The tiger always lands on its feet

WE are slightly more than a week into the fresh new year of the Tiger. The fact that in the Chinese zodiac, one of 12 animals is associated with each of the 12 lunar years makes life very colourful for those who follow Chinese folklore.

The western world has a zodiac too, but it is on a monthly basis, and it is named after the constellations (thus Cancer, Capricorn, Pisces, etc) whilst the Chinese zodiac is on a yearly basis.

Never mind if we do not know why the rat is the first of the 12 animals, or why the adorable Giant Panda was not chosen. Never mind if we do not even know when it all began; was it there before the Great Wall was built, for instance?

We know the Chinese horoscope started thousands of years ago, but were the 12 animals created before mahjong was invented? Except for the dragon, all the animals in the Chinese zodiac are those that humans can get close to, and this itself is a source of many dinner table stories for adults and children alike.

Many people have already seen the latest but previously unheard of ‘tiger dance’ over the past fortnight. Last year, we did not have a cow dance and we also did not have a rat dance the year before (thankfully!), but will we have a rabbit dance when the year of the rabbit comes around after the tiger?

With the year of the Tiger upon us, what positive attributes of this mysterious and fascinating animal can we emulate?

To be begin with, let’s take the boundless energy and infinite vigour of the tiger. On this, many sports and football clubs must have wished their members have the never-ending vitality of the tiger, as evidenced by the use of the word ‘tiger’ in their names. Hull City Football Club, for instance, has a tiger head on its logo. Even our national youth football team has tiger stripes on their team uniforms. Catch the drift?

Alternatively, shall we try to be as unpredictable as the tiger? Unpredictability is not necessarily a bad thing, because it contributes an element of trepidation and suspense in our lives. Imagine being taken by your date for dinner at the same restaurant week after week.

Tigers are very unpredictable, you know, as many tiger trainers have found to their peril. How often have we read in the papers of yet another circus tiger trainer being mauled by the very tigers he trained, or worse, the very animals he had raised from young? Here, the most well-known and tragic case in point must be the near death experience of Roy Horn (of Siegfried and Roy, two world-class magicians who performed with white tigers that they raised from cubs in their own farm). In October 2003, their 380-pound tiger Montecore suddenly turned on Roy and bit him in the neck before dragging him off like a rag doll to the utter horror of the audience. Until today, in spite of several boards of enquiry by professionals, there is no conclusive verdict on why Montecore had suddenly and so unpredictably turned on its owner. It was certainly not out of hunger.

On a cruise ship once, I sat in the front row watching a magician perform with his Siberian tiger on stage. Although he had the animal on a leash, I did not think that would have helped if the animal had decided to exercise its unpredictability and pounced on me for its supper.

The image of a tiger is also a symbol of power and authority. This kind of personality is good for leadership. A tiger marks its territory with its urine (like what dogs do) as well as its scratch marks and having done so, it protects its own territory with uncompromising ferociousness.

With incredible bravery, a tiger is also extremely competitive. With its strong sense of dignity, a tiger makes a natural leader. Shall we therefore strive to have such tiger-like authority of leadership? Is it any wonder then that Maybank and many other industry leaders have a tiger on their corporate insignia?

In November 2008, we read with horror that three Siberian tigers in the Singapore National Zoo attacked and killed a man who had jumped into their enclosure. The man had not lost his way, he was not blind, nor had he accidentally stumbled into the tigers’ enclosure thinking it was the rabbits’ warren.

Shocked eyewitnesses said he jumped across the moat waving a broom, as if gesturing to the big cats. After getting close to the tigers, he had covered his head with a pail and lain down in a foetal position. The lead tiger, the biggest of the three, had no intention of sharing its territory with this unfamiliar newcomer, and bit him on his back before dragging the screaming man to its den for further punishment.

A tiger cub can be very cuddly and lovable. Shall we then try to be as lovable as a little tiger cub?

Have you heard of Nicky? In August 2005, a three-month old tiger cub was about to be slaughtered for its meat in a restaurant (gasp!). She was, fortunately, spotted by a kind businessman who quickly redeemed her for RM10,000. The little animal was in a shrunken and dehydrated state and weighed just over 20kg. She was handed over to the Wildlife Department, which in turn handed her to a local zoo to be bred.

When pictures of the skinny animal – since named Nicky — were published in the papers, there were nationwide expressions of relief and the businessman who dished out the money became an instant hero. Three years later, in October 2008, Nicky became a happy mother to cubs of her own and I believe she can be viewed at the Melaka Zoo today.

So what positive attributes of a tiger would you like to emulate?

In considering this question, may I suggest that we take note that a tiger, as a member of the feline family, always lands on its feet no matter how it falls. This then is the key to yet another possible answer to the above question.

A tiger is naturally persistent and stubbornly unyielding; it does not give up its struggles easily because it knows that if it falls, it will always land on its feet!

‘Always lands on its feet’ is such powerful positive statement. It encapsulates such a wealth of practical implications. How nice if each time we fall, we               will always land on our feet and not crash into the ground like clumsy Humpty-Dumpty. How nice if each time we are knocked down, we will not be ‘down and out’, but will be poised to try again because we would have landed on our feet.

Do not be afraid to climb, as long as you are sure that if you fall, you will land on your feet!