Last Updated on June 12, 2017
I’m really not supposed to like tigers. After all, I graduated from the University of South Carolina, home of the Fighting Gamecocks, whose chief rival happens to be the Clemson University Tigers.
But if you ask me what animal I would consider the most beautiful on earth, I’d have to go with a tiger. And we’re about a dozen years away from being at a point of no return to save them from extinction, according to scientists.
That’s a sobering thought when you look at one of these incredible cats.
Years ago, a traveling petting zoo popped up across the street from the station I worked for at the time. I went over to have a look around, and I saw that there was an opportunity to have your photo taken with a tiger cub.
It was handled very carefully. You sat down on a seat that was shaped like a hope chest and raised your right hand slightly, near where the position would be if you had your arm around a dog lying next to you. A handler would bring this tiger cub over and place it under your arm for the photo to be taken. The handler was always just an inch away from being in the shot, but he was ready to act if necessary.
It wasn’t necessary.
I was rubbing this gorgeous orange, black and white cub that had the most incredible green eyes. Its fur felt like thick velvet. And as I slowly rubbed its belly, I heard this strange sound that I thought was a the start of a growl.
Maybe this little guy was ticklish and wasn’t at all pleased by my attempts to show it affection.
But the handler eased my mind by pointing out that this little baby tiger was purring at me. They purr just like a loving house cat that curls up at your feet.
It’s a shame that we’ve taken so little care of this planet that so many wild animals are on a path to disappearance. The World Wildlife Fund says that the current tiger population is now at the lowest level since record keeping began.
The group is calling for “urgent action”  in a protection campaign designed to run from now through 2022; both 2010 and 2022 are Years of the Tiger in the Chinese calendar.
I hope they succeed. It would be a shame to lose an animal as beautiful as this.
