Acclaimed for its unique ecosystem and Royal Bengal tigers, the mangrove islands that comprise the Sundarbans area of the Bengal delta are the setting for this pioneering anthropological work. The key question that the author explores is: what do tigers mean for the islanders of the Sundarbans? The diverse origins and current occupations of the local population produce different answers to this question – but for all, ‘the tiger question’ is a significant social marker. Far more than through caste, tribe or religion, the Sundarbans islanders articulate their social locations and interactions by reference to the non-human world – the forest and its terrifying protagonist, the man-eating tiger. The book combines rich ethnography on a little-known region with contemporary theoretical insights to provide a new frame of reference to understand social relations in the Indian subcontinent. It will be of interest to scholars and students of anthropology, sociology, development studies, religion and cultural studies, as well as those working on environment, conservation, the state and issues relating to discrimination and marginality.

Describes the physical characteristics, habitat, behavior, and life cycle of tigers.

Tigers of the World, Second Edition explores tiger biology, ecology, conservation, management, and the science and technology that make this possible. In 1988, when the first edition was published, tiger conservation was still in its infancy, and two decades later there has been a revolution not only in what is known, but how information about tigers is obtained and disseminated. In the fast changing world of conservation, there is a great need to summarize the vast and current state-of-the-art, to put this into historical perspective, and to speculate in what yet remains to be done.Tigers of the World, Second Edition fulfills this need by bringing together in a unique way the world's leading tiger experts into one volume. Despite the challenges ahead, there are bright spots in this story and lessons aplenty not only for tiger specialists but large carnivore specialists, conservation biologists, wildlife managers, natural resource policymakers, and most importantly the caring public. - Examines the past twenty years of research from the world's leading tiger experts on biology, politics, and conservation - Describes latest methods used to disseminate and obtain information needed for conservation and care of this species - Includes coverage on genetics and ecology, policy, poaching and trade, captive breeding and farming, and the status of Asia's last wild tigers - Excellent resource for grad courses in conservation biology, wildlife management, and veterinary programs - New volume continues the classic Noyes Series in Animal Behavior, Ecology, Conservation and Management

Can YOU solve the case of Tiger Island? Join Violet Remy-Robinson, an amateur Sherlock Holmes in the making, on her fifth adventure… Violet and her friends can’t believe their luck when they’re invited to a wedding on a tropical island. But when old enemies the Du Plicitouses show up at the same hotel, and a valuable figurine goes missing, Violet is sure the sneaky family are behind it. It’s a race against time – and a hungry tiger – to uncover the truth and make sure the big day goes to plan. Complete with two-colour illustrations throughout by Becka Moor, this is a fresh and funny mystery and readers will fall in love with Violet’s quirky charm. Perfect for fans of Dixie O’Day, Ottoline and Goth Girl.

For twenty-six years, civil war tore Sri Lanka apart. Despite numerous peace talks, cease-fires, and external military and diplomatic pressure, war raged on between the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sinhala-dominated Sri Lankan government. Then, in 2009, the Sri Lankan military defeated the insurgents. The win was unequivocal, but the terms of victory were not. The first successful counterinsurgency campaign of the twenty-first century left the world with many questions. How did Sri Lanka ultimately win this seemingly intractable war? Will other nations facing insurgencies be able to adopt Sri Lanka's methods without encountering accusations of human rights violations? Ahmed S. Hashim—who teaches national security strategy and helped craft the U.S. counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq—investigates those questions in the first book to analyze the final stage of the Sri Lankan civil war. When Counterinsurgency Wins traces the development of the counterinsurgency campaign in Sri Lanka from the early stages of the war to the later adaptations of the Sri Lankan government, leading up to the final campaign. The campaign itself is analyzed in terms of military strategy but is also given political and historical context—critical to comprehending the conditions that give rise to insurgent violence. The tactics of the Tamil Tigers have been emulated by militant groups in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Whether or not the Sri Lankan counterinsurgency campaign can or should be emulated in kind, the comprehensive, insightful coverage of When Counterinsurgency Wins holds vital lessons for strategists and students of security and defense.

EVOLUTION OF ISLAND MAMMALS Evolution on islands differs in a number of important ways from evolution on mainland areas. Over millions of years of isolation, exceptional and sometimes bizarre mammals evolved on islands, such as pig-sized elephants and hippos, giant rats and gorilla-sized lemurs that would have been formidable to their mainland ancestors. Evolution of Island Mammals, Second Edition, provides an updated and expanded overview of the current knowledge on fossil island mammals worldwide, ranging from the Oligocene to the onset of the Holocene. The book addresses evolutionary processes and key aspects of insular mammal biology, exemplified by a variety of fossil species. Readers familiar with the first edition will find here a host of updated and enhanced material, including: An entirely new chapter on the island rule Updated and expanded theoretical chapters Updated and improved taxonomic information Extensive coverage of new discoveries Body masses or body size indices for most extinct island mammals New figures visualizing the richness of the fossil record This accessible and richly illustrated textbook is written for graduate level students and professional researchers in evolutionary biology, palaeontology, biogeography, zoology, and ecology.

Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East, and Southeast Asia, Third Edition explores and illustrates conditions, events, problems, and trends of both larger regions and individual nations. Using a cross-disciplinary approach, the author discusses evolving physical and cultural landscapes. Nature-Society relations provide the foundation for social, economic, political, and environmental problems. Dragons and Tigers is the only textbook that covers all three regions – South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia – in one textbook. It is the most comprehensive book on the market about the geography of Asia.