Machali (tigress)

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Machali
Machli (tigress)2.jpg
Machali in Ranthambore National Park
Other name(s)T-16
Species Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
SexFemale
Born1997/ c. [1]
Sawai Madhopur, India
Died (aged 19)
Sawai Madhopur, India
Title Queen Mother of Tigers
Tigress Queen of Ranthambore
The Lady of the Lakes
Crocodile Killer
Owner Ranthambore National Park
Parent(s)Machali I
Offspring11 (7 females and 4 males)
AppearanceSee In the media
Named afterMachali I

Machali (Hindi for "fish"; code name: T-16; [2] ), also known as Machli or Machhli, was a Bengal tigress who lived in Ranthambore National Park in India. She was born in the spring of 1997, [1] and died in 18 August 2016. [3] She played a key role in the regeneration of the tiger population in the park in the early 2000s, and was celebrated with titles such as Queen Mother of Tigers, Tigress Queen of Ranthambore, Lady of the Lakes, and Crocodile Killer. She was considered India's most famous tigress and on her death, was considered the oldest living tigress in the wild. [4] [5]

Contents

Life

Machali, born in the spring of 1997, [1] was the dominant cub in a litter of three females. [6] She inherited her name from her mother, Machali I, who was also named fish due to a fish-shaped mark on her face. [6] In her first two years, she started hunting on her own and took over a part of her mother's territory. [6]

Tigresses generally have two or three litters; however, over a period of seven years, from 1999 to 2006, Machali had five litters and gave birth to eleven cubs – seven females and four males. [7] [8] Machali's offspring increased the tiger population in the park significantly – from 15 tigers in 2004, to 50 tigers in 2014. Eventually more than half of the tigers in the park were of her lineage. [6] In 2008, two of her female cubs were relocated to Sariska Tiger Reserve and successfully boosted the tiger population in that park as well. [9]

In early 2014, Machali disappeared from her usual area, sparking a search by over 200 park staff. She was sighted after about a month, and appeared to be in good health. She had survived in dense forest by hunting her own prey, despite having been fed by park staff prior to her disappearance. [9] [10]

She was known for her hunting skill and strength, in particular in an incident in 2003 when she fought with and killed a 12-foot-long mugger crocodile. [11] As a result of the fight, she lost two canine teeth. [12] She was also known for her ferocity in protecting her cubs from threats such as male tigers and other animals. [3]

Recognition

India reportedly earned about US$10 million per year due to tourists attracted by the tigress. [13] She won the "Lifetime Achievement Award" of Travel Operators For Tigers due to her contribution to conservation and as a tourist attraction that earned significant income for India. [14]

In 2013, the Indian government issued a commemorative postal cover and stamp to honour the tigress for her ecological and economical contributions. [15] [16] [17]

In the media

Machli is considered to have been the most photographed tigress in the world. [11] She was featured in a number of wildlife documentaries, including a 50-minute documentary about her life, titled Tiger Queen, which was aired on the National Geographic and Animal Planet channels. [18] [19] In 2012, the story of Machli was aired on the BBC's Natural World in an episode titled "Queen of Tigers: Natural World Special". [20] [21]

Later years and death

Towards the end of her life, Machali lost almost all of her teeth, sight in one eye, and much of her strength due to aging. She also lost her territory, as her daughter Sundari from her last litter drove her out of her turf. [6] As she was unable to hunt and kill for herself, park staff provided her with food. [3] This intervention became somewhat controversial; tiger expert K Ullas Karanth commented that it resulted in Machali living longer than she should have, and that truly wild animals should be born, live and die naturally. [22]

In August 2016 she became critically ill. Due to her great age, it was considered risky for Ranthambore's rangers and staff to treat and aid her as the medications needed could be harmful or fatal. [6]

Machali died on 18 August 2016. [3] [23] She was 19 years old, older than the average 12 year lifespan of tigers in the wild. [1] She was cremated in observance with traditional Hindu rituals in a public ceremony. [24]

