The missus wouldn’t allow him on any wall or floor at home, so “Tony” is now behind my desk at Discovery Institute — eleven feet, four inches from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. Story is that he was a gift from the Dowager Empress of China to Theodore Roosevelt, circa 1905. But, no, he does not have papers.

Editor’s Note: The critically endangered Chinese tiger, not to be confused with the Chinese Tiger Mom, has been hunted to the brink of total extinction. It can be seen today only in zoos and the occasional rare decorative office wall-hanging.

Cross-posted at Discovery News.