The Ferocity of the Tiger
Reading edition
Symbol of ferocity in the animal world is the tiger. When troops of the American 101st Division entered the German city of Halle in 1945 it probably was considered effective psychological warfare tactics on the part of the Nazis to open the zoo cages and let loose the tigers. So far as known, however, the animals did not attack any Americans.
Whether the reputation of the tiger is entirely justified is debatable. “The tiger”, says Dr. William M. Mann, long-time director of the National Zoological Park in Washington, “is one of the finest animals that lives. In the cage he is the most snobbish of all aristocrats, his contempt for those who jostle in front of his bars being nothing less than magnificent. He is dignity itself. He condescends to no boyish antics to attract attention as does the chimpanzee, to no begging for sweets as do the bear and elephant, to no pacific, philosophic acceptance of fate such as that of the hippopotamus. You cannot win his favor by a stick of candy. He is above rage or gratitude.”
Sometimes adult tigers are captured in traps and sold to circuses. One American circus some years ago had a cage of ten. Their keeper made them perform as another man might spaniels. In the arena they appeared to be a ferocious group. In the menagerie tent, confined in small cages like so many kittens, the keeper could put his hand in their months and rub their teeth. Once he complained bitterly about the tranquility of his charges. “I cannot make a show with ten tame tigers,” he argued. “I must have five mean ones to add to the act.”
The tiger had a prominent part in the menageries of Indian and Chinese monarchs before the Christian era. It first appeared in Europe about the time of the eastern conquests of Alexander. Well known to the Romans, the animal was one of the most dreaded of all the beasts that appeared in the arena.
Despite its supposed ferocity, no great harm has been done in the few cases in which tigers have escaped from zoos. Often they have returned of their own accord.