In Chapter Twelve of The Tiger, Markov and his dogs are the victim of a tiger attack and become its meal after he steals a haunch of boar meat from the tiger’s kill. It is no ordinary tiger that Markov stole the meat from, but a giant male tiger, extremely defensive of his territory and in his prime. Vaillant’s thesis is that predator and prey are irrevocably altered when they encounter each other; in this case where two top predators, human and tiger, have crossed each other, the order of life for both kinds of creatures is fundamentally changed. He supports this by discussing the importance of the kind of tiger it is, the reason for the tiger’s methods in following after Markov’s path, and the ultimate change their encounter caused.
Perhaps if it had been a different tiger, such as a younger male or a smaller female, the results for the tiger and the humans of the area would have been different. However, after measuring the pyatka, or heel-print of this tiger, at 13.5 centimeters, it was established that the tiger that killed Markov was probably the biggest tiger not only in the Panchelaza, but also for at least 50 miles around (155). Everything about this tiger--his pyatka, his mane, his huge snout like nose, his battle scars—pointed toward the fact that he was likely to be the king of this area for many years (155). Having come up against such a leader of tigers, Markov inadvertently caused a lasting change in the relationship between humans and tigers in their neighboring territory.
The tiger’s sense of scent is the method by which it gathers details about its environment and its inhabitants. The gigantic tiger of the Panchelaza knew from the scent evidence who stole from his kill, and it is the instinct of the tiger to take back what is his by right (158). Even after stalking and killing Markov, the scent of his stolen kill remained, as well as the scent of Markov throughout the places he traveled. The tiger was not only following Markov’s former paths, “but he was also, intentionally or not, reconstructing a story—a crime of sorts” (156). This is when the tiger’s transformation began: he was becoming a new kind of predator with new goals, and in seeking this settling of accounts with Markov, he was now highly aware of all scents bearing the slightest hint of Markov and those that were scented similarly to him (157). The tiger was now to step into unprecedented and human territory to seek compensation for his loss.
Markov’s unfortunate choice of animal to steal prey from would have a lasting effect for the relationship between the beast and the humans. “A new model had been created: whatever bonds had held this tiger in relationship to his human neighbors, indeed, to his own nature, were broken. Now, anything was possible” (159). The tiger, in following his own nature to take back his stolen prey, actually lost his nature and become a new creature altogether, one that now stalked and would feed upon men with an endless psychological need to reclaim his prey.
With humans and the king tiger at odds, the balance of life in the Panchelaza changed. Whatever the humans had come to expect from the tigers of the area now must be revised. Just as the tiger’s attitude towards what humans are and what they do changed, so too changed the humans’ attitude toward tigers. With a single encounter, their relationship has altered forever.
References
Vaillant, John (2010). The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. New York, NY: Vintage.
