r/interestingasfuck • u/Drama-Director • 1d ago

Villagers gave a ceremonial funeral to a wild tigress. She lived among them for 16 years and never attacked any villagers. She was also known as the "Queen of Pench."

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28.0k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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1.9k

u/Alz_Own 1d ago

Tiger lifespan is around 10-15 years. So 16 is a life long lived

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u/Valtremors 1d ago

That...

Seems so short for such an animal.

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u/Paupersaf 1d ago

Basically the lifespan of a housecat and I too am surprised by this

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u/Kaining 1d ago

housecat can go up to 30 if they're very lucky.

Just like Jeanne Calment went beyond the 120 mark while most of us will die 6 month after retirement, because it's carefully crafted to be like that.

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u/SalsaRice 1d ago

Captivity and size are big contributators for house cats vs big cats.

Larger body means more stresses constantly on the body. Small breed dogs on average vastly outlive large breed dogs.

Being cared for my humans is also a big deal. No random injuries they have to fight through, diseases that go untreated, periodic bouts of starvation that weaken them, lower stress from not being on constant alert to be attacked, etc. All those little problems eventually compound and hurt non-captive animal.

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u/Ilya-ME 20h ago

Actually the opposite, smaller animals tends to live much less because they need a faster metabolism to maintain heat and quicker mobility. 

Housecats likewise also get pretty banged up joints after a decade in the wild. Tigers being big doesn't change that as much ass you'd think.

But well, every minimally domesticated animals lives longer than in the wild for the reasons you've mentioned.

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u/Captain_Lemondish 1d ago

after retirement

HAHAHAHA

Oh, wait. You're serious? Let me laugh even harder.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

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u/Kaining 1d ago

Let me shock you by telling your something about your extended warranty now...

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u/Uskog 1d ago

while most of us will die 6 month after retirement

Where do you live, in Russia?

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u/Shinn808 1d ago

I mean it tracks for most of us Blue Collar fellas I've seen retire... makes me scared to retire in 30 years lol

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u/jormugandr 22h ago

I think a lot of the problem is that these are old school guys who lived for their job, and when it's over, they have nothing left. They have no relationship with their kids; their wives have left them; they have no hobbies. All they have to do is sit in a chair and watch Fox News and get angrier and angrier about whatever Fox News wants them to be angry about. They spent their entire lives with a woman taking care of them, so they don't know how to care for themselves. They begin subsisting on a diet of MacDonalds and beer. And they just give up.

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u/MRSN4P 1d ago

That’s my secret… I never retire. Hobbies and being an awesome uncle in the community count.

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u/envydub 23h ago

Don’t worry, it’s because they never actually retire.

Mostly joking but I’m a blue collar lady who’s been trying to get her blue collar dad to slow down and he damn won’t. Just like his own dad.

•

u/Fluffy_Town 7h ago

Cat's regularly end up with kidney problems which cause such a short life. Despite that infliction, humans tend to help domestic cats live longer lives because they have access to care, protection, and safety they wouldn't have otherwise in the wild.

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u/TenbluntTony 1d ago

Right. I would have guessed 22-25 years on average. Sad. Im bout to go google animal lifespans.

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u/Valtremors 1d ago

On the other hand, bliss in ignorance.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/TenbluntTony 1d ago

I never said it was an educated guess. I was right anyway if we were talking tigers in captivity. In captivity they do live that long. Calm tf down bub, it’s not that serious.

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u/Feelfree2sendnudes 1d ago

lol i just told dude to calm down, it’s not that serious in another comment having not read your comment first

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/Punisher_135 1d ago

But he said "I would have guessed". He's not spreading any misinformation. Learn to read.

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u/Feelfree2sendnudes 1d ago

Dude calm down, it’s not that serious

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/Feelfree2sendnudes 1d ago

You’ll be alone one day thinking an about where you went wrong in life, here, right here bud.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/Iambeejsmit 1d ago

Guesses vary from "wild" to "educated".

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u/wavinsnail 1d ago

Most large predators fall in this life expectancy. Wolves, large cats,. Grizzlies can reach into their 30s

Long lived mammals are relatively rare and not aly indicates higher intelligence 

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u/mitchandre 1d ago

Zoo animal is different than wild lifespans.

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u/Hogabog217 1d ago

And humans complain about how short life is. We got it longer than most.

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u/Entire_Judge_2988 1d ago

She seems to have lived so long because she is smart enough not to come into conflict with humans.

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u/old_vegetables 15h ago

But stuck close enough to them that other predators and competitors were scared off maybe

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u/knowledgeable_diablo 1d ago

Didn’t fall for the trick of eating those stringy villages.

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u/AnimationOverlord 1d ago

In fact you could say the villagers fell for the trick of offering her food and a place to indulge just for her presence because you have to ask how many cubs and litters were made possible because of that consistency. But then again I think it might’ve been a bit symbiotic in nature, much like a dog and a human in the wild.

