Hu (the Tiger)
Tigers are one of the biggest cats to roam the earth. The most commonly found species of tigers, has been aptly named as the ‘Royal Bengal Tiger’ – as they don an orange fur and are covered in black stripes, making them one of the most majestic animals to grace the wild. Tigers are known to be cautious and diligent while hunting their game, and hunt only once in a few days. The royal animal perfectly symbolizes going out there once in a while, giving their everything, and enjoying rich rewards later in the process. Even today, a tiger symbolizes strength, ferocity, royalty, power, energy, and protection. Thus, tiger as a symbol can be seen to be holistically covering positive aspects of yang (masculinity).
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They would attack almost every other big anima found in the wild, be it rhinos, antelopes, bears, half-grown elephants or even crocodiles. Whilst it takes a group of 8 to 10 lions to attack and bring down a young elephant, a tiger can do the job all by itself. Some of these animals weigh twice a tiger and it can still hunt them; how does it manage to do that? Tigers are known to lie stealthily in ambush and quickly strike on their prey and go straight for the neck. The tiger is bold and clinical and knows that he only has one shot against such strong animals, and it takes that shot with surgeon-like perfection so that the prey cannot recover get up and become increasingly …show more content…
Tigers have small families and are observed to be very kind and nurturing to their feline family members. When tiger chases a game, hunts it down and kills it for prey, it makes sure that the cubs and tigresses of the family get to eat the flesh first. The tiger patiently waits while its children and ‘spouse’ have their share of the pray and fill themselves, and starts eating his share of the hunt only at the end. In the ruthless and ‘dog eats dog’ scenario of the wild, this type of behaviour is not something which is seen somewhere sometime. Moreover, the most intriguing thing about this type of behaviour is that it is not taught. Male tigers are aloof and solitary animals who start hunting for prey at a very young age, and the fact that they learn sharing and fairness on their own is very commendable. This demonstrates that the tiger understands the meaning of sacrifice and the habit of putting others first. It knows that this is not a sign of weakness but an intrinsic strength. The ‘king of the beasts’, who is capable of beating the lion on its own, provides an exemplary lesson here to all of us, and the sooner all of us learn it, the better. The Yorubas, which are one of the indigenous peoples of Nigeria, observe bowing as a greeting in social situations and believe that prostrating in front of