Tiger love blossoms at Laohu Valley Reserve

July 12, 2007

This week the South China Tigers at Laohu Valley Reserve near Philippolis in the Free State had an exciting week. The new stud male “327” who arrived during April 2007 from China, finally got to meet his bride (Cathay) face to face.

At first the meeting was rather aggressive with waltz like fighting - much as expected in the mating ritual of tigers, but luckily no blood! After a while, 327 got tired of Cathay’s relentless pursuit and started avoiding her, to the extent that he hid inside his cage! Cathay however forgot her usual fear of cages and gates and went into 327’s house and almost moved in. During the second encounter, after initially trying to escape from Cathay who had taken over his house, 327 decided to come back and assert his authority and he accepted her advances in a surprising move. What happened next was history - he mounted her, his first ever girlfriend!

Even though it was of very short duration and he did not aim in the right place, he did everything else correctly even biting her in the neck (to a tiger, this is a clear signal of intent). Once food came into the equation, he refused to let Cathay near the wildebeest carcass, still proving that for now food plays a greater role in his life than love. Throughout the encounters, Cathay was no longer her usual dominant self and submitted completely to 327 and her desire to procreate at this stage over rules all other instincts and actions.