Description
The stance of a Ballerina dressed to kill backed up by the Tigress Machali. It is Oil on Board.
Machali, born in 1996 or 1997, was the dominant cub in a litter of three females.[5] She inherited her name from her mother, Machali I, who was also named fish due to a fish-shaped mark on her face.[5] In her first two years, she started hunting on her own and took over a part of her mother’s territory.[5]
Tigresses generally have two or three litters, however over a period of seven years, from 1999 to 2006, Machali had four litters and gave birth to eleven cubs – seven females and four males.[6][7] 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.[5] In 2008, two of her female cubs were relocated to Sariska Tiger Reserve and successfully boosted the tiger population in that park as well.[8]
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.[8][9]
She was known for her hunting skill and strength, in particular in an incident in 2003 when she fought with and killed a 14-foot long mugger crocodile.[10] As a result of the fight, she lost two canine teeth.[1] She was also known for her ferocity in protecting her cubs from threats such as male tigers and other animals
