says this animal is cute and cuddly either, so you may disassociate any connections to animals in your life.

Tigers in Literature or Folklore

The Man-Hunter Tiger 

from "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" in Chinese Tradition

It is a tale of the hero Wu Song and the struggle, sometimes life or death, that he has with a man-eating tiger. The tale is suppose to be a contrast of the conflict between man and nature. It can even be traced back to the middle of the 17th century, when the author became famous for the tale. The tiger is also known as the "big beast" in other variations of the story. The character Wu Song actually hunts out the tiger and in the story wants to see how strong the animal is, while the tiger is said to think about how hearty Wu Song is and how the animal will have left overs. In different versions, it becomes more comedic or more animal-like where the tiger is hunting for prey. I believe the tiger is used because there were more tigers back in that age, and tigers were seen as dangerous and would come and hunt the village's animals or prey on the young. It was a rather feared animal in that culture, and that is why I think it was chosen against all other animals. For the story of defeating the "big beast" of a tiger in a heroic battle would certainly catch on.

Tigers in artwork through the years

This is one of several watercolor portraits of the tiger by Eugene Delacroix. It come from a book called Noble Beasts: Animals in Art, which is a book full of collections of various pictures from the National Gallery of Art all the way in Washington, D.C. It is credited all the way back to the year 1830.

This is a photo taken from the website dated at 2013 in September, chinatoday.com.cn, and it is for a promotion of saving the endangered species. It talks about how since the 1980s, the Chinese government has been trying to strengthen efforts in order to stop poaching, etc. It is stated that the tiger population has dropped from 100,000 to 3, 500 over the past 100 years, according to a chief engineer of Department of Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Management of the State Forestry Administration, Yan Xun. In 2010, heads of govrnement from 13 nations agreed to a Global Tiger Recovery Program which hopes to double the population of tigers in the wild by 2022. So, there is much more hope for the recovery of tigers. China has even stopped the use of tiger bones in medicine and trade of parts.

A tiger's life 101

1. Species Identification: I have decided to research the history of the tiger, or Panthera (the Genus classification) species. This animal by large is considered to be an exotic animal, and one that is native to other regions of the world. The only chance we have to see a Tiger in the United States is by going to the zoo, for it is more native to regions in Asia.        

2. Social History/Domestication: It is said that P. palaeosinensis was the origin of the tiger, but that was a wrong correlation for the two only hold similar characteristics. Instead, the tiger belongs to the Pantherinae classification. The oldest known fossils of these animals come from the Pleistocene time in China, but the origin has been long debated. The uses of this animal to humans was mainly as tigers would attack villages, leaving negative opinions behind, and resulted in removing tigers from the wild or poaching or some form of morality.

3.    Current Social Perceptions: In today’s society, there are still a lot of negative views on tigers as dangerous animals, which they are, and there has been media coverage of tiger attacks – mainly with exotic pets or tigers used in magic shows. Also, now there is a problem of this species becoming extinct due to poaching, prey decreasing, and habitat loss. Today, tigers are used for their fur and bones, and the depletion of the species is mainly due to poaching. I believe the media coverage of all the attacks or accidents that have happened is what fuels the negative limelight.

4.     Ethology: There was a study done in tigers held in captivity at zoos and the animals pacing behavior. Tigers and lions were placed into different habitats, where their daily behavior patterns were observed. It was seen that the tigers spent various amounts of time pacing in each different exhibit. “These differences suggest changes to the cats' immediate housing environment may decrease pacing but provide little insight into altering specifics. Carnivores' pacing relates to their inability to control sensory access to social partners. Both environments with increased pacing contained chain-link fencing, allowing uncontrolled sensory contact.” (April, 2007.) So, it is limiting the animal’s senses in a way and this study has shown that is linked with the amount of pacing that these carnivores do.

5.  Speceisism: I think the biggest aspect of speciesism with Tigers is the fact that they are hunted, and their fur is used as rugs, fashion, or a sort of treasure-esque symbol. The bones of a tiger are crushed up and used in wine that is sold at Safaris in China, and the bones are even used in medicine that supposedly is a cure for rheumatism, which causes aches and pains like arthritis, but affects the joints and connective tissue. According to an article I read, “China has about 5,000 tigers in privately-run tiger farms, which have admitted stockpiling tiger carcasses in the hope that the 14-year old trade ban will be lifted.” ( Oryx, Oct. 2007 ) It is hard to believe that we would collect dogs and cats on a farm only to harvest them for their bones. I think that tigers are treated with cruelty in society because they are basically thought of as only a product. It could be argued that tigers could possibly be treated in the same inhumane manner that people consider farm animals to be treated.