to live as a tiger.
This is why I would rather live as a tiger than a sheep.
Sheep are cute and fuzzy, but they are not independent or intelligent. They most frequently act from a place of fear and confusion, depending on a smarter species for direction and protection. I do find their skins and hair quite cozy. I also think their babies are delectable.
Tigers are noble, independent, and formidable creatures.
They are fierce and dangerous, but generally only hurt people when they themselves are weak or sick.
A famous man-eating tigress, who killed and ate 436 people, didn't do so because she was malicious or cruel... it was just that humans were easier prey than what she would have eaten if she were healthy & fit. (what does that say about the usual human?!)
When she was finally hunted down and killed by tracker Jim Corbett, "examination of the tigress showed the upper and lower canine teeth on the right side of her mouth were broken -- the upper one in half, the lower one right down to the bone. This permanent injury, Corbett claimed, "had prevented her from killing her natural prey, and had been the cause of her becoming a man-eater."
Tigers are the biggest cat species and the 3rd largest land mammal. They are naturally at the top of the food chain - in command of their environments. They don't usually fight with each other or with any other creatures, but were the need for defense to arise, they would have the advantage in nearly all fair fights. They are magnificent hunters and have few natural enemies. They are both solitary and social animals. They spend a lot of time in leisure and play. They even like to play in water - eschewing a normal fear of most felines (even other big ones). They understand and embody pleasure and strength in all their actions.
I've had the honor of feeding tigers, watching a tiger couple mate, playing with tiger cubs, petting and spending time with adult tigers. When you approach a tiger with a deep calm and your own inner sense of nobility, they are delightful creatures. Of course they could bite your arm off at any time... but they have little reason to, unless you show fear or act skittishly. They demand that you respect yourself enough not to present yourself as food or as a pest/toy to them. They require you to find your own equipoise to be comfortable in their presence. They don't care what you think of them at all.
To live as a tiger, to me, is to live with strength and joy. To embody pleasure, power, efficiency, and leisure... to be smart and fierce, but noble and powerful enough not to be needlessly cruel... to be independent and capable as an individual, seeking out the company of others to augment quality of life, not out of fear, need or dependency... to live by the highest principles of freedom, discipline, and beauty.
