The Tribe of Tiger: Cats and Their Culture

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The Tribe of Tiger: Cats and Their Culture
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K6Q8H8

Average customer rating:

The Tribe of the Tiger: Cats and Their Culture

Insights into human/cat interactions, beautifully written

The Circus culture

Skip it

Misled by Cover Photo...

The Tribe of Tiger: Cats and Their Culture
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas , and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cats | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Cats, Lions & Tigers | Animals | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Mammals | Zoology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Veterinary Medicine | Medicine | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0671799657

Book Description

From the plains of Africa to her very own backyard, noted author and anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas explores the world of cats, both large and small in this classic bestseller. Inspired by her own feline's instinct to hunt and supported by her studies abroad, Thomas examines the life actions, as well as the similarities and differences of these majestic creatures. Lions, tigers, pumas and housecats: Her observations shed light on their social lives, thought processes, eating habits, and communication techniques, and reveal how they survive and coexist with each other and with humans.

Customer Reviews:

The Tribe of the Tiger: Cats and Their Culture.......2007-09-07

This is the SEVENTH copy The Tribe of the Tiger's I have purchased-simply because my friends "borrow" my copy and then pass it along to their other friends who are interested in cats. Needless to say, it is cheaper buying another copy than hiring a "Private Eye" trying to locate another "traveling copy" of TTCTC. "Set my borrowed copy free-and educate the world about felines"-CJC

Normally I would be angry, I am taking the time to order to order copy number 7-but this visit, I took more time by adding a review because this read is worth it. I wonder if I should face the facts, and just start a "give away" book club-for THIS TITLE book only.

Tribe is not only one of the best for information about cats, BUT-is a "hot item" when it is discovered by readers. (Don't lend your copy out if you really intend on keeping it-for rereading.)

This time I ordered 2 copies, so I could "borrow out" one-while holding on to a "house copy". Maybe this way I can refrain from ordering another for a few months. OR MAYBE (wishful thinking) a borrower will actually RETURN any one of my formely lent copies. NAH, that ain't going to happen.

If you are truly interested in more than how to take care of your pet, love to be able to "speak in feline body language" or want to understand life through your cats eyes-THIS is the book.

No magical mystical wonderments-offered inside, just common sense and great thinking. If your set of beliefs include "mystical junk" about your cat-you may want to educate yourself-into the real world by reading this book. I promise you your cat WILL a better life because you have taken the time to learn from this book.

Insights into human/cat interactions, beautifully written.......2004-04-03

This is without doubt one of the best books on animal behavior I have ever read. What Thomas does that others do not (and often cannot) is three-fold:

First, using her long experience with animals both domestic and wild, she INTERPRETS their behavior from her observations. Most of us do that, but scientists in general do not. They cannot because such interpretations, unless established scientifically, would be labeled "anthropomorphic," and prove dangerous to their careers. You and I interpret the behavior of our animals, but most of us have only a small fraction of the experience that Elizabeth Thomas has. She has spent decades in the wild, especially in Africa, studying animals and their interactions with humans.

This interaction between humans and their way of seeing the world and that of cats and their way of seeing the world--our differing "cultures" as Thomas rightly uses the term--is the second thing she does so very well. Her stories about how the Ju/wasi people, for example, treat lions and how the lions treat them--with mutual respect--and how that differs from the way non-indigenous people treat lions is just fascinating to read. She describes the Ju/wasi talking to a couple of lions, telling them firmly and politely that a certain fallen wildebeest was theirs and that the lions should leave. After listening, the lions left. (p.118) And how the Ju/wasi behaved if by chance they should come upon a lion in the wild: the person would take an oblique angle away from the lion and walk with purpose, keeping the lion in sight but not staring. Thomas discovered that a lion meeting people sometimes would do the same!

The third thing that Thomas does extraordinary well is to use her novelist's sense of description and IMAGINE how the cat is feeling. She writes beautifully with love and understanding, but without mawkish intent or any phony sentimentality. Here's an example:

"Even people with very inconspicuous disabilities are quickly zeroed in on by cats...the entering tigers stopped...to stare...at someone they had spotted deep in the [amphitheater] crowd. Following their gaze I finally found what they had noticed immediately: a child with Down's syndrome sitting quietly and (to me) inconspicuously amid his family." (p. 123)

If you limp by a caged carnivore, a wolf or a leopard, say, your limping will excite the animal because an injured or disabled animal is its best prey. As Thomas explains, carnivores want to obtain their meals with as little risk of injury to themselves as possible because any injury in the wild can prove fatal.

