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Due to my love towards tigers, I am actually willing to adopt one in the near future. Besides the point, influenced by the vast amount of fantasy stories in which we've all seen warriors riding tigers..

Is this concept merely probable ? Properly speaking, this seems to be greatly based on legend(s) and/or relatively-possible ideas. The root of all heard and seen.

Confronting the researches, a well-fed, trained male siberian tiger is capable to reach 771.617918 pounds (or 350 kg) in weight. Evident in everything, this is about fourfold as much as an average grow man.

That one looks severely exhausted though.

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  • Questions about if the authenticity of the image might be better addressed at skeptics.stackexchange.com questions about care and housing of pet tigers are welcome here, I look forward to seeing well referenced answers to this question.
    – James Jenkins
    Aug 19, 2015 at 10:27
  • This is pretty close to being a duplicate of the "please can I have an alligator" question, in terms of unrealistic assumptions about thee animal. Could a tiger drag off a human body? Sure. Could you ride one? Not well, not comfortably, and not for very long before it leaves you in no condition to try again. The concept is somewhere between merely impractical and borderline impossible. For a moment,, at a walking pace as in this photo, maybe. Extended ride or at speed: fantasy. Easier to turn into a tiger
    – keshlam
    Aug 19, 2015 at 18:56

2 Answers 2

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Even ignoring the huge number of problems of trying to treat a tiger as a pet, cats make terrible riding animals.

I'm sure a tiger could hold the weight of at least a small person for a short period of time, though I'm not sure if you would injure it if ridden for longer, or by a heavier person. However, the gait of a cat makes it very unsuitable for any sort of serious riding anyways.

The animals we typically ride, like horses, oxen, elephants all have gaits that keep their backs relatively straight and even. Cats have a gait that involves a lot of flexing of their spine. It makes for a very uncomfortable ride for both tiger and rider. The rider, especially in a run, would get bounced up and down, and I can't imagine a 150 pound plus weight bouncing up and down on its back would be at all pleasant for the tiger. At a sedate walk, though, I suppose the ride is tolerable, but at that point you might as well walk.

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    For all honesty, the "sattle" is designed to substantially reduce that "bouncing" you call it. Of course, it must be exotically made to suit the tiger's body form. Moreover, there is a specific pose for riding used to reduce the weight load in order to allow the mob to run faster. It is the semi-lying one.
    – Malina
    Aug 19, 2015 at 16:20
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    Just like anything with a muscle system, muscles are all capable of expanding, which means, on one way or another, the mob can grow muscle mass. As for their comfort, this is trainable. You see, I am looking into it as some sort of an art, since it is confirmed possible, but a matter of simplifying the task that is evidently heavy.
    – Malina
    Aug 19, 2015 at 16:25
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    A saddle will not fix the problem that your seat is literally moving up and down, due to the flexing of its spine.
    – Kai
    Aug 19, 2015 at 17:00
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    I am speaking of the saddle that goes all the way around the mob's body. Sorry for my terrifying english (isn't my native language).
    – Malina
    Aug 19, 2015 at 17:28
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    For the sake of argument, I think it is fully understandable that if possible, not a good idea nor easily applicable. The saddle is more like this: brain-on-fire.com/jefeblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/… and yes, it is an awful picture.
    – Malina
    Aug 19, 2015 at 17:33
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I am not sure about the physical stress it puts on the tiger (Common sense tells me the tigers back is not remotely designed for this, which even the monks seem to realise: just see how far back he is sitting!), but the major concern would be: A tiger is NOT a domesticated species, AND a predator. No matter how well-behaved, well trained and used to people he is, he may still fall back on "kill that creature" when feeling cornered.

Beyond the actual question: Do you mean "adopt" as in "keep one at your home"? You are aware that tigers are red-listed, internationally protected, and you need to fulfil a LOT of conditions to keep them happy.

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    I am actually well aware of that. You see, you need a license, daily time dedication and the last but not the least - monetary means.
    – Malina
    Aug 19, 2015 at 12:55
  • You need more than that, Malina.
    – keshlam
    Aug 19, 2015 at 13:36
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    Malina please read this bigcatrescue.org/buy-a-big-cat
    – Piper
    Aug 19, 2015 at 15:44

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