Remembering Machli: The tiger who got "Lifetime Achievement award"

New Delhi, July 29: Every year on July 29, World Tiger Day is celebrated all over the globe. So on this day which is specially dedicated to the tigers, let us remember the award winning and iconic figure of Ranthambore National Park in India, Tigress Machli.

Machli tiger or T-16 is one of the most well-known tigers across the globe. Queen of Ranthambhore, Lady of the Lakes, and Crocodile killer are just some of the names attributed to the big cat.

Machli, who lived to an extraordinary age of 20 years and won the hearts of tiger fans like no other feline did. She was considered India's most famous tigress and on her death, was considered the oldest living tigress in the wild.

Here are quick facts about Machni, the most popular tiger in the world

• Machali, born in 1996 or 1997, was the dominant cub in a litter of three females.
• The tigress was named Machli since she has fish-shaped marks on the left part of her face.
• The Royal Bengal Tiger had a royal taste when it comes to choosing her habitat. Her common territory was the lakes around the Ranthambore Fort where she had several encounters with crocodiles.
• She was known for her hunting skill and strength, in particular in an incident in 2003 when she fought with and killed a 12-foot-long mugger crocodile.
• As a result of the fight, she lost two canine teeth.She was also known for her ferocity in protecting her cubs from threats such as male tigers and other animals.
• Machli's popularity helped the Indian government earn nearly US$100 million between 1998 and 2009.
• She won the "Lifetime Achievement Award" of Travel Operators For Tigers due to her contribution to conservation and as a tourist attraction that earned significant income for India.
• In 2013, the Indian government issued a commemorative postal cover and stamp to honour the tigress for her ecological and economical contributions.
• She was featured in a number of wildlife documentaries, including a 50-minute documentary about her life, titled Tiger Queen, which was aired on the National Geographic and Animal Planet channels.
• The tigress, who gave wildlife lovers a great number of stories to remember, inspired a flurry of documentaries, with Tiger Queen being the most prominent one.
• She was the world's oldest-surviving tigress in the wild. She was 20 years old, older than the average 10- to 15-year lifespan of tigers in the wild.