Discovery's Animal Planet cable and satellite television channel conducted an international survey to determine which animal in the world is favored over all. 53,000 people responded to their survey in 73 countries. The results are in, and no, it's not "man's best friend" or that lovable bear named Winnie. In fact, bears didn't even make the Top Ten. The great Asian cat got the most votes by a whisker.

Tigers received 10,902 top votes.

The world's second most favorite animal? Dogs.

Dogs received just 17 fewer votes than tigers in the global competition. However, in South Africa, Poland, Romania and South-East Asia, dogs were favored as #1.

Asked to explain the overwhelming attraction of Panthera tigris, Dr. Candy d'Sa, an animal behaviorist, said:

We can relate to the tiger, as it is fierce and commanding on the outside, but noble and discerning on the inside.

Of course, people in Detroit love the baseball team, the Tigers.

And if you go to school in Auburn, Alabama you're probably a fan of the college football team called the Tigers who is headed to the Orange Bowl.

Then there's the Melbourne Australia NBL team called the Tigers.

And how many kids, like mine, are on soccer or basketball or softball or football teams who call themselves the "Tigers" or "Wildcats?"

And what list of tigers would be complete without the most famous tiger of all, Tiger Woods?

When my children were still babies, they had a Winnie The Pooh puppet collection covering each corner post of their crib.

Today, every time we go through our garage to give away old clothes and toys, four items that will always be saved are: Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and our favorite of all, Tigger!

I guess we're not alone.

Bengal Tiger Mother Rani with Her Three Tiger Cubs

For those who love tigers and Tigger, go to:

Three Bengal Tiger Triplets Photo Credit: AP/Hollywood & Safaripark, Udo Richter

Endangered Tigers Earn Stripes

With only 5,000 - 7,500 tigers remaining in the wild, perhaps organizations like the World Wildlife Fund for Nature Conservation and Wildlife WayStation will see an uptick in support from those who care about the world's favorite cat.

In other news regarding tigers, today it was announced in the online journal PLoS Biology that scientists have turned towards a new sub-species of the cat family after genetically analysing over 130 tigers in an attempt to protect tigers from extinction.

The new subspecies, named Panthera tigris jacksoni, comes from dividing an existing subspecies of Indochinese tigers into two distinct genetic groups, the Malayan tigers, which live on the Malay Peninsula and those that live in more northerly parts of Indochina.

Shu-Jin Luo, of the U.S. National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Genomic Diversity in Maryland, and her colleagues collected tiger DNA from all over Asia.

Their findings are likely to lead to the improved management and conservation of these distinct geographic populations of tigers.

This discovery can add momentum to the world's conservation efforts, both in the wild and in captivity. By breeding them, various groups of tigers may survive in their different habitats.

Although the tiger subspecies can be interbred, the researchers suggest that it would be better to breed like with like.

These genetic techniques could also help the investigators to trace the origins of any tiger parts confiscated from black-market dealers.

So other than tigers, which animals made the top ten list?

1) Tiger: 21% of the global vote
2) Dog : 20 %
3) Dolphin: 13%
4) Horse: 10%
5) Lion: 9%
6) Snake : 8%
7) Elephant: 6%
8) Chimpanzee: 5%
9) Orang-utan: 4.5%
10) Whale: 3.5%

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "fierce, commanding on the outside, noble, discerning on the inside" living!

Inspire & Be Inspired (R).

TTFN,

~ Jennifer Carolyn King

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