Could you domesticate a tiger?

Immaculate Pasta

They're just big cats aren't they?

Think it'd be savage having one around the house (no pun intended). They look cuddly, are playful and come on who wouldn't want some of these relaxing at your feet while watching tele in your living room.

http://www.alop.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/tigers.jpg
:cool:

If domesticating a tiger is unfeasible what's the biggest animal you think you could have in your house? Because I quite like the look of those Emperor Penguins as well...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Aptenodytes_forsteri_-Snow_Hill_Island,_Antarctica_-adults_and_juvenile-8.jpg/220px-Aptenodytes_forsteri_-Snow_Hill_Island,_Antarctica_-adults_and_juvenile-8.jpg

Pushtrak

Immaculate Pasta wrote: »

Think it'd be savage having one around the house (no pun intended).

Good thing you didn't intend a pun..

1ZRed

I prefer the toyger. All the tiger in the shape of a cat. Sorted;)

opinion guy

Could you domesticate a tiger ?

Well...I suppose you could try......but it would be hard to purrfect

OMARS_COMING_

My mate has one,seriously.

He got it as a cub from the circus and raised it up,now it lives in his farm and sleeps in a stable at night.

Degag

I'm pretty sure that you could. I'd make sure he was always well fed though:eek:

RHarrow

I don't think it'd be possible to fully domesticate a tiger as we know them right now, but I've no doubt that with selective breeding, a few generations of tigers down the line could be domesticated.

Zab

Where To

OMARS_COMING_ wrote: »

My mate has one,seriously.

He got it as a cub from the circus and raised it up,now it lives in his farm and sleeps in a stable at night.

It ate him alive though didn't it?

1ZRed

Zab wrote: »

And eventually they whined up killing him like all the other 'domesticated' animals. He's got balls though. I'll give him that!

Very cool to be able to do that

drunkmonkey

You can for a little bit, One used to live in London, Christian the friendly lion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KIZ0E8RKoE

Jesus Shaves

Doesn't mike Tyson have a domesticated tiger

getzls

Buck Alec owned a lion. (goggle him folks)

flutterflye

I don't think you could fully domesticate one, especially in adulthood, but it would be so fukcing cool if you could!! I'd love one, or any of the large cats - they are all beautiful creatures.

steddyeddy

I think you would find it easier to domesticate a pack animal to be honest. One that doesnt mind the idea of a master servant scenario! Tigers dont really like anyone dominating them!

prinz

How many thousands of years have dogs been domesticated for? ....... and some still let the wild side out. Go ahead OP domestic a tiger. I don't foresee any problems at all.

BehindTheScenes

It would end up like this, and rightfully so........as the lynx ad says "you can't contain the beast within"*

*They didn't really say that.

steddyeddy

BehindTheScenes wrote: »

It would end up like this, and rightfully so........as the lynx ad says "you can't contain the beast within"*

*They didn't really say that.

Seriously that lion was just playing an attack would have been near instantly fatal.

Immaculate Pasta

steddyeddy wrote: »

I think you would find it easier to domesticate a pack animal to be honest. One that doesnt mind the idea of a master servant scenario! Tigers dont really like anyone dominating them!

Hmm I'm just going to make you aware that I'm not looking to wrestle the tiger you know I'm just er looking to get a tiger so I can stroke it a bit, maybe take it for a walk, show it off to my mates, tease it with a ball of yarn (not sure where you'd get yarn, Centra?) and take it to the pub with me you know the usual stuff :cool:

steddyeddy

Immaculate Pasta wrote: »

Hmm I'm just going to make you aware that I'm not looking to wrestle the tiger you know I'm just er looking to get a tiger so I can stroke it a bit, maybe take it for a walk, show it off to my mates, tease it with a ball of yarn (not sure where you'd get yarn, Centra?) and take it to the pub with me you know the usual stuff :cool:

To a tiger thats dominating them. If you had a girlfriend who took you for a walk and showed you off to her mates and made you play with balls would you like that :pac:

flutterflye

Immaculate Pasta wrote: »

Hmm I'm just going to make you aware that I'm not looking to wrestle the tiger you know I'm just er looking to get a tiger so I can stroke it a bit, maybe take it for a walk, show it off to my mates, tease it with a ball of yarn (not sure where you'd get yarn, Centra?) and take it to the pub with me you know the usual stuff :cool:

What? Didn't you want to bring out the leathers and thigh high stiletto boots and show his who the daddy is?

