the east coast of Primorye, and, over the years, they have caught, sedated,
examined, and collared dozens of tigers, some of them numerous times.
Despite the fact that both of these men have spent years in these tigers’
territories, there have been no cases of tiger vengeance. “As a biologist, I
have a hard time believing it,” explained Miquelle when asked about such
behavior, “but as a type of myth and local perspective on tigers I find it
intriguing.”
“If tigers are vengeful,” said Goodrich, “I should be dead.”
It is not known if tigers are capable of distinguishing between humans
who intentionally cause them pain or injury, and humans who trap them
and manipulate them but release them into their home territory
unharmed. Because of this, there is no tidy way to reconcile these
differing views, all of which are based on extensive firsthand experience.
In the end, it may simply come down to context and character—of all
concerned. This, and the fact that, as Miquelle puts it, “What tigers
usually do, and what they can do, are very different things.”
A more useful way to understand a tiger’s capacity for vengeful behavior
may be in the context of territory and property, i.e., prey. As they are with
human hunters, these are hard to separate in the tiger’s mind. Tigers,
particularly males, are well known for their intense and reflexive
possessiveness; it is a defining characteristic, and it exerts a powerful
influence on their behavior, particularly when it comes to territory,
mates, and food. Both males and females can be ferocious boundary
keepers, but a male tiger will guard his domain as jealously as any
modern gangster or medieval lord. An Amur tiger’s sense of superiority
and dominance over his realm is absolute: because of his position in the
forest hierarchy, the only force a male will typically submit to is a
stronger tiger or, occasionally, a large brown bear. Nothing else ranks in
the taiga, and this is why, if threatened or attacked, these animals have
been known to climb trees to swat at helicopters and run headlong into