Living With Tigers

     Okay. We admit it. We're partial to cats, although our "pet" these days is a lovable poodle my departed sister-in-law left for us. 

     When I say, "we are," it's really just me. My best friend in childhood was a pussy cat. Mrs. Donut is always about dogs. I get it.

     The first "tiger" I ever saw was the mascot of the football team in my dad's hometown. The student was dressed in a real tiger skin. Fur? We visited family there every year, sometimes twice during football season.

     Tigers normally are found in India. They can weigh more than 600 pounds, leap up to 20 feet laterally, and take down prey nearly five times their weight. Dad's high school football team has a history of taking down its opponents. 

     Something tigers cannot defeat on their own strength: finding enough land and enough prey. They may be atop the food chain, but a tiger must eat about 100 pounds of flesh each week. That equates to 50 large animals each year. They require large tracts of land...and the land must be filled with prey. 

     Football, 11 "tigers" deal with 11 opponents, and there are numerous rules to make competition fair. In the wild, humans are closing in on tigers. Not fair.   

To be continued

         

Lamentations 3:22-23, "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."