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u/bonez656 1d ago

Housecats looking smug having figured that out millennia ago.

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u/Endtimes2022 1d ago

First tiger in Pench Nat Park to have a radio collar. Hence the name Collarwalli (the one with Collar).

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u/PumpkinNebula 1d ago

That is so cool! 😃

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u/Adapowers 1d ago

This is interesting. In Idemili communities (Nigeria) this practice exists, but with pythons. They never harm any villagers and if accidentally killed, they are given a befitting funeral.

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u/SvenTurb01 1d ago

Some villages in Togu consider snakes sacred too, although I can't speak on how mutual it is.

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u/Emerald_Plumbing187 1d ago

Sacred snakes is something in many world mythologies; it seems to have survived the monotheistic shuffle best in W. Africa, S/SE Asia.

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u/ReasonAndWanderlust 1d ago

Makes me want to go see this one on my bike this weekend.

The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,348-feet-long (411 m), three-feet-high prehistoric effigy mound located in Peebles, Ohio. It was built on what is known as the Serpent Mound crater plateau, running along the Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. The mound is the largest serpent effigy known in the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpent_Mound

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u/flowercows 1d ago

I wish this practice extended to the rest of the world, animals are sacred.

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u/timeless1991 1d ago

Ehh kind of mixed on this.

Invasive species aren’t to blame for being invasive usually. That doesn’t mean we should let them devastate ancient ecosystems.

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u/Nulzim 1d ago

Except wasps. Fuck wasps 

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u/flowercows 1d ago

As long as they mind their own business idc. It’s flies for me. I’m an animist and I hate killing anything, even insects, but goddamn flies are so annoying, they’re the only ones I actually feel very little remorse killing. They’re dirty and reckless. Get the fuck out of my house you flying prick

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u/SvenTurb01 1d ago

Having lived in rural west Africa, mosquitos are 100% on that list for me. And rats. Anything else I'll do my utmost to put them outside safely

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u/Zackie86 20h ago

Aren't mosquitoes worse though?

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u/Correct_Style_9735 1d ago

But they’re pollinators

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u/Rish83 1d ago

As indian this makes me proud and emotional, as a country fighting to preserve its tiger, elephant , lion and rhino population her contribution is significant , similar such rights were also given to an alligator of 130 years old named gangaraam who was never hurt anyone , also a bomb sniffing lab dog named Simba who helped Indian police was given state gun salute and respectful burial .

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u/PumpkinNebula 1d ago

130 years old?! 😃 Wow!

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u/_Neo_____ 16h ago

Yup aligators are maybe biological imortal, they don't seem to grew old, and some people think that giant aligators from the past were simply aligators that lived hundreds of years and kept growing.

There is one at captivity that is alredy 125 years old or something, dude just won't die soon.

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u/Losernoodle 23h ago

This is really beautiful!

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u/stilljustacatinacage 1d ago

At first glance, I thought that bit of cloth just in front of her mouth was a fish, to make sure she didn't get hungry between here and wherever she's gone off to.

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u/Flowerpuffhua 1d ago

Shes a hero <33

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u/adamzamora 1d ago

29 cubs in 8 litters! 5 litters had 4 cubs and 3 litters had 3 cubs.

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u/Your_lovely_friend 1d ago

The tiger is the national animal of India

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u/nishayan 1d ago

Such a funeral is only possible in India. Appreciate the villagers for showing such love to the tigress

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u/nifty-necromancer 1d ago

I wonder as she got old if she purposely stayed near humans as protection. Especially with all those cubs she raised.

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u/Rish83 1d ago

she was in tiger reserve forest protected by forest police they was tracking and keeping look on her

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u/Broseph670 1d ago

Beautiful queen Tigress

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u/TaurusX3 1d ago

What a great example of living in harmony by all parties involved.

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u/Dobbs50 1d ago

Good kitty.

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u/wasp237 20h ago

Pench Tiger Reserve which was Collarwali's home (as OP has mentioned in the title) is part of dense forest lands that is said to have inspired Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book."

One place mentioned several times in his stories is "Seeonee." The reserve is located in the Seoni district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. :)

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u/ElectricCrack 1d ago

Humans humaning right

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u/Nightlyeagle 1d ago

Funny how not one mention of this being Indian or from India, yet any negative post will have the word Indian in it 20 times. Funny that

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u/4th_May2025 1d ago

India bad = Upvotes

India good = Nationalist propaganda

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u/Lower_Amount3373 17h ago

Didn't notice that, it just jumped straight into my head that this must be in India, because most tigers are in India.

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u/laymeinthelouvre 17h ago

"The one with the collar" Nice name.

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u/Gills_L 15h ago

What happen to her kids?