Here's Thomas on the roaring of lions: "At about ten o'clock that night a lioness suddenly appeared between the two camps and began to roar. The loudness of lions cannot be described or imagined but must be experienced. My body was so filled with the sound that I couldn't think or breathe, and in the brief silences between the roars my ears rang." (p. 135)

She goes on to speculate later in the book that lions may use their roars to frighten and flush out their prey.

On page 161 Thomas describes exchanging yawns with a lioness lying by a water hole. Thomas yawned and then, "To my amazement, without taking her eyes off me she also yawned. Was it coincidence...Was it empathy? Fascinated I deliberately yawned again. She yawned again!"

I've had similar experiences with cats. A yawn is a signal that they are comfortable with your presence. Domestic cats in the yard will also turn their back on you as they lie on their side to signal that they are comfortable with your presence.

I always wondered about water holes on the savannas in Africa. How could the various animals come to drink in safety, and how did they manage to avoid one another? Thomas gives a convincing explanation. The lions, who are most active at night, come in the night to drink. During the heat of the day prey animals come when the lions are resting. And of course the humans wait until the sun is fully up before approaching. When the elephants come, the lions leave. Interestingly enough, Thomas claims that lions will not spoil the water hole with their scat.

Thomas's skill as a novelist shows in this passage. She is describing her friend Katharine Payne's experience with a lion that she had spotted just a few feet away as she lay in her sleeping bag: "He looked and looked at Katy. She looked and looked at him, hearing the wet noises of him swallowing his saliva and settling his tongue. He was thinking of eating. Cats are famous for their patience--the big lion watched Katy while the moon slowly rose behind him...The lion continued to think of eating. Eventually, he drooled." (p. 162)

One of the points that Thomas makes in this book is that all cats, from four hundred pound lions to our house cats, have much in common. Our domestic little kitties are more social than we think, and their hunting instincts are just as savage as those of a leopard. And yes lions purr.

She also claims that tigers are better off in circuses than in zoos mainly because they engage in regular activity that stimulates them, and that they enjoy their interactions with their trainers. She makes a convincing argument, and yet we must have zoos because without them most of us could not see these magnificent creatures; and indeed someday sadly zoos will be their only home. Maybe what is needed are zookeepers who know the culture of their animals well enough to provide them with something more than meat and boredom.

It is wonderful how Thomas becomes, for the purpose of this book, the animals she describes. Here she describes a lioness observing cattle: "One whiff of that dizzying, grassy scent would have set a lion's mouth watering." (pp. 181-182)

The Circus culture.......2004-02-16

I spend a lot of time in India and am very knowledgeable about tigers. I was absolutely amazed to read that Ms Thomas thought it perfectly acceptable for tigers to be kept in tiny cages, and dragged around America only to emerge in a circus ring and then be put back in a cage. Ms Thomas seems to think this a wonderful life guaranteed to keep tigers alert and happy, and reccomends the practice continue. She even sings the praises of John Cuneo who breeds tigers for circuses in the US and is currently being prosecuted for animal cruelty.
On the tiger in a circus: Ôthe owners live in small trailers and tigers live in travellin cages on wheels, each cage about twice the length of the tiger who inhabits it. Sometimes nothing beteter than a large tarp or the edge of a circus tent shelters these little groups of people and tigers just barely protecting them from wind sun & rainÕ

The tiger is a top predator, it is extremely intelligent and built to hunt. That is its raison d'etre.

Even when not hunting a tiger will prowl may be 15 miles a night.
They spend 2 years teaching their cubs to hunt.
If Ms Thomas seriously think that learning a few miserable tricks to perform in a ring, keep an animal such as this stimulated and happy, she clearly has no knowledge of tigers at all and frankly makes one wonder what if anything else she writes about in the book has any validity.

