If you would like to see a real-life tiger, one of the best places in the world to see one is in the Ranthambore National Park in Northern India. It’s famous for its tigers and has recently enjoyed a huge success with its breeding programme. In 2005, there were just 25 tigers living within the 392 square kilometre park. This increased to 48 in 2013 and 86 in 2022. It has been so successful, the park is now planning to transfer some of its tigers to other parks.
Did You Know? There are fewer than 4,000 wild tigers left in the world.
A quick look at the park’s website will introduce you to many of its tiger residents. There is, for example, T-28, also known as Sitara, and T-39, called Mala. Then there is tiger T-104. He was considered to be so handsome he was given the nickname, Pretty Boy.
Pretty Boy has not experienced much good fortune recently. Like most other tiger cubs he lived with his mother, Laila, for the first two years of his life. At the age of two his father, Berda, began to push Pretty Boy away from the rest of the family. Perhaps Berda did not want another strong male living within his community. Maybe he was just jealous of his son’s good looks. Pretty Boy was left on his own and had to make a new life.
In February, Pretty Boy attacked and killed a 40-year-old woman. He was captured, then released into a different area of the park. Less than six months later, Pretty Boy struck again, killing a 45-year-old shepherd. He was caught and moved once more. In September, he killed for the third time.
Tigers do not usually attack humans. In fact, they prefer to avoid them altogether. However, when a tiger has been injured or is old and unable to capture food, they are known to attack humans. If they have attacked a human once, there is a possibility they will do so again and become a man-eater. Park rangers had been watching Pretty Boy since his first human kill. They were of the opinion that the young tiger was very fierce and had no fear of humans.
Pretty Boy was captured for a third time, and it looks as if he will not be given another chance to live freely within the open park. Since his capture, he has been kept in an enclosure. It has been reported that he does not like it at all. Many experts say man-eating tigers can never be trusted. They are also unable to survive inside a cage. It drives them crazy.
The decision was left to India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority to decide what to do with Pretty Boy. He was kept locked in a cage until May 2023 when Pretty Boy died reportedly because of a lung infection and shortly after being relocated.
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