Tiger Conservation?
Offline ...Something I just don't get:
Tiger conservation projects for the Siberian and Bengal Tiger always fall flat on their faces because of political instability and an overwhelmingly large percentage of douchebags in their native countries where things like 'Project Tiger' are implemented.
If we're interested in conserving these animals, why the Hell don't we just fly a breeding population over here to North America and establish them in countries that actually have the means and desire to pursue animal conservation seriously? There should be no danger of the big cats becoming an overly-dominant animal in the north, given the many competitors it would have in the form of ursids, raptors, mustalids, canids, etc, and the game at their disposal would be roughly equivalent to what's available in their native countries (deer, hares, elk, sheep, etc).
Why aren't we doing something like this?
"Natasha has just come up to the window from the courtyard and opened it wider so that the air may enter more freely into my room. I can see the bright green strip of grass beneath the wall, and the clear blue sky above the wall, and sunlight everywhere. Life is beautiful. Let the future generations cleanse it of all evil, oppression and violence, and enjoy it to the full."
- Leon Trotsky, Last Will & Testament
February 27, 1940
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Hahaha... that would be a sight to see a fuckin Siberian tiger eating out of a trash can in my backyard, instead of a Cougar for once
And if i recall correctly a full grown adult Siberian tiger outweighs most bear species over here... would be interesting to see the food-chain, re-adjust with their addition.
Btw... wtf is a "mustalid"? (im just to lazy to look it up )
What Would Kharn Do?
I mispelled that: It's mustelid.
Mustelids relatively small but incredibly strong and voracious predatory mammals, including Weasels and (more notably) Wolverines.
The heaviest Siberian tigers weigh-in at roughly 700 lbs, the heaviest Grizzlies (largest of the Ursid family) weigh-in at roughly 600 lbs.
As Californian pit-fights and stunning accounts of Wolverines stealing kills from bears and wolves has taught us, however:
Weight is a poor indicator of muscle mass and bone density, and it's these two factors that are most important when it comes to predator competition. In the 19th century, Californians at one point were attempting to stage fights between large spanish bulls and grizzly bears. The bears won so frequently (by clubbing the unfortunate steer with it's powerful paw, shattering either the skull or shoulder) that it ruined the betting process. African lions were brought-in in an attempt to create more balanced fights, but the ursids killed them just as easily as the cattle.
In hindsight, it should be obvious why: grizzlies have evolved incredibly dense bones and thick muscles for digging-up roots, surviving charges from protective moose, goats, sheep, etc, sliding down mountains, swimming against currents and knocking-over trees. While most other predators rely on ambush and speed, grizzlies (and the ursid family in general) have taken a different route (similar to the mustelids, actually), relying on raw power and psychological shock to overwhelm what prey they catch on the land.
- Leon Trotsky, Last Will & Testament
February 27, 1940
I know it's wrong, but animals fighting animals from disparate habitats is so cool. You know, bears are pretty smart, too. I'd think they'd have an advantage over most of the big cats (and definitely anything herbivorous as well). I'd really like to see the following:
1) A mountain gorilla versus a polar bear (the color contrast would be great, and you've got comparable intelligence)
2) A giant squid versus a Great White
3) An adult African lion versus 42 (unarmed) Cambodia midget fighters (worth googling)
As for predator preservation programs, there's no reason why the cold adapted Tigers shouldn't be able to handle southern Canada, but you're gonna have a mass migration of Wyomingans up there to kill the poor (big, dangerous) things. Hell, they'd probably bring back Mountie skins as consolation prizes.
"The whole conception of God is a conception derived from ancient Oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men."
--Bertrand Russell
It's something I think would work as well. If I remember my statistics correctly the US has the highest number of tigers per head than anywhere else in the world... dammit, now I have to double-check that.
I reckon a tiger would take a grizzlie, just because tigers are hardcore (cue heavy-metal and michael bay-isms)
M
Forget Jesus, the stars died so that you could be here
- Lawrence Krauss
The tigers arent getting any love over there because everyone loves the bears!
Maybe if they trained tigers to play ice hockey they might get more attention:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nah3nMStXV4