If you are interested in tigers, don't buy this ridiculous book buy anything by Valmik Thapar, a man who really does know about this majestic predator.

Skip it.......2003-12-31

I think her dog book was good cuz she's a dog person. She's not a cat person, and it shows.

Misled by Cover Photo..........2003-02-28

I generally liked her other book, the Social Lives of Dogs, and in fact read it twice over the course of the previous year. I felt as though I learned a lot about canine behavior and their social organization. This book however was a terrible disappointment for me. I checked it out of the library after giving one as a gift to a friend, only to find that there was very little written about house cats (my primary interest), and all the talk of big cats and anecdotes from the author's many years in Africa seemed indulgent and not even terribly insightful for those interested in these topics.

I'd urge you to look for a copy in your local library or bookstore and scan through it before commitment to the cover price.

The Tribe of the Tiger:Cats and Their Culture

Average customer rating:

The Tribe of the Tiger:Cats and Their Culture
Elizabeth M. Thomas
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000QY9L4G

The Tribe of Tiger. Cats and Their Culture.

Average customer rating:

The Tribe of Tiger. Cats and Their Culture.

Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I33V7I

Average customer rating:

The Tribe of Tiger: Cats and Their Culture
Elizabeth M. Thomas
Manufacturer: G. K. Hall & Co./Simon & Schuster Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O8CQXC

Average customer rating:

The Tribe of the Tiger: Cats and Their Culture
Elizabeth M. Thomas
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NWJGFA

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The Tribe of Tiger - Cats and Their Culture

Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0788701916

Product Description

Anyone who has incurred the displeasure of a cat is well familiar with the differences between the intuitive feline and the average lumpish canine. In her latest animal exposé Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has concentrated her studied eye on the varied family of cats. With respect for individuality and an anthropologists eye for cultural patterns, she brings listeners an understanding of the feline personality to its basic elementthe pursuit of prey.

Tribe of Tiger, The : Cats and Their Culture

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Tribe of Tiger, The : Cats and Their Culture
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O6B8PG

Average customer rating:

The TRIBE Of TIGER. Cats and Their Culture.
Elizabeth Marshall. Thomas
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NYCYHA

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Tribe of Tiger: Cats and Their Culture
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSXS2U

Book Description

Cruising is the perfect way to see America’s last frontier—wildlife and wilderness abound along the state’s breathtaking coastline, and are easily seen from the comfort of a deck chair or observation lounge.

Thoroughly updated every year (unlike the rest of the competition), Frommer’s Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call is a compact guide that’s on top of all the latest developments and offerings in the rapidly changing cruise industry. Our author, a leading cruise journalists with years of experience, has compiled candid, first-hand reviews of each cruise line and each ship. The easy-to-use ratings, detailed drawings of each ship, and honest evaluations make it easy for you to find the cruise that suits your budget and your personal style, whether you want a luxury liner with fine dining or a small-ship cruise led by serious naturalists.

You’ll also find a nature guide that helps you understand what you’re seeing, complete with illustrations of glaciers and the various types of whales. We’ll show you how to get the best deals and how to maximize your time in the ports of call—all in one concise, pocket-sized volume.

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Customer Reviews:

Frommer's Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call.......2005-08-21

This book was great ...I read it from cover to cover and it gave me incredible information even about the cruise ship we were on that the line did not share with us. Would highly recommend it.

A Handy Guide for Cruising Alaska.......2004-09-03

I bought this book before an Alaskan cruise this summer, and found it to be invaluable, both for researching before hand and enjoying the ports of call on our cruise.

It's small (so it's easily portable), and chock full of information about all the ports. We used it constantly during the trip!

A tip - I bought this book in addition to the bigger Frommer's Alaska. The bigger book contains all the same info as the little one, along with details on a lot of places not covered in the cruising book. So don't buy both - decide how much of Alaska you want to see, and just get the one that suits your travel plans.

