There is no beast worse than man. This proverb very accurately describes a certain group of people who, in pursuit of money, will shoot defenseless animals. They ruthlessly Hunt beautiful animals to sell their skins, not thinking about those animals’ risk of extinction. This incredible story happened to a Huntsman from Russia named Eugen who claimed to have met an Amur Tiger face to face, sit back, and be transported to the deep Tiger forest where these amazing animals live. Eugen was born and raised in these forests.
As a boy, he heard incredible stories from his parents and grandparents about encounters with Tigers. But these stories were more like fairy tales for kids. So Eugen grew up knowing that Tigers lived in those forests, but he never saw one in person. Eugen married Maria and got a job as a gatekeeper. They had a daughter whom they loved dearly.
When she grew up, she got married and moved to the city. The elderly people were left to live alone and then Eugen’s wife got very ill and she passed away, never knowing that they would soon have a grandson. The death of his beloved wife was so painful for the man but realized he had to press on for the sake of his grandson Ivan. Unfortunately, he was unable to see his daughter and grandson as often as he’d like. Eugen was unable to leave his farm to visit them and she was unable to travel a long distance to visit him due to her job.
They only saw each other every couple of years and Eugen greatly looked forward to these visits. When Ivan was twelve years old, he was extremely interested in everything that his grandfather did. He especially loved when at the end of the day before going to bed, his grandfather told him various stories from his youth. One evening, the boy asked his father if he had ever seen an emerged Tiger and Eugen replied that he had not seen a Tiger. However, at the boy’s noticeable disappointment, he clarified that he had met a tigress.
Ivan perked up and settled in to listen to his grandfather’s story about meeting the emerged high grass. Eugen began, It was 20 years ago. Your grandmother and I had chickens, skis, stuck pigs, and cows. There was no time to be bored at all. All-day long I took care of them and your grandmother, my beloved Maria, took care of the garden and the house.
The winter was coming to an end. The snow had already melted and bud started appearing on the trees. All of nature was waking up from hibernation. The ground was dry enough in some places that I set out to plant potatoes. After I had been digging for some time, I took a short break to catch my breath.
It was then that I noticed some movement in the bushes. When I looked in that direction, it almost looked like some sort of striped animal. However, I thought that I was just imagining things, so I continued with my work. But then the bushes began to stir again and I felt eyes on me. A chill ran down my spine and with growing fear I turned my head and saw a huge Tigris just a few steps away.
As an experienced Hunter, I realized that I would not have time to escape from her as she could catch me in just three strides, I stood frozen in fear, not knowing what to do next. I noticed that she was wounded, but I wasn’t sure what from after looking me over, she turned and disappeared into the bushes. I intended to run, but my legs did not obey. In the next moment, the Tigris reappeared with a cub in her mouth. The Tigris took a step towards me and laid the Tiger cub on the grass, pushing him with her nose in my direction.
Then she disappeared into the thicket of the forest. I stood there for several minutes, afraid to move. I did not know if the Tigris had gone or was hiding in the bushes looking at me. But one thing I understood for sure, she brought her baby to me. There was no doubt she wanted me to take care of him since she was injured and could not take care of him on her own.
After a while, I went up to the small striped cub and looked at him. He was so little, about a month old, he clearly did not yet know how to feed on his own and now he was lying on the grass and desperately meowing calling to his mother. That’s when I realized that she would not return. I picked him up and carried him home. You should have seen the look on your grandmother’s face when she saw a real live Tiger in my arms.
We sat together and looked at him, not knowing what to do. After some discussion, we decided we should feed him until he was ready to go back into his native forest. Your grandmother fed him with a bottle for the first month and then he graduated to raw meat during the second month. Fortunately, I was a skilled Hunter, so we always had fresh meat in the house. The Tiger cub grew very quickly, but he acted just like a domestic cat.
He got along well with our other animals and did not show any aggression. Nine months passed. During this time the cub grew to £115. It was getting harder and harder to keep him hidden and we were afraid word would get out that we had an Emer Tiger in our home. Their fur was very valuable on the market, so his presence needed to remain a secret for the sake of his safety.
Therefore, no matter how hard it was for us, as we had grown attached to him, we knew that we had to release him back into the forest. When I let him into the forest. The Cubs seemed to understand what was happening. I was worried that he would just follow me back home but instinct took over and he disappeared into the thicket of the forest. After looking back at me one last time I stood for a long time a little sad but mostly happy that he was now in his native home.
You’re probably wondering what happened to his mother as I often did until one day I learned the answer. As you know, rumors spread very quickly in small villages and the news reached us that poachers were hunting Amer Tigers in the forest.
They managed to shoot a Tigris with two Cubs. They caught one cub but the mother grabbed the other cub and ran away. It was this cub that was brought to me to take care of since she was no longer able to the poacher said that a furious Tigris attacked their camp that night destroying everything in revenge for her cub whom they so mercilessly stole from her.
Nobody saw the Tigris again. It is not known whether she was able to escape and survive or if she died in the forest but the poachers were arrested and tried to the fullest extent of the law.