Tigers are big cats, the biggest cats of all, only rivalled by lions.

The Tyger

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could fram thy fearful symmetry?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night.
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

- William Blake (1757-1827), "The Tyger" (1794) (Fergusson 1996:680-81).

What the Tiger Says

Bengali: gorgon
Finnish: grrrrrr
Thai: ai hhoun houn.

A. Tiger Proverbs

Oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger (Ap 263).

Newborn calves don't fear tigers (Ap 80).

The courage of the tiger is one, and of the horse, another (Ap 120).

Tigers and deer do not stroll together (Ap 142).

It might be better to be a live rabbit than a dead tiger. (Cf. Ap 382)

The courage of the tiger is one, and of the horse, another (American)

B. Tiger Sayings

Being born in a duck yard does not matter if only you are hatched from a tiger's egg. (Joke)

It is not for the tiger to teach eaglets to sing.

It is not that the tigers are not wise, but they need to hunt for food to live.

The son of the tiger is a hunter more often than not.

Those who help wild animals need to know more than wild animals to be able to help well.

Death darkens his eyes - death may come unless there is a sturdy fence between.

Decent living requires space for more than mere survival. (Overpopulation is the problem)

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Tiger Watching

It is possible to learn a whole lot by observing men and animals while being on the safe side. To learn to observe in general, and learn to observe men and animals, there are many helps.

• One is to learn to use a camera and learn to wait in hiding or very discreetly.
• Another is to learn the art of observing animals and men as they are about.
• A little study of biology, human faiths, conduct, and diversity of ways may help as well.

Dennis Morris has published books of findings in the field of man-watching. There are ideas to gather from the fields of anthropology and psychology too. Many points from birdwatching can be applied also (e.g. Stokes 1979).

Points

The tiger is the national animal of India and very hard to see.

Just as a trees die without soil for their roots and space enough to catch light, tigers succumb if they lack terrain to hunt in. They are in trouble.

Tiger dilemmas today: from being regarded as threatening to threatened - Shooting of wild animals, deforestation and overcrowding reduce and eliminate former tiger habitats.

"To have a passage is a good thing" - the tigers lives up to it. - There is a need for corridors between many wild-life reserves.

"Much science, much animal sorrow (cf. British proverb)" - Man has already ruined much, also assisted by many infirm technology means.

Research shows how many animals tigers need to feed on yearly, and how big a tract, accordingly.