Interesting Animals # 59 - The Tiger - Podcast

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According to the Guardian newspaper there are twice as many privately-owned tigers in the US as there are in the wild in the rest of the world.

(Of course they should feel lucky they're not lions. Rich Americans, Europeans and Japanese pay about £20,000 to kill a lion in Botswana. The government usually permits the shooting of about 50 lions a year by trophy hunters but decided to impose the ban in part because American shooters favour lions with thick manes for their walls, leading to a disproportionate killing of mature males.

The shortage of such beasts is now so great that hunters have been making use of a mane-extension service back in the US where fake hair is weaved in to give their trophies an extra flourish before they hang the heads. I bet that makes them feel so big and strong and tough.)