Massive, powerful creatures, tigers are often unsuited for captivity. Tiger attacks on humans have brought the issue of security of zoo visitors under more scrutiny.
In the wake of a fatal tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo last Christmas, national attention has been focused on security issues regarding animals in captivity. The animal involved in the most recent incident was a four year-old Siberian tigress named Tatiana, who also mauled a zookeeper the previous year. An initial investigation into the Christmas day tragedy indicated that the wall surrounding the tigers’ enclosure was at least four feet below the minimum suggested height. One of the most-publicized tiger attacks occurred at the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas on October 3, 2003, when a seven year-old trained white tiger attacked magician Roy Horn, of Siegfried and Roy, during a performance. Horn suffered a stroke brought on by the attack, as well as injuries to his throat and arm. And in August of 2005, a 17 year-old high school girl was killed by a tiger at a Mound Valley, Kansas animal shelter, where many students went to have their photographs taken with the animals. So what causes tigers to attack humans?
One theory proposes that tigers born in captivity are less likely than wild tigers in captivity to attack humans if the opportunity presents itself. This is due to the fact that wild tigers are more aggressive and territorial, which they must be to survive in nature (Mills: 80). But all of the tigers in the aforementioned attacks were born in captivity, and two of the three tigers showed no signs of aggression towards humans previously. Animal rights activists argue that the strain of incarceration in an unnatural, and often cramped setting pushes some tigers over the edge. And in the case of Tatiana the tigress, there was speculation that the victims might have been taunting her.
There are two types of tigers, Siberian and Sumatran. Siberian tigers are the bigger of the two. Tigers are the largest members of the cat family, with adults reaching three feet at the shoulder, nine feet from nose to tail, and weighing up to 500 pounds or more. They generally attempt to immobilize prey with their powerful forelimbs and claws, then dispatch the intended victim by a bite to the throat or neck. An adult tiger can pick up a 200-pound animal in its jaws, sometimes carrying their prey for hundreds of yards before feasting. Tigers’ main diet consists of ungulates, hooved animals, mainly chital (spotted deer) and wild pigs. They have been known to eat a wide variety of other animals, however, including fish, snakes, frogs and even smaller predators. To sustain themselves, tigers need to consume between 6,000 and 8,000 pounds of meat annually. Males are slightly bigger, and therefore eat more.
Attacks on humans by tigers in the wild are becoming less frequent as the tigers’ numbers are declining. When tigers prey on humans, it is usually because the tigers are old, sick or injured, and human beings are easy prey. In his book Man-Eaters of Kumaon, the late hunter Jim Corbett writes: “Human beings are not the natural prey of tigers, and it is only when tigers have been incapacitated through wounds or old age that, in order to live, they are compelled to take on a diet of human flesh (xiii).” But the case of the Sundarbans, a large delta formed by the convergence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghana rivers, seems to be an exception. Occupying 3800 square miles in the countries of India and Bangladesh, the Sundarbans is noted for man-eating tigers. Since tigers tend to sneak up on their prey from behind, area fishermen often wear masks covering the backs of their heads (ibid: 111).
Like other predators, tigers will scavenge when possible, and this opportunity presents itself when there are large numbers of unburied corpses. During the Korean and Vietnam wars, some tigers acquired a taste for human flesh (lairweb.org).
Tigers are most prevalent in areas of India and southeast Asia, but their numbers have plummeted in the past century. There is now estimated to be 5,000 to 6,000 tigers in the wild, but their habitat has shrunk by an astounding 40% in the last decade alone. Other threats to tigers include poaching and depletion of available food sources. Serious conservation efforts must be continued to preserve these beautiful animals from extinction.
