Today is International Tiger Day, so we thought we’d take a look at some of our favourite literary tigers!
Tigger
Created by AA Milne, Tigger was first introduced to the world in “The House At Pooh Corner”, where he spends most of time explaining what Tiggers like best.
The Tiger Who Came To Tea
Plans for Judith Kerr’s beloved character to come to the big screen were announced today, in the year of her passing at the age of ninety-five. The book has sold more than a million copies in the fifty years since its publication.
Shere Khan
Unsurprisingly, Shere Khan translates as “tiger king”. Some good news has come out over the last few days from India, where 70% of the world’s tigers currently live — for the first time in a long time, the population has seen an increase, thanks to tighter laws for their protection.
The Life Of Pi
Richard Parker — the name of the tiger in Yann Martel’s “The Life of Pi” — accompanies Pi, a young man stuck in a dinghy on the ocean. The book and the subsequent movie were a hit. In the movie, 86% of the time a tiger is on the screen, it’s a digital one. Real tigers were used for very little of the filming.
Hobbes
Calvin and his imaginary tiger friend, Hobbes, took their names from a 16th century theologian and a 17th century philosopher, respectively. Creator Bill Watterson took some of Hobbes’ personality traits from his cat. Including a “barely contained pride at not being human”!
Will International Tiger Day inspire you to read more about these stripey superstars?
For more from the “Friend” staff, read our Team blog.
Alex Corlett I am the "Friend's" Features Editor, working with the talented Features Team to bring you everything from cryptic crosswords to financial advice, knitting patterns to international travel and inspirational real life stories. Always on the hunt for a new feature idea, I also enjoy cycling and love a good tea room.
