I don't know of any of the cats that are quite so obvious with a Flehmen response as a Bengal Tiger. They seem to have the patent on the whole grimace-tongue-hanging-out-of-the-face-while-snorting thing.

I promised that Genesis was a lot more dramatic with a flehmen than Drifter, so here's a pic to prove it. I don't really want to reiterate everything I babbled about in the Drifter pic here, but please have a look at it for all my babble about Flehmen Responses in cats. (Shasta points a claw to --> http://www.furaffinity.net/view/549263/ )

Like most any tiger, Genesis does a whole lotta scent-marking. He loves tour groups, mostly because he has a real charm and personality, and he lulls them into this total comfort-zone, and then just casually spins around, flips the tail up, turns on the targeter, and then lets loose. I, of course, as a dutiful tour-guide, always warn people about cats and their spraying behavior (insert evil grin here).

In this pic, Genesis has probably recently done a scent-mark, most likely marking to be marking, and then as he stumbles across it later, he's gotta check it out to make sure it's not another tiger trying to invade his territory. So he analyzes it, and... Tiger Stinky Face!

For those of you that work with big cats (or other animals), you know that enrichment is very important in captive life, especially in forms that reinforce natural behaviors. So while it might sound a bit odd (or even vulgar to the conservative folk) when you’re cleaning a cage, try peeing (ahem, I mean, "urinating") around the same place that the cat normally marks, and then when your finished cleaning, stand back and watch. I can't speak for other animals, but most cats will do a quick roam through their newly cleaned territory, and will likely find your own "scent-mark" in nothing flat. Behold, the Stinky Face! Working with animals is such fun!

This might also be another pic in the continuing Artist Conspiracy Series for Balaa, mostly from the perspective of it being a semi-up-close pic, and the wrinkling up of the cheeks and the pulling back of the whiskers is virtually the same as a snarl. So for those artists that need a "tiger snarl" reference, this one will probably do nicely. Enjoy!

Anyway, this is the promised pic of Genesis and his famous Stinky Face!

This picture was taken 02-Jun-04. The image was taken with a Canon EOS 10D and the EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM lens. The original was taken at full frame of 3072x2048x24b, ISO eqv 400, 1/500 shutter, f/4.5. This image was cropped and shrunken down for space conservation.

Disclaimer: I hate to have to put this on here, but the pic is copyright me. Please do not distribute, copy, alter, etc, without my permission. Having said all that, feel free to download and use it for your own inspiration.