Shere Khan, an Amur tiger cub (Panthera tigris altaica) at Jungle Cat World, gets his bum nommed on by his roommate, a puma named Geronimo.

You have to feel a bit bad for Shere Khan. He just managed to climb atop the log he’s been trying to scale and now he’s the victim of a cougar sneak attack. With Geronimo being a month older that Shere Khan (though smaller), he is a bit more coordinated and thus, has mastered the art of bum nomming. All Shere Khan can do is yell in protest for his posterior. Tigers are built for this kind of roughhousing so Shere Khan will be alright, though his bum might be a little sore.


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Tigers are the largest of the big cats and are exclusively found in Asia from India to Vietnam, from Indonesia to the Russian Far East. The tiger can be divided into 9 subspecies: 4 are currently critically endangered and 3 are already extinct. Though estimations of tiger populations only a few years ago was 5,500-6,000, today populations are likely closer to 3,500 and are still declining. Dramatic declines of the tiger in India, thought to host the majority of the world's tigers, have fallen to less than 1,411. Overall, the past decade has seen a 40% reduction in tiger habitat, which now represents a mere 7% of its historic range. Poaching is a significant problem throughout the tiger's range, the demand for its body parts in traditional medicines, tonics, and exotic dishes driving a lucrative trade that is wiping out entire populations. Long-term threats include habitat fragmentation and prey depletion, which is accelerating the tiger's demise and subsequently reducing the long-term genetic viability of many populations.

If you want to help, the best for you to do is to educate yourself (http://www.savethetigerfund.org/), never buy products made from tigers or endangered species (http://www.wildaid.org/), and tell others. Contact me for more information.