Machali (tigress)

Machali

Lady of the Lakes
Species Panthera tigris
Sex Female
Born 1997[1]
Title Queen Mother of tigers
Tigress Queen of Ranthambore
Lady of the Lakes
Owner Ranthambore National Park
Parents Unknown
Offspring 11 (7 females and 4 males)
Awards Lifetime Achievement Award

Machli, also known as Machali, (Devanagari मछली), Hindi for "fish"; Code name: T-16;[2] born around 1997) is one of the most famous tigresses. She is an iconic figure of Ranthambore National Park in India. Machali is celebrated with titles such as "Queen Mother" of tigers, Tigress Queen of Ranthambore, Lady of the Lakes and Crocodile Killer.

History

Machali was born in 1997. Formerly, she was known as "Jhalara". It is a location of the park site where the tigress used to live. She was named fish due a fish-shaped mark that had been seen on her mother's face. Originally, the name Machali derived or passed from her mother to daughter who had a fork-like mark on her face. She gave birth to eleven tiger cubs, including seven females and four males.[3] The progeny of Machali increased the tiger population in the park and made about 60% of tigers of her lineage. Also, she was keen to protect her cubs from threats including from male tigers and other animals.

She is famously known for her hunting skill and strength when killing a more than 10 foot long mugger crocodile. Due the crucial fight she lost a couple of canine teeth.[1] A report says that India had earned about USD 10 million per year due to tourists attracted by the tigress for the last ten years.[4] She won the "Lifetime Achievement Award" of Travel Operators For Tigers due to her contribution to conservation and tourist attraction that earned significant economy for India.[4][2][5]

Today, she has lost almost all of her teeth, territories and strength due to aging. She is 19 years old (as of May 2015),[6] higher than the average 10- to 15-year lifespan of tigers in the wild.[7]

Phylogeny

The cladogram below follows phylogeny of Machali with code name and/or nickname. From 1999 to 2006, she mated with male tigers and gave birth to 11 cubs.[3]

Machali
Male X

ST2 (female)

ST3 (female)



Bamboo Ram

Slant Ear – T0 (male)

Broken Tail (male)



Bamboo Ram

Jhumari (female)

Jhumaroo (male)



Male X

Bunty – T3 (male)

Bubbly – T1r (female)



Male X

Satra/Sundari – T17 (female)

Athara – T18 (female)

Unnis/Krishna – T19 (female)




In media

Her 50-minute story with title of Tiger Queen was aired by National Geographic and Animal Planet channels.[8][9] On 19 October 2012, the story of Machali was aired on the BBC's Natural World. The episode was titled "Queen of Tigers: Natural World Special". It was produced by Mike Birkhead and presented by Colin Stafford-Johnson.[10]

The Indian government issued a commemorative postal cover and stamp to honor the tigress for her ecological and economical contributions.[11][12]

Machali is considered the most photographed tigress in the world.[13]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Offspring of Machali and other Bengal tigers in the park.
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