At the turn of the century more than 100,000 Tigers roamed the forests, jungles and plains of Asia. Today there are 6,000. These remaining 6,000 are probably heading for extinction at a fast rate.
This is a fictitious story of two little Tiger cubs and how they were able to escape this fate.
Pasha and Jabo, two Tiger cubs, lived in a den on the edge of a jungle in India. Outside the den was a large grassland plain, leading to the river.
When the cubs were small babies, they suckled milk from their mother, pushing their heads under her soft fur and working their paws up and down, withdrawing their milk from her nipples.
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| Jabo |
"Some day I shall be taking you out into the big open world and show you how to hunt", Mother Tiger said "But, in the meantime, you must stay in the den away from the opening because, if you venture outside, danger lurks. There are bigger hungry animals out there ready to eat you for their dinner, so stay put for now."
Pasha and Jabo watched their mother leave the den - her large, rippling body creeping through the tall grasses. They could hardly see her after a few moments because her dark stripes against her pale brown fur looked just like the grass. (This is called camouflage, when the prey cannot see what is coming.)
The twins played in the den, running, chasing, crouching and prancing, wrestling and jumping on each other and snarling. Jabo was too rough sometimes, being larger than his sister. When he would bite her tail with his sharp teeth, she would yowl and lash out at his head with her paw. They were, of course, practicing their hunting skills.
After all that exercise, they soon fell asleep and dreamed of catching hares or piglets their mother had told them about.
One day, when they were two months old, Mother Tiger asked them if they would like to take a walk into the real world. Then off they went, walking behind her, looking from left to right at this exciting new grassy green world.
"What’s that?" shouted Jabo as a large green and red bird fluttered into the tree tops.
"Why, that’s a parrot. He squawks, but he won’t hurt you" answered his mother.
Just then, an animal with a long tail leapt from tree to tree, and then to a taller one, screaming "This is our territory!".
"And what’s that?" yelled Pasha.
"Ah, that " said their mother, "is a black-faced monkey, and he won’t hurt you either."
"I wish I could do that" sighed Jabo.
Mother Tiger laughed and explained: "You haven’t the right kind
of tail to swing from branch to branch in trees. Besides, you are too heavy
and would fall to the ground. You’d look pretty silly, Jabo."
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The next day their mother went off hunting again. Jabo asked "Can’t we go hunting now? We are hungry and you haven’t caught anything for two days."
"No!" she roared, "Not until I take you when you are older. Don’t you dare move out of this den, do you hear?"
Again, they watched their mother creep through the tall grass and disappear.
A month later the cubs were getting bored just playing and sleeping in the
den, so they decided to take a little walk outside. They passed several parrots
and black-faced monkeys. The next moment they saw a movement in the tall grass
as they walked towards the river. Suddenly, there were two yellow eyes glaring
at them in the sunlight behind the grass - then four eyes, and soon six eyes!
They huddled together and crouched lower. They tried to growl, but their baby
voices were not low, strong and loud, like their mother’s growl. Now, for the
first time in their lives, they were really frightened, as they huddled together
even closer.
One ugly-looking creature, about the size of a dog, came out of the grass and started to walk in a circle around them, then a second, and then a third. The three creatures circled and circled with their heads lowered, and began to close in on the little cubs as the circle got smaller and smaller, making barking noises.
Pasha and Jabo whimpered and cried for their mother, but she was nowhere about, and the creatures were coming closer and closer towards the cubs. Pasha and Jabo cried as loudly as they could manage.
Mother Tiger was hunting nearby and heard her cubs calling. She dashed into the bushes near the river and then out onto the plain of tall grasses. She knew her cubs were in danger and about to be killed by hyenas, who often hunt in packs. She ran, leaped and roared angrily, right into the middle of the small circle, thus separating the three ugly creatures. Pasha and Jabo were saved, but Mother Tiger was very angry, and cuffed them both on the ears with her heavy paw.
"Don’t you ever leave the den again!" she roared "Do you hear! Tomorrow I will take you hunting for the first time, but you must promise never to leave our home again. I think you have learned your lesson today, coming so close to death."
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The next morning Mother Tiger started out early, followed by the cubs. It was a clear, cooler day with a gentle breeze whispering through the tree tops and rippling the grasses. Before they reached the river a piglet suddenly dashed out from behind a bush, and then another. The twins watched as their mother chased it around the clearing until she pounced and caught it, but she didn’t kill it. Instead, she let it go and called to her cubs "Go for it now - hurry and run!"
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| Pasha |
The cubs bounced and chased and ran and pounced around and around, but the mother was afraid they would lose it so she quickly pounced, and it was dead. She ate a bit and then left the rest to her cubs.
There must have been a family of pigs nearby because now the little Tigers
each caught one, after their mother had given them their second lesson. The
pig meat was especially delicate, succulent and tasty, since they had not eaten
in three days. Then all three cats sat up and began washing their faces with
their paws, as all good cats do after they have eaten.
It was not long before Pasha and Jabo were six months old, and as big as a Labrador dog. They were learning now to catch more piglets and hares too, to satisfy their hunger.