Worth It's Weight in Klondike Gold.......2004-08-16

I have never been on a cruise, but I am a savvy seasoned independant world traveler, (including over a dozen trips to Alaska), and I thought this book was an incredible resource! Alaska cruise options these days seem almost endless. There are more than 17 cruiselines taking more than 700,000 paasengers a season to Alaska! Juneau alone, receives over 450 passenger ship port of calls annually. Competing cruises are almost as indivdual as you are. This guidebook does a great job of laying out and encapsulating the many diverse cruise choices. When you finish reading this guide you will not only know which cruiseline you are interested in and which route, but you will likely know which individual ship you want to cruise on!

Visiting wedsites or talking with a travel agent are a poor substitute. Cruiseline websites provide lots of details, but lack comparative information. In addition, they are not going to tell you if their cabins are tiny, or the food is mediocre. Save visiting the cruiseline websites until after you read this guidebook to get more detail and photos - when you have narrowed the field.

Travel agents, no matter how good they are, simply don't have the time to dsseminate the volume of information in this book. But after you read this book and if you decide to use a travel agent, you will walk in well-informed and your agent will be quite impressed. It will also save them time and breath!

Whether your cruise is a once-in-a-liftime trip or an annual event, ...this guidebook is an invaluable resource.

Frommer's Alaska 2005 (Frommer's Complete)

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Very informative
Frommer's Alaska 2007
review of Frommer's Alaska 2007
Frommer's Alaska
Great Travelers Guide for the whole state

Frommer's Alaska 2005 (Frommer's Complete)
Charles P. Wohlforth
Manufacturer: Frommers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 076457146X

Book Description

You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might go— they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of color maps, and exciting coverage of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You'd be lost without us!

Completely updated every year (unlike most of the competition), Frommer's Alaska features gorgeous color photos of the spectacular scenery and amazing wildlife that await you in America's last frontier. This extraordinary and detailed guide is personally researched by a lifelong resident, who offers insights into how to discover the real Alaska. You'll find complete details on whale watching, sea kayaking, hiking, salmon fishing, funky small towns, Gold Rush saloons, glaciers, scenic drives, and more. You'll even get an up-to-date cruise planner and a free color fold-out map!

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You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might goâ they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of color maps, and exciting coverage of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You'd be lost without us!

Customer Reviews:

Very informative.......2007-10-08

This book has been very informative in helping us to select which cruise line, tours and offshore excursions we plan to take advantage of while in Alaska. I highly recommend reading this BEFORE BOOKING and taking it along as a guide on your trip. It gives insider tips you may not have thought about when planning a trip. JPB

Frommer's Alaska 2007.......2007-07-15

Doing a road trip via Motor Home...great explanations of camp sites, fishing, etc. Very helpful for a first time visitor for sure!

review of Frommer's Alaska 2007.......2007-05-08

Excellent book. Gave us very good tips for B&B's in Ketchikan.

Frommer's Alaska.......2007-05-07

This is a good summary book to have. I found it informative. Although this book by itself is not enough for planning a trip to Alaska. It gives highlights but I found myself needing additional information.

A good buy

Great Travelers Guide for the whole state.......2007-03-17

Great reviews on places to go throughout the state. I always like to visit the restaurants that the locals go and Frommer lets you know where they are at. If you are going to Denali National Park, make sure you pick up a copy of Discovering Denali.

Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call 2005: From U.S. and Canadian Home Ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii & More (Frommer's Complete)

Average customer rating:

Frommer's Cruises and Ports of Call
A Great Overview - Start Here then Get Details Elsewhere
Lots of Good Information
A great place to start
thorough and fun!

Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call 2005: From U.S. and Canadian Home Ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii & More (Frommer's Complete)
Matt Hannafin , and Heidi Sarna
Manufacturer: Frommers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Caribbean | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0764569007

Book Description

A cruise is a complete vacation, so it's important that you choose the one that's right for you. Frommer's North American Cruises & Ports of Call is the most user-friendly, opinionated, and comprehensive guide you can buy before you set sail. We provide in-depth coverage on cruises departing from U.S. ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Bermuda, Mexico and Canada.

Unlike rating systems used in other guides, our system is simple. We break down the essential elements of a cruise experience (dining, activities, children's activities, entertainment, service, overall enjoyment, and overall value), and rate them from "poor" to "outstanding." Photos of each ship combine with the text to give a better sense of the very real differences among the various lines.

