Tiger Claw Necklace

Tiger Claw Necklace
India, c. 1865

 In Nineteenth Century India, a tiger’s claws were considered to be powerful charms against evil. They were frequently used as amulets. Visitors to India, especially the British, found this custom charming and started to bring tiger claw amulets back to Britain as souvenirs. By the middle of the century, with a growing market, makers of tiger claw charms branched out into more elaborate pieces such as this one.

It was clearly made for the British market. The design is very similar to the shape and form of European jewelry. This particular necklace was exhibited at the Paris International Exhibition in 1867. Ten tiger claws of graded size have been set in engraved gold. The claws are linked by chains and the whole piece hangs from a gold snake. 

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The cutest thing you'll see today

Siberian tiger cubs  born in the circus Renaissance, that is currently located in Leiden, the Netherlands.

Photograph: Koen Van Weel/EPA

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The cutest thing you'll see today

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Eight week old tiger cubs at Whipsnade Zoo, UK, find that their keeper is very useful as a climbing post, 7th July 1937.

Photo: gettyimages.com

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Found on the Web

The Mighty Tiger: 15 Facts and 25 Stunning Photos Beautiful, deadly and endangered. The tiger is all of these. Putty in their paws: Why we do what cats want A pair of studies shows cats cleverly manipulate us to get what they need. Kids and Furkids If parents teach their children how to deal correctly with a dog while the children are young and curious, their relationships with dogs will be richer.

Hold that tiger!

German police have told an employee of a Russian circus group that he can take his tigers for walks as long as the authorities are notified in advance. The 30-year-old man caused a stir in the northern German village of Ratzeburg on Sunday when a woman called police to report a man walking a tiger cub outside of town. The man, who is from a nearby village, works for a Russian circus group that is now on a break in the Netherlands and was charged with looking after three grown tigers and a cub. Source

The four faces of the Bengal tiger

Displayed for the first time in a specially constructed studio in South Carolina, The Four Faces of the Bengal Tiger show the four varieties of Bengal tiger. "There are only four distinct types of Bengal tiger in the world and they are all in this amazing photo shoot," says Dr Bhagavan Antle of The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S), who brought these majestic animals to the studio. Dr Antle believes the images give away the characteristics of behaviour, age and personality of each tiger. "Like human photographs, you can see the difference in their age as some of them look a little more grizzled and haggard than others." See all 18 photos Photograph: Barry Bland/Barcroft Media

Traditional Art from India

"Syamakantha Fighting a Tiger (detail), 19th century, Calcutta" Of Gods and Mortals Exhibit from the Peabody Essex Museum In India, art is an integral part of daily life. The importance of paintings, sculpture, textiles and other art forms comprises two basic categories, one related to religious practices and the other to the expression of prestige and social position. This new installation of works from the Peabody Essex Museum’s collection of Indian art will feature approximately 28 pieces, principally representing the 1800’s to the present.

A Tiger's Tale

In Texas, where you can own a pet tiger, the booming exotic animal trade has grim consequences. A very disturbing report by Melissa Del Bosque in the Texas Observer tells about the exotic animal trade which is a billion-dollar industry in Texas. “It probably has the largest population of tigers in the country,” says Richard Farinato, a senior adviser with the Humane Society of the United States, “because there are a lot of animal breeders and a lot of animal dealers.” Breeding can be lucrative. White tiger cubs sell for $5,000 each. Since tigers can have two litters a year of eight cubs, a breeder can earn $80,000 a year. Many of these white tiger cubs are sold to small businesses that travel around the country displaying them as props and charging tourists to take pictures with them.

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Suicide by tiger

A cleaner at the Singapore Zoo who jumped into the white tiger enclosure yesterday was killed by the animals as a horrified crowd looked on helplessly. Malaysian Nordin Montong, 32, was set upon by two of the three big cats in the enclosure at around noon. His colleagues later told zoo staff that the contract worker, who had been working at the zoo for about 41/2 months, had been behaving strangely minutes before the incident. Source: Straits Times

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Today's awwww

Siegfried & Roy's Furry Fun

It has been four years since the pitter-patter of tiny paws were heard at Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden but the sound is back, multiplied by five. In June, a litter of tiger cubs -- Svengali, the only boy, and his four sisters, Cosmo, Chakra, Star and Celestial -- were brought in when they were 5 weeks old from a Florida breeding program to help strengthen the garden's tiger bloodlines. Even though Siegfried & Roy haven't performed since Roy Horn was seriously injured after being bitten by a tiger onstage during a performance in 2003, they have continued with their breeding program and The Mirage attraction. The new tiger blood is needed to diversify the gene pool because the last cubs born were the Secret Garden's fourth generation of tigers. Forty-three big cats live at the Secret Garden, including white lions, white tigers and leopards. None of the tigers born at the Secret Garden have ever left. During 25 years, 18 litters of tiger cubs have been born at an average size of three cubs per birth. Source: Las Vegas Review Journal

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Photo credit: Berthold Stadler / AFP

The temple of tame tigers

The Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno Monastery in Thailand is home to a family of tigers raised by a monk and living alongside human visitors. Villagers brought the first tiger cub to the monastery in 1999 after poachers killed its mother. There are around 40 tigers in the temple which is a wildlife sanctuary where tourists can touch resting tigers. Source: Telegraph (via MonkeyFilter)

Golden retriever adopts tiger cubs

A dog at a southeast Kansas zoo has adopted three tiger cubs abandoned by their mother. Safari Zoological Park owner Tom Harvey said the tiger cubs were born Sunday, but the mother had problems with them. A day later, the mother stopped caring for them. The cubs were wandering around, trying to find their birth mother, who wouldn't pay attention to them. That's when the cubs were put in the care of Isabella, a golden retriever. Source: Yahoo News

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Tiger smugglers in Texas?

Federal authorities continue to investigate the parking lot sale of six Bengal tigers they believe were bound for Mexico. 49-year-old Michelle Ashton of Calvert, TX, was charged with misdemeanor interference with public duties, after she allegedly became disruptive with police Sunday. The investigation started when a police officer spotted Ashton exchanging pet cages with people at a store parking lot. The astute patrol officer moved in and noticed that the animals inside were no ordinary kitties. They were six endangered Bengal tiger cubs. Investigators believe the cubs were possibly headed to Mexico without proper permits. The tiger cubs are now at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. Zoo officials say the cubs are in excellent condition. The three male and three female cubs, believed to be two to eight weeks old, are receiving veterinary care at the zoo. Source: chron.com

Triplet tiger cubs surprise Auckland Zoo

Three Sumatran tiger cubs have been born at Auckland Zoo. The zoo's big cat keepers are celebrating after discovering the proud mother, eight-year-old Molek, has given birth to triplets nearly a week after the event. They had been keeping their distance since the birth last Thursday, not wanting to disturb Molek for at least a week. On Tuesday, they discovered what they had thought was one cub from afar was actually two. Then, on Wednesday afternoon, they saw a very relaxed Molek lying back with one cub suckling and two others cuddled into her coat. In light of the fact that there are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers in the wild, and just 160 in captive facilities, the birth of these cubs really is a huge deal, not just for New Zealand, but internationally.