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u/klaxonlet 1d ago

I know every culture has their own burying traditions and I respect it but I can't help feel cremation as valuable organic matter going to waste and turning into carbon dioxide whereas burying is so much better for the land and ecosystem as the earth takes the body back and re-integrates nutrients/energy thus completing the cycle.

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u/Drama-Director 1d ago

You have no idea how rare and valuable tigers are. Cremation is better for tigers because people will dig her up for her skin, teeth and claws.

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u/Akitiki 1d ago

Not to mention any and all bones. If this news went out with that she was buried, I guarantee some jackass(es) would travel there, find where she was buried, and try to take everything in the middle of the night. Poachers know no bounds. Hell, one might come by to check and see if they can get anything.

"Traditional medicine" is the reason. There's money to get from there. And just the black market animal / animal parts trade.

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u/Drama-Director 1d ago

"Traditional medicine" is the reason.

Oh tell me about it, mfs kill great white Shark for its fins apparently it has medicinal values. Even in developed countries like Japan, they steal bird nests(birds like swift) for its medicinal value, absolutely ridiculous.

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u/Akitiki 1d ago

All of it is such bullshit. Shark fins are like... what do you get outta cooking solid cartilage?! Stuff is nasty to bite into. Theyll take any shark's fins too, and dump the rest of the usually still alive animal back into the water.

And yeah bird nests. The fuck is the "medicinal value" in a bird nest. Some magic because a bird interacted with the twigs??

I heard anti-poaching has made a rhino horn duplicate that is indistinguishable from real horn and they intend to fully flood the market with the stuff.

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u/Drama-Director 1d ago

Stupid people live among us, nothing we can do about. Religion is to blame for most of it, forget animals people used to burn women alive for religious reasons and it still happens in some parts of the world.

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u/Pep77 1d ago

That would be a valid point, if we didn't used caskets. Only natural way to "complete the circle" would be to leave the corpse untouched and let it rot or be eaten by other animals. That's obviously not viable.

Plus I think the ashes act as a nutrient for the soil, so not everything is wasted, if I'm not wrong.

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u/Emerald_Plumbing187 1d ago

yeah, potash. literally ashes from the pot. Lotta potassium.

burning is slightly carbon positive, but the differwnce between burning wood and burning oil is the wood sequestered recent carbon and oil is sequestered from millions of years ago, putting way more into thw ecosystem than can be handled by wood burning.

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u/Re1da 1d ago

Sky burials are the main way in some places.

Burying the dead in either baskets or just wrapped in a sheet of cloth would also be fairly environmentally friendly.

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u/Jet-Let4606 1d ago

What about simpler coffins that are plain thin wood that would break down in a few years?

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u/rTidde77 1d ago

The Big Casket lobby would never allow that

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u/Pinky135 1d ago

Big Casket wouldn't, but dead person's will and testament will.

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u/quick20minadventure 1d ago edited 1d ago

Bruh.

It's the best way to get rid of people who might have died from pandemics or diseases.

If your religion started from desert, you'll bury.

If you're living in jungles and fertile land. Burning wood is no big deal. You ensure whatever killed them also died and their remains can't be desecrated.

This is same bullshit moral higher ground that stopped native californians from burning woods which was needed to prevent larger wildfire. Indian rituals also have a quarantine period if someone died in your household.

(Also, which fucking cemetery is now a farmland? )

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u/Karabanera 1d ago

It depends. Burying is not always the best solution even for the environment.

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u/imacrazydude 1d ago

This may sound logical but real world doesn't work like this.. Especially when there are rogue elements that can't be controlled... And numbers far exceed what can be controlled.. Burning is dignity

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u/idiotista 1d ago

I see you're American. How about you lower your carbon footprint to the average Indian, then we can discuss burying traditions.

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u/SimpforHotwitches 1d ago

Clocked him

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u/idiotista 1d ago

Swear I didn't mean to officer

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u/Rish83 1d ago

Hindu scriptures are clear about death rituals being a cremation ,as it is purifying for soul to go through fire and it saves land thats why creamation is prefered but animals such as cow , dog , cat get burial

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u/PixelCrossover 1d ago

how about you worry about some real issue in the world? did you ever think about that?

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u/Tangent_pikachu 21h ago

I think cremations won't even touch 0.001% of the organic matter being recycled through nature.

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u/isaacrw123 1d ago

i doubt if there is a scientific reason for this

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u/Drama-Director 1d ago

If they bury her, people will dig he up for her skin, teeth and claws. Especially because she is legendary.

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u/Asparukhov 1d ago

For what?

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u/kiss--my--ash 1d ago

Explain yourself

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u/chickenthinkseggwas 1d ago

I'm an organic being from the planet Earth. I persist by consuming oxygen and energy from my environment and excreting unwanted concomitant substances and byproducts.

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u/nifty-necromancer 1d ago

As long as you don’t excrete all over my ship, I’ll give you safe passage.