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One day, Mother Tiger managed to bring home a full grown antelope, which
was heavy to carry as it swung back and forth between her front legs as she
walked. She was afraid the hyenas might steal it from her if there was a large
pack of eight or more, because they would surround her and nip at her heels
until she could not hold on to it any longer. Being a wise mother, she had the
ability to climb trees and place it on a branch for future use. By now her twins
could climb and eat off it with her for three days. The hyenas could not reach
it because they cannot climb trees. Then she told them "You see in so many
ways we are three very lucky Tigers".
When it didn’t rain, and the weather became too hot in the middle of the day, the family laid in their cooler den panting, or their mother took them down to the river and taught them to swim, by watching her. What fun they had leaping and splashing in the cool water!
In the late afternoon, they would lie by the river together if they were not hungry. Other jungle animals also came down to get a drink and seemed to sense, since the cats were lying down, they were not in danger. Several antelopes came - also the black bucks, with their long pointed spiraling horns - wild boars and their piglets. The cats especially liked watching the elephant families bathing and throwing water over their backs with their trunks. However, if they saw a lone bull elephant, they moved further away because he could be dangerous and might charge into them.
These were "Happy Days"
for the Tiger family . "Let’s
just lie out here on these large grey boulder rocks beside the den today"
said Mother Tiger. "It’s cooler now in winter, and we can sun ourselves
here beside the lichen (yellow and orange moss that grows on rocks). Do you
see why we are safe here?"
"I bet I know" replied Pasha. "Is it because we are camouflaged here? The orange and dark shades of the lichen blend in with our dark stripes against our orange fur?"
"Yes, of course" said her mother. "You are a smart kitty, Pasha.!"
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When the cubs were ten months old, their mother did not return one day from hunting. She had already warned them this might happen sometime, and they remembered what she said: "Lions, you see, live in prides and they have "Aunties" who look after cubs when they hunt. But they hunt in packs, like hyenas. We Tigers are loners - we have to hunt alone, so I might be killed by a group of lions, or shot by hunting poachers. But don’t worry, because you will be able to look after yourselves since you are nearly fully grown."
The next day the cubs decided to go hunting on their own, since their mother had not returned. They were just leaving the den when quickly a huge net was thrown over them. They heard a man’s voice, but they did not understand what he said.
"Yah, we shot the mother, so I thought she’d have cubs nearby. Let’s take them to a zoo."
Pasha and Jabo
turned and twisted and yowled and cried, thrashing about and trying to bite
the netting to free themselves from the tangled strings of rope, until they
were too exhausted and gave up.
Soon they were yanked into a cage and put on a van, which carried them to a sea port and, from there, transported onto a ship for several days, and then on to another van to a zoo far away from India.
For ten years Pasha and Jabo lived in very poor conditions in
the zoo. They were fed, but not the right kinds of food to keep them healthy.
Prisoners in a cage is what they were, a cage ten feet by twelve feet. All day
long they paced back and forth, looking for a way to escape, but there was no
escape behind steel bars. There were no trees or green grass, or a river, like
they had in India - only a cement floor. People came every day to stare at them
through the bars.
One day, a man called Mr.Gentle came to visit the Zoo with a film crew and saw the terrible conditions the animals were suffering.
Soon, his video photos of the Zoo were shown on the a TV Network series. A Wildlife Sanctuary, with the support of the British people, decided to rescue Pasha and Jabo, but first the Team from the TV Station had to do a lot of paperwork before they could get permission to bring them to Britain.
The Team flew to the zoo concerned, crated the two full grown Tigers, and flew back to Britain with Pasha and Jabo.
Poor Pasha and Jabo
were in a terrible condition as they had not been properly looked after. They
were both terrified, of course, as to what was going to happen to them next.
Once they were out of their cages into their new large grassy sanctuary enclosure, they took great pleasure in exploring their new home. Now they had a tree and a ramp to climb up. Jabo was the first to find the pool of water. He just laid in it for three quarters of an hour, gently swishing the water over his body with his tail. Then Pasha tried it. She dipped one forepaw in, turned round to leave and accidentally trod in the pool with her hind feet. She was so thrilled she backed herself in and submerged herself in the cool water. She looked at Jabo and sighed, "Jabo, I can remember now, lying in the river in India with our mother, can’t you?"
They rubbed their heads against each other and purred, as all cats do when
they are "Happy" and contented
..."and now here we are in clear, cool water, watching the sun setting
over the hills by the trees, just as we used to do".
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| Pasha and Jabo |
After many months, when Pasha and Jabo were stronger, their pictures appeared in the newspapers, so that the British public could see what they looked like. It seemed fitting that a "tribute of thanks" be paid to Mr. Gentle, the TV Station, and the Wildlife Rescue Team for doing such a magnificent job of saving these two Tigers .... after all they were most responsible for the new lives which Pasha and Jabo were now enjoying.
Mother Tiger’s dreams for her twins must have come true. They could
not be returned to India because they had been in the zoo too long to re-learn
hunting skills. Here, at the large Sanctuary, they can end their lives happily
in old age.
THE END
(about Betty, the author)
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Acknowledgment
This story was first typed by Jan Rose-Dixon, a Barbadian
living in Britain.
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Would you like to hear more about Tigers
and Big Cats?
If so, please write to the Born Free Foundation.
The address is:
The Born Free Foundation
3 Grove House
Foundry Lane
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 5PL
England
