History

Tigers have fascinated people, often embodied in culture and religion.
The earlist evidence comes fromm 5,000 years ago, sculpted on seals of Indus Valley civilization of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, now Pakistan.
The epic peoms of the Aryan peoples who entered India from the northeast 4,000 years ago also mention tigers. The tiger appears as a symbol of beauty, power, and ferocity.

Origins

There is disagreement on how tigers came to be located where they are, though one popular theory is that all of these big cats originated in the cold areas of Siberia or Northern Asia. It is possible there was a southern movement of ice which forced the animals to make the move into China and Manchuria. At this point there was a three-way split, with groups travelling to India, the Caspian Sea and South-East Asia. The third group split once more, this time into two, with these animals continuing onto Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia, or Java, Sumatra and Bali. This is only one of several theories and many experts disagree with it, saying an animal originating from snowy Siberia would hardly be in need of stripes for camouflage. However, there have been early tiger fossils discovered in Alaska which add some credence to this suggestion. But until further proof comes to hand we must say the true origins of the tiger still remain unknown. Coming forward in history, we find that the hunting of this cat goes back over three thousand years to the time of the pharaohs. Assyrians kept tigers and lions in menageries, then hunted them from chariots using bows and arrows.

Rome

In eleven B.C. the first tiger was seen by the Romans at the dedication ceremonies of the temple of Marcellus. Some people claim it was the Romans who gave us the word 'tiger' and that it is derived from tigris, the cat being named after the swift Tigris River of Mesopotamia. However, the tiger is named for the Persian word tighri which means 'arrow'. Many tigers were taken to Rome in the period of the emperors and Emperor Heliogabalus had six tigers, lions or stags draw his chariot on special occasions. He was also fond of practical jokes and had a favourite party trick of putting lions and tigers, whose teeth and claws had been removed, into the bedrooms of drunken guests. Several of these died from the fright they received. Emperor Nero became so infatuated with the tigress called Phoebe that he kept her at his palace, housed in a gold cage. Legendary animal trainer Lybius tamed the tigress and she then accompanied Nero everywhere, eating from his hand.

Gladiators

Rome also saw the tiger pitted against gladiators in battles which were some of the most popular events of the time. In this blood sport, tigers were savaged in the thousands. The Emperor Commodus (popularised in the movie 'Gladiator') is known to have appeared in the Colosseum over 700 times where he personally killed hundreds of tigers, elephants, hippos, bears, rhinos, ostriches and lions. These hunting displays were usually mounted from a specially-made raised platform. He also ordered and watched the death of many, many more animals and his killing sprees were so extreme that it was to be a further 1600 years before some species, one being the hippopotamus, were once again seen in Europe. To extend the entertainment value of these 'games' various tricks were used, including the cochlea which consisted of a revolving door in the floor of the Colosseum. Gladiators used this by moving into the angle between the panels, then twisting out of the way just as the tiger or lion attacked. Another idea saw a see-saw system with two men suspended in baskets from each ends of a pole. Just as a tiger or lion attacked, the man would be lifted into the air and out of reach. This action placed the man in the opposite basket within the grasp of the tortured animal who would then turn its attention in that direction. This process went on as long as the animal continued to 'play'.

Burma

Tigers were even used to execute criminals with one Burmese ruler having a park full of tigers to which unfortunate criminals were condemned -- the public being invited to watch this spectacle. Marco Polo also wrote of seeing 'striped lions' and similar executions in the Cathay of Kubla Khan.

Asia

In Asian countries this beautiful animal was often baited in the name of sport, being tortured and eventually killed by packs of dogs. Typical of this type of thing was to de-claw the tiger, place it in an enclosure with a pack of dogs and let them fight to the death. The tiger would already be in pain and bleeding from the de-clawing -- which also put it at significant disadvantage. At one event of this type a pain crazed animal managed to leap the barrier, injuring a number of spectators and killing the maharajah's son. Once good quality weaponry was available tiger hunting soon became a popular sport, particularly with British Army officers and members of the upper classes. Hunts varied from small-scale events, usually leading to the death of one or two tigers, to huge events organised by Indian princes. These would often enlist the help of hundreds of beaters and servants whose job it was to drive tigers toward hunters seated on elephants or concealed in hides. A local marksman would sit behind any guest who wasn't a good shooter; by firing at the same time as the visitor he would give them the impression they had shot the cat. Refusing to take part would have meant causing certain offense to your hosts so even those who disapproved would hesitate to say no. Prince Phillip once took part in a hunt of this type; another officer was given a promotion for shooting a tiger during his first year of service. Yet another was awarded an OBE for arranging a successful hunt for the British Governor. In the past, many hunters have laid claim to shooting over one hundred tigers and some Maharajahs can claim to have shot well over one thousand of the big cats. It was the norm for an Indian prince to bag his first tiger around ten-years-old and continue to hunt until he died.

