An interesting article in the Sunday Metro section of the Dallas Morning News (July 11) about exotic cats. Here is a quickie regarding tigers.
5,000 to 7,000 estimated tigers in USA.
3,500 to 4,000 estimated tigers in India.
3,500 estimated tigers in Texas.
2,000 estimated in Texas not owned by zoo's, sanctuaries, or people with federal lic.
23 tigers listed in Texas Dept. of Health's statewide registry.
89 animals listed in statewide dangerous animals registry.
Sources listed are Humane Society, Tex. Dept. of Health, Wildlife Protection Society of India and Houston SPCA.
I have been in the cage with two that are in a sanctuary in Boyd, TX just northwest of Ft. Worth. One stepped on my foot and untied my shoelace. Very interesting! P U C K E R
power!

Wouldn't it be great if they could be rounded up and left loose somewhere, say Long Island , to breed and establish a new population.

There is a lady in Arkansas that runs a sanctuary for discarded cats, mostly tigers, last I heard, she had close to 200. There was a special on the discovery channel about her a while back, for some reason her neighbors don't approve.

DGK

"2,000 estimated in Texas not owned by zoo's, sanctuaries, or people with federal lic."

And people wonder why I own a .470 double rifle here in Texas. Ya never know when a tiger might escape!

-Bob F.

Harry,

There are probably more tigers in the USA than in the rest of the world put together. Most of these are in private collections though zoos also have substantial breed stocks.

Sadly, in Asia they are likely to become extinct very soon. Don't believe the crap the Indian authorities give about tiger numbers there - as late as a week ago a huge haul of tiger skins and bones was found in Chennai. This is definitley just a drop in the ocean as far more consignments get smuggled out by poachers. Their Chinese and Japanese clients pay a lot for this...

Just heard on the news that in Florida (around Lakeland maybe) a tiger is on the loose. Seems it is owned by an ex-Tarzan actor (Steve Hawk?(screen name)) who owns several cats in a 5 acre compound. Doesn't seem very big to me. In any case, this one got away.
Peter.

If a neighbor of mine had tigers, I'd be waiting for the day one got loose and started terrorizing the street. Problem though would be after I killed the tiger, the owner will probably want to bury it or have some sort of funeral. Hopefully she'd be to sad to look at the tiger and I, being the nice person that I am, would offer to take it to be burned. (I'd really be heading to the taxidermists and I'll just give her some burnt wood/paper ashes. She'd never know the difference, unless she comes over for dinner.) That's about the only way were ever going to get a tiger these days.

Sevens

In this day and age they would probably try to sue you for loss of property. The "public servants" would charge you for discharging a firearm within city limits. Then the wildlife people would want to take your hunting priviliges away for hunting without a license.

A few years ago in Soda Springs, ID (popultion of only a few thousand gun owners / ie. 90%+) there was a freaky couple who owned a cat complex called Liger (cross between lion and tiger?) Town. Several of the animals escaped and were shot by police and others. My sister lives in Soda and had 2 walk through her back yard. She has some pretty cool pics of one lying down stretched out on her kids slide.

I was telling my sister about shooting a 470 NE this weekend and it seemed perfectly logical to her to have one around after the cat incedent.

It will be interesting to see how the Florida situation plays out.

The cops got it. What a waste, it was probably with an M16!

M1Tanker,

There were a number of crosses between tigers and lions in experimental breding programs at the Alipore Zoo in Calcutta as well as some smaller zoos in India during the 1970s though they have been banned now by the WWF and the remaining hybrids are dying out. The Tigon was the offspring of a male tiger and a lioness and the Liger was the offspring of a Lion and a tigress. The offspring were not infertile like mules and there were Litigons etc as further offspring though the experiment was halted as scientists decided not to interfere with a dwindling population of both tigers and Asiatic lion and decided to use them to keep their stocks pure without producing any bastard offspring.

I am surprised that you have had Ligers in the US though I presume private owners are not bound by the same rules as zoos are. I have sen Tigons and Ligers many years ago and they were odd beasts with both having a small mane as well as faint stripes among the males though different animals were more different than alike.

Good hunting!