Immaculate Pasta

steddyeddy wrote: »

To a tiger thats dominating them. If you had a girlfriend who took you for a walk and showed you off to her mates and made you play with balls would you like that :pac:

flutterflye wrote: »

What? Didn't you want to bring out the leathers and thigh high stiletto boots and show his who the daddy is?

So is this the decision I have to make if I get a tiger? Either get a girlfriend who's subversive or give up and start wearing leather and stiletto boots and start teasing tigers? It's a tough one alright. :cool:

Pushtrak

Immaculate Pasta wrote: »

Hmm I'm just going to make you aware that I'm not looking to wrestle the tiger you know I'm just er looking to get a tiger so I can stroke it a bit, maybe take it for a walk, show it off to my mates, tease it with a ball of yarn (not sure where you'd get yarn, Centra?) and take it to the pub with me you know the usual stuff :cool:

Maybe throw in a bit of catnip?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tklx3j7kgJY

steddyeddy

Immaculate Pasta wrote: »

So is this the decision I have to make if I get a tiger? Either get a girlfriend who's subversive or give up and start wearing leather and stiletto boots and start teasing tigers? It's a tough one alright. :cool:

I had an ex into that stuff and to be honest domesticating a tiger is the better option!

ArtSmart

the Celtic ones are the easiest.

just take , six bankers, two dumb politicians ,twenty developers, add lots of dough, mix together vigorously....

nimrod86

ArtSmart wrote: »

the Celtic ones are the easiest.

just take , six bankers, two dumb politicians ,twenty developers, add lots of dough, mix together vigorously....

damn thing's are smart buggers though! Just when you think things are great, they pack up, and feck off after clearing you out!

Schism

RAWR!

...

..



Purr

Local-womanizer

I thought by the very nature lions will always attempt to take over a "pack" by fighting with the head of it?

The "pack" being the owner and his lion, and the head of the "pack" being the person who trains and controls the lion.

If this is the case screw that!

steddyeddy

Local-womanizer wrote: »

I thought by the very nature lions will always attempt to take over a "pack" by fighting with the head of it?

The "pack" being the owner and his lion, and the head of the "pack" being the person who trains and controls the lion.

If this is the case screw that!

So will dogs!

Local-womanizer

steddyeddy wrote: »

So will dogs!

True, but I rather my chances against my Jack Russell in comparison to a lion!

charlemont

hairyprincess

I'd love a tiger. I would gladly swap my children for a tiger

opinion guy

1ZRed wrote: »

I prefer the toyger. All the tiger in the shape of a cat. Sorted;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu31VyXlTzo

Crooked Jack

I doubt you could fully domesticate it, but even if you could, wouldnt domesticating it take away the very thing that makes a tiger so cool in the first place?

Irish Guitarist

Wild animals should be left in the wild. I used to watch a series (I forget the name of it) on one of the documentary channels about people that were attacked by their pets. In every case where someone was injured or killed it was their fault for being morons. I had more sympathy for the animal that was inevitably put down than I did for the idiotic people who thought it was a good idea to keep a massive animal in a room in their house or flat.

Dyr

drunkmonkey wrote: »

You can for a little bit, One used to live in London, Christian the friendly lion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KIZ0E8RKoE

Still make's me have to wipe dust out my eye, stupid dust

JerryHandbag

I'd prefer a hippo :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBmtaSW0qiI

gobnaitolunacy

There's a Tiger Temple in Thailand where you can get your pic taken and cuddle a fully grown tiger. I'd say they're drugged up to the eyeballs tho, never heard of a tourist getting a mauling.

Oranage2

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

There's a Tiger Temple in Thailand where you can get your pic taken and cuddle a fully grown tiger. I'd say they're drugged up to the eyeballs tho, never heard of a tourist getting a mauling.

And the tigers are more drugged up than Amy Winehouse.

Wibbs

Tame one yes, domestication takes much longer. Tame =/= domesticated. EG People who have birds of prey for use in falconry have tamed them, but they're defo not domesticated. Domestication brings certain changes in development, personality and outward appearance. Most of all it keeps the animal in a largely juvenile state. EG in dogs very basically a dog is a juvenile wolf that stays that way for life. People with lots of experience with dogs who have tried to keep wolves as pets found that as pups they're not that different to the more hyper working dog breeds, but as they grow this gets to be too much. Selective breeding over thousands of years took that out of them and gave rise to all the breeds we have today.