Most important, this is the only cruise guide that provides the real prices people pay for cruises, not just the rack rates. Other guides tell you that a seven-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas costs $2,099. You can pay that if you want to, but only Frommer's tells you that the same cruise is selling for $649. We give both the rack rates and the discount price for every cruise we review. This feature alone makes Frommer's North American Cruises and Ports of Call by far the most valuable trip-planning book among cruise guides.

Our authors, noted cruise experts who've personally checked out every ship sailing in and around North America, offer candid and unbiased opinions on them all. They are completely up to date, with all the latest developments and the newest ships. You'll also get complete coverage of the major port destinations, with advice on how to spend your limited time ashore.

Customer Reviews:

Frommer's Cruises and Ports of Call.......2005-10-31

Cruise section is more up to date than ports of call. Very useful.

A Great Overview - Start Here then Get Details Elsewhere.......2005-06-12

This massive book (691 pages) manages to touch on just about every major cruise ship and port of call that there is in cruising. You get a little taste of everything.

First, you get about 100 pages on the basics of cruising - how to get a good price, what to wear, how a cruise ship works. That will get you started on what a cruise trip is all about.

Next, you get 300 pages on the actual cruise ships. While this seems like a ton of pages, they actually only do 1-2 page reviews of each ship in most cases. In many cases it's a review not just of that ship but of that ship class. For example if Carnival has 4 ships that are similar, you could get one review that covers all 4 ships, with small mentions of things that stand out on a given ship. Since no ship is REALLY identical to other ships, this isn't great.

That being said, I really found the information given here to be FAR more valuable than in similar books. They actually review based on real information from real humans, not just copying from the cruise line's book. They tell you about "ridiculous 108 square feet" cabins. They warn you that on the Promenade deck, you're likely to have joggers running past (and peering in) your windows. They warn you which areas are noisy, they point out which lounges are usually not found by the masses and therefore are perfect places to escape from the noise.

The rest of the book is a quite good write-up of the main port locations. Many people travel in to a port town and consider the port town part of their vacation. This area includes maps of the area, what to see, directions to the docks, and other information.

I was a little put off by the 2005 in the title, implying that you had to buy a new book every year. On one hand you want to get a relatively new set of information - but even with this being "2005" I found errors in pricing. Obviously they can't update every single page in this every year. So it's a trade-off. Again, the book provides good guidelines but should never be taken as absolutely true.

There is obviously no way that one book can cover ALL information on all towns, ships and ports!! Again, this is a sampler. You look through to find out which items appeal to you. Then you should get a full book on that ONE TOPIC. If you're going to Bermuda, don't expect this book to give you the full details. You should get a book on Bermuda.

However, for what this book does, it does it very well. It takes you from the point of not knowing about cruising at all to the point of knowing what your options are and having a top-5 list to persue further. At that point it's time to go to those cruise line websites, to go the forums, and to get some books on specific ports. That will get you the detailed information you need to make your final decision, and to enjoy your cruise!

Lots of Good Information.......2005-02-27

As a person looking to take a cruise for the first time I found most of the info I was looking for in this book. It contains very detailed descriptions, especially of the various cruise lines and the type of activities, food and service that they offer. Of course, the opinions expressed are of the authors only and your taste may vary considerly. But overall they give a fairly objective assessment of the wide range of cruising experiences offered. Recommended.

A great place to start.......2004-12-26

Whether you are a seasoned cruiser and are looking for something new or have never cruised before this book is very handy. I have cruised three times but was not sure where I wanted to visit next and which cruise line I wanted to take to get me there so I borrowed Cruises & Ports of Call 2005 from the library. I spent the greater part of an afternoon studying cruise lines, ships, itineraries, and cabins. It immensely helped me choose which cruise was right for me because it went into a very detailed description of the ins and outs of each port and line out there.

thorough and fun!.......2003-07-04

this was a pretty good guide geared towards cruisers--only buy if you're interested on going on a big name cruise ship. port information was good for st. john, st. thomas, barbados, and aruba. the info on martinique was not good. the author described martinique's main town as cosmopolitan, people dress like paris, fort du france looks like new orleans. i don't know when he went to martinique. martinique was seedy and falling apart.

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