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.