The wolf is the only apex predator we've successfully domesticated(the cat though a supreme hunter with few rivals at it's size isn't an apex predator and couldn't kill an adult human). The wolf is also one of the very few predators along with us that routinely takes down prey bigger than themselves. They also have a family structure similar enough to our own, so could fit in easier with us. A tiger is a very different animal in this regard. More solitary for a start. I suppose if humans were mad enough we could have tried to domesticate the lion as they have a family based social structure, but they're much more likely to kill members of their own families so that's a bad bet. Wolves rarely kill one of their own so are more trustworthy. You could domesticate foxes and coyotes alright, even though they're more solitary. They'd be more like dog cats kinda thing. A Russian researcher was able to domesticate arctic foxes but it took decades.

opinion guy

JerryHandbag wrote: »

I'd prefer a hippo :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBmtaSW0qiI

Every night she has her aromatherapy massage :pac:

Dravokivich

I've seen an article before of someone with a pet Bison. The thing is fúcking huge.

shrewdness

drunkmonkey wrote: »

You can for a little bit, One used to live in London, Christian the friendly lion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KIZ0E8RKoE

On my phone the picture on that video before I click play looks like the two guys are spit roasting the lion, that's taking being an animal lover a bit far.

Feisar

Crooked Jack wrote: »

I doubt you could fully domesticate it, but even if you could, wouldnt domesticating it take away the very thing that makes a tiger so cool in the first place?

300Kg's of hunter/survivor eating cold mince would be pretty sad in fairness.

I'm not at all deep or thoughtful but I never go to zoo's. The animals there are just a pale imitation of that they were supposed to be.

Oranage2

Pretty funny louis Theroux documentary on the subject.

http://watchdocumentary.com/watch/louis-theroux-americas-most-dangerous-pets-video_da935051f.html

smash

I'd love a pet panther, or a leopard, or even an ocelot.

I'd settle for an Asian Leopard Cat or a Bengal Cat though.

Immaculate Pasta

Immaculate Pasta wrote: »

If domesticating a tiger is unfeasible what's the biggest animal you think you could have in your house?

I imported a wolf having read a book about a guy who owned one. The author in question even lived in Cork for some time with the Wolf. So it was an interesting book.

So I imported the same wolf type from the book (Alaskan tundra wolf - McKenzie valley wolf mix) and even gave it the same name as the one from the book.

What I can tell you about the experience is it is not easy - at all - and canines are relatively more predictable and less moody than felines so I could only imagine what living with a tiger would be like.

It keeps me fit though. I am up around 5am every morning to go for an hour run with him. In the evening I cycle for another hour - quite fast - to give him a full out run. I compliment that with Capoeira and brazilian jiu jitsu and swimming just to keep myself at a level of fitness where he will not decide to kill me for being weak It is quite the motivator as you might imagine.

Unavailable for Comment

Cats have only been domesticated for 10000 years or so whereas evidence points to dogs being domesticated for at least three times that. Still according to the WWF there's more tigers in captivity in the USA now than survive in the wild so unfortunately it could be seen that domestication is getting to be their only hope of survival as a species.

Capt'n Midnight

We still haven't fully domesticated cats.
They tolerate us while we provide food and entertainment.

Primates also can't be domesticated. Adult chimps are plain nasty and will rip your face off on a very bad day.

Prehistoric man has domesticated most of today's domestic animals. IIRC since the Romans domesticated the rabbit all we've managed is the hamster, so don't get your hopes up yet.

Domestic animals tend to be smaller and lighter coloured than their wild relatives. Probably being a bit underdeveloped.

onne theory about humans btw, are roughly equivalent to a premature ape, the hair and facial bones haven't developed yet. So perhaps we are 'domesticated' too

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

MagicMarker

Deleted User wrote: »

I imported a wolf having read a book about a guy who owned one. The author in question even lived in Cork for some time with the Wolf. So it was an interesting book.

So I imported the same wolf type from the book (Alaskan tundra wolf - McKenzie valley wolf mix) and even gave it the same name as the one from the book.

What I can tell you about the experience is it is not easy - at all - and canines are relatively more predictable and less moody than felines so I could only imagine what living with a tiger would be like.

It keeps me fit though. I am up around 5am every morning to go for an hour run with him. In the evening I cycle for another hour - quite fast - to give him a full out run. I compliment that with Capoeira and brazilian jiu jitsu and swimming just to keep myself at a level of fitness where he will not decide to kill me for being weak It is quite the motivator as you might imagine.

Are you taking the piss?