Nepal

In Nepal two or three hundred elephants would be used to drive tigers into a central group. Next a wall of light fabric was erected to deter the cats from escaping. They were then slaughtered, with this often leading to kills of well over one hundred tigers during a single hunt. The King of Nepal enjoyed providing this type of entertainment for his guests, one of the last being King George V who shot thirty-nine tigers in just eleven days. Numbers Plummet

Before 1900 world tiger numbers were put in the hundreds of thousands. Approximately 50 years ago there were between 25,000 and 30,000 tigers in Asia. As of this year the recorded numbers had plummeted to between 5,000 and 7,000. Along with that, the number of tiger sub-species around the world had fallen from eight down to only five.

Project Tiger

India contains 60% of the world's tigers and as recently as 1970 it was still legal to hunt them and export skins. During the 1950s and early 1960s it is recorded that more than 3,000 tigers lost their lives to trophy hunters, most of these being tourists. Personally, I've always thought a skin looks better on the tiger than on the floor in front of a fire. Indira Gandhi agreed; so India's national emblem became a protected animal. Project Tiger was formed in 1972, and together with the Indian Government they established a total of 23 national parks devoted specifically to saving the tiger, providing prey and re-establishing this lovely animal. Within the parks certain areas were designated as breeding grounds and these were out of bounds to the public. It was hoped that as tiger populations increased any surplus animals would migrate to neighbouring forests. To encourage this to happen, wide buffer zones protected breeding areas and routes were established away from public view, which allowed easy access to new forest areas. To begin with this plan was a great success and the tiger count showed an increase of animals in the wild. This went from approximately 1,800 at the commencement of the programme to more than 4,000, during the 11-year period it was in operation. After Mrs. Ghandi's assassination in 1984 these figures were questioned and the true result may have been considerably lower, however there is little doubt that there was a significant improvement in tiger numbers during the golden years of Project Tiger. Once Mrs. Ghandi was no longer in control tigers once more began to vanish at an alarming rate -- and that included those in wildlife parks. Politicians began to listen more to the local peasant farmers who wanted to clear the forests and convert them for agricultural use. Buffer zones and access routes were encroached on and many forest areas once more fell under the axe. With the loss of habitat prey animals began to disappear or were killed by the people for food. Finally, with the departure of potential prey the tiger population began to fall. Poachers accelerated this loss through snaring, shooting and poisoning. Body parts were then exported illegally to China for use in traditional folk medicines. In other areas such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, wars only made the situation worse. India's conservation programme was now in total disarray with the Government denying the proof presented to it, and taking no action to correct the problem. Though India now has a total of eighty wildlife parks, which provide some protection for the animals within them, poachers are often better equipped than the wildlife staff, therefore staff tend to be poorly motivated. Adding to the problems in this country is the fact that the amount of forested land has plummeted from 75% to only 20%. Further loss of habitat means almost certain doom for an animal living the solitary and territorial life of the tiger. It means sights like the one below will be seen less and less.

The Future

If all this continues, if more people don't care enough to make a stand on the tiger's behalf this animal will soon go the way of the dinosaur. It'll only be able to be remembered through pictures and old television wildlife shows. Our great grandchildren will watch these in disbelief that humans were so stupid as to not stop this carnage when they had the opportunity. All species of wild cat have evolved from a distant, but common
ancestory. Today tracing the links between the various forms and species can be both problematic and intreging. However to substain the worlds populations of wildcats species, we must have a clear understanding of the genetic links and relationships in order to help manage breeding programmes and coservation efforts.

For many years zollogists and taxonomists have argued over the exact classification of the feline species. In looking at the phylogony, which is the study of evolutionary development and history of a species, modern wild cat ancestory can be traced back well over two million years. From fossil remains of the various species of big cat it has been possible to piece together an overview of the various relationships between today's cat species. A common, but distant ancestry leave all wild cat species with fundamental similarities. However through evolutionary adaption, marked differences now distinguish one species from the another - those biult for speed over land and others biult for agility in the tree tops - those who hunt by day and those who hunt by night in pursuit of their prey.

In broad terms the positions of the family Felidae within the traditional classification system is well established, but the more detailed structring of phylogenetic relationships of the felid species is much less certain. Modern methods of molecular study have brought to light many realtionships which in the past have been hard to support using the more traditional methods of the morphological and behavioural study.

Today the need to establish true and specific relationships between the menbers of the family Felidae is of utmost importance. To sustain the worlds population of the wildcat species, bologists, zoologists, and conservationist must have a clear undersanding of the genetic links and relationships in order to help manage breeding programmes and conservation effforts.