Animal Wallpapers Blog: Tiger in History & Mythology, Tiger Wallpapers, Tiger Calendar

Malayan Tiger

Tiger: The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to 3.3 metres (11 ft) and weighing up to 306 kg (670 lb). It is the third largest land carnivore (behind only the Polar bear and the Brown bear). Its most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underside. It has exceptionally stout teeth, and the canines are the longest among living felids with a crown height of as much as 74.5 mm (2.93 in) or even 90 mm (3.5 in). In zoos, tigers have lived for 20 to 26 years, which also seems to be their longevity in the wild. They are territorial and generally solitary but social animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey requirements. This, coupled with the fact that they are indigenous to some of the more densely populated places on Earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans.

Tigers have muscular bodies with particularly powerful forelimbs and large heads. The pelage coloration varies between shades of orange or brown with white ventral areas and distinctive black stripes. The face has long whiskers, which are especially long in males. The pupils are circular with yellow irises. The small, rounded ears have black markings on the back, surrounding a white spot. These spots, called ocelli, play an important role in intraspecific communication.
The pattern of stripes is unique to each animal, these unique markings can be used by researchers to identify individuals (both in the wild and captivity), much in the same way that fingerprints are used to identify humans. It seems likely that the function of stripes is camouflage, serving to help tigers conceal themselves amongst the dappled shadows and long grass of their environment as they stalk their prey. The stripe pattern is also found on the skin of the tiger. If a tiger were to be shaved, its distinctive camouflage pattern would be preserved.

For more information on Characteristics and evolution, Subspecies, Biology and behaviour, Reproduction, Hunting and diet of Tigers please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger

Tigers in History

The tiger is revered as the protector of the forest. Indian mythology has several stories where the tiger is believed to have powers to do everything from fighting dragons to create rain, keeping children safe from nightmares, and having healing properties. In Islam, it is believed that Allah has sent the tiger to protect his followers and punish traitors.

The Warli tribe worships the Tiger God, Vaghdeva. They believe that the tiger is the greatest of all gods and donate part of their harvest every season to the tiger, as a symbol of life and regeneration.

They also regard the tiger as the bringer of fertility. Warli couples are dressed in tiger colours - red and yellow shawls - when they visit the temple of the Goddess of Marriage, Palaghata. According to legend, if the goddess is angry, the shawls would turn into tigers and devour the couple. If she is pleased, the couple is blessed with a child. Warli paintings show the tiger as a part of everyday life, sitting or walking through a village.

In Nagaland, the tiger and man are said to be brothers since the mother of the first spirit, of the first tiger and of the first man, are believed to have emerged from the earth out of a common passage, which was a pangolin's den.

The Goddess Durga, since the ancient Indus valley civilisation, is shown riding a tiger. Durga was created to destroy evil and the tiger was probably chosen as a symbol of power and immortality.

Tiger dances, in which young children are drawn into every year, are an important part of tradition in the Udipi town of Karnataka. They are part of the carnival celebrations on Lord Krishna's birthday, Janmashtami, but it is believed by some that the dances may have originated in Muslim culture.

In parts of northern Bengal, both Hindus and Muslims worship the tiger. Paintings show a Muslim priest, with prayer beads and a staff, riding a tiger and fighting evil. In the Sunderbans, the Hindu Goddess Banobibi or Dakshin Rai, the Muslim God, protect the people from demons, crocodiles and even tiger's anger. So before setting out into the Tiger Reserve, people make an offering of sweets, rice and fruit to Banobibi or soothe Dakshin Rai with music.

In art, tigers may be shown sprouting wings, carrying princesses on their backs, becoming a white streak, part of the Milky Way to protect the Earth. Throughout history, tigers have been regarded as life-givers, guardians and protectors. Source: Kids for Tiger

Tiger in Indian Mythology

The God Ayyappa, one of the most popular dieties in Kerala represents an ideal who may be approached by all men, whatever there caste or faith, and before whom all find themselves equal, regardless of their background and status. He is the offspring of the brief union between the beautiful enchantress Mohini and the God Shiva. The Godling was then left on the banks of the Pampa river in Kerala, to be found by the childless King of Pandalam. Seeing Ayyappa as the answer to his prayers, the king took the child back to his queen and together they reared him as their son. All went well until the Queen unexpectedly gave birth to a son of her own and became insanely jealous of the young boy her husband had found in the forest and declared his heir. She plotted with Chief Minister of the Kingdom to get rid of Ayyappa, they agreed that the queen would feign a serious illness which could be cured only by drinking Tiger's milk, knowing that Ayyappa would offer to obtain the milk for her and would be killed.

The first part of the plot went smoothly and Ayyappa set forth on his mission. However neither the King nor Queen knew that the reason for Ayyappa's creation was to kill the demon Mahishi and that the time had come for him to perform this task. No sooner has Ayyappa had entered the forest that he met Mahishi and after a great battle killed her.

Meanwhile the King unaware of his Queen's plot waited anxiously for his son's return. When the word came that Ayyappa has been sighted, he rushed to greet him and saw that he was riding on a she-Tiger, accompanied by her cubs and carrying a vessel containing her milk. Instantly recognising the boy's divinity, the King prostrated himself, while the Queen humbled and repentant begged forgiveness. The royal couple implored the god to stay with them, but his mission on earth accomplished, he had to leave- although he promised to protect their kingdom and his devotees. Source: Tiger Safari India

Save our Tigers: An NDTV-Aircel Initiative

About the Campaign: From around 40,000 at the turn of the last century, there are very few tigers left in India today. The current tiger population of India constitutes over 50 per cent of the world’s tiger population. The next five years will be extremely crucial for the long term survival of the tiger.

Aircel, a strong supporter of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, started an earnest awareness campaign, ’Save Our Tigers’, to highlight the urgency of the situation facing our national animal and urge the public to embrace the cause. To improve the effectiveness of the programme, they partnered with NDTV to amplify the cause together with the Sanctuary Magazine, India’s premier wildlife magazine and the Wildlife Conservation Trust, an organisation deeply involved in conserving tiger habitats across the country.

As a first step, they launched a multimedia campaign to spread awareness about the state of tigers in India using highly effective public service advertisements on television, internet and hoardings across India. The multimedia campaign was then extended to a strong media campaign on NDTV aimed at providing a platform to tiger conservationists and concerned citizens to voice their opinion and contribute to the cause. A series of special tiger programmes were telecast to highlight the situation and challenges facing our national animal. The campaign in its first year itself, helped bring forth a common agenda for tiger conservation which was presented to Chief Ministers of key tiger states, who committed their support to take affirmative action on-ground.

The first year of the NDTV campaign culminated in a 12-hour Telethon. During the telethon, the best minds on tiger conservation appealed to political leaders and the general public to do whatever they could to help safeguard the most charismatic big cats on Earth. As a welcome result of the campaign, several prominent political leaders came on air and pledged to protect the forests of their respective states.

The Telethon was an overwhelming success as 19.9 million rupees were raised through donations. Hemendra Kothari, Chairman, DSP Blackrock Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd. and Chairman, Wildlife Conservation Trust, donated 25 million rupees to raise the overall donation amount to approximately 50 million rupees.

The funds collected are being used to provide Rapid Response Units [RRU] to equip and train Forest Departments to respond during emergency situations like man-animal conflict, anti-poaching patrolling, fire-fighting among others. Source: Save our Tigers

Tiger Calendar by NDTV