The last few years of Machali's life were captured on film by wildlife filmmaker S. Nallamuthu. Titled 'The World's Most Famous Tiger', the film contains shots like a brief 2-minute showdown between Machali and her daughter Sundari that ends with the former losing control of the Ranthambore Fort and the unusual instance of a former mate joining her in what seemed an act of companionship. [25]

Phylogeny

The cladogram below shows the phylogeny (progeny or offspring) of Machali with code names and/or nicknames. From 1999 to 2006, she gave birth to at least 11 cubs. [26] [27]

Machali
Male X

ST2 (female)

ST3 (female)

Bamboo Ram

Slant Ear – T0 (male)

Broken Tail (male)

Nick Ear

Jhumari (female)

Jhumaroo (male)

Male X

Bunty – T3 (male)

Bubbly – T1 (female)

Male X

Satra/Sundari – T17 (female)

Athara/Baghani – T18 (female)

Unnis/Krishna – T19 (female)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bengal tiger</span> Tiger population on the Indian subcontinent

The Bengal tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liger</span> Lion and tigress hybrid

The liger is a hybrid offspring of a male lion and a tigress, or female tiger. The liger has parents in the same genus but of different species. The liger is distinct from the opposite hybrid called the tigon, and is the largest of all known extant felines. They enjoy swimming, which is a characteristic of tigers, and are very sociable like lions. Notably, ligers typically grow larger than either parent species, unlike tigons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranthambore National Park</span> National park in Rajasthan, India

Ranthambore National Park is a national park in Rajasthan, India, with an area of 1,334 km2 (515 sq mi). It is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. It is named after the historic Ranthambore Fort, which lies within the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sariska Tiger Reserve</span> Protected area in India

Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India. It stretches over an area of 881 km2 (340 sq mi) comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills. This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar state and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958. It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India's Project Tiger in 1978. The wildlife sanctuary was declared a national park in 1982, with a total area of about 273.8 km2 (105.7 sq mi). It is the first reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers. It is an important biodiversity area in the Northern Aravalli leopard and wildlife corridor.

A Panthera hybrid is a crossbreed between individuals of any of the five species of the genus Panthera: the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Most hybrids would not be perpetuated in the wild as the territories of the parental species do not overlap and the males are usually infertile. Mitochondrial genome research revealed that wild hybrids were also present in ancient times. The mitochondrial genomes of the snow leopard and the lion were more similar to each other than to other Panthera species, indicating that at some point in their history, the female progeny of male ancestors of modern snow leopards and female ancestors of modern lions interbred with male ancestors of modern snow leopards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valmik Thapar</span> Indian conservationist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panna National Park</span> National Park in India

Panna National Park is an Indian national park in Panna and Chhatarpur Districts of Madhya Pradesh with an area of 542.67 km2 (209.53 sq mi). It was declared in 1994 as the twenty second Tiger reserve of India and the fifth in Madhya Pradesh. Panna National Park was given the Award of Excellence in 2007 as the best maintained national park of India by the Ministry of Tourism of India. Although the reserve went through an ordeal losing almost all of its tigers in 2009 to poaching, a subsequent recovery program touted as one of the most successful big cat population restorations, has resulted in a growth of up to 80 tigers within the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawai Madhopur</span> City in Rajasthan, India

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Mukundara Hills National Park is a national park in Rajasthan, India with an area of 759.99 km2 (293.43 sq mi). It was established in 2004 and consists of three wildlife sanctuaries: Darrah Wildlife Sanctuary, National Chambal Sanctuary, and Jawahar Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. It is located in the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sundari (tigress)</span> Tiger from India

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References

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External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg T16 Machli on Trail | Ranthambore Tigers on YouTube
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Tiger Queen – Own Rules (National Geographic) on YouTube
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Tigress Machli Kills 14 foot long Crocodile on YouTube
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Tigress Machli fights male tiger to protect her cubs on YouTube
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Tigers Revenge Wild Animal Documentary 2015 HD - National Geographic Documentary on YouTube