The Tiger by John Vaillant

 I'm currently reading "The Tiger" by John Vaillant.  This is the true story about the vengeance and survival of the Siberian Tiger (a.k.a. the Amur Tiger from the far eastern regions near Primorye, Russia).  The power of this giant cat is to be admired, from afar of course.  What I found interesting, and I will share with you, is the the description of how this 500# athlete operates during an airborne attack on it's prey.  The following is taken from pages 26 & 27.  In the final nanoseconds of an airborne attack, a tiger's tail will become rigid, balancing and stabilizing the hindquarters almost like the tail fin on an airplane.  Meanwhile, the tiger's forepaws, combined with it's fangs, form a huge three-point grappling device, as if, for a moment, the claws had become extensions of the jaws.  Working together in this way, they can cover an area of a square yard or more to manifest a gathering and gripping capability comparable to the mouth of a much larger creature -- something more on the order of a saltwater crocodile or an allosaurus.  The interplay of paws and jaws shifts according to the task at hand, and one way to envision their fluid and complementary roles is as a basketball team: the jaws ar the center-the big star around which the action revolves; the forepaws are, of course, the forwards, driving and rebounding in the midst of the fray, while the smaller hind paws, which set up and then assist on the periphery of the attack, are the guards.  The hind legs provide the power for the attack leap, or drive, but, once launched, they become levers and stabilizers, supporting the larger players.  Once the prey is down, these same assault weapons can become the mose delicate scalpels and claps, able to disembowel an animal, organ by organ.  --For all these reasons, there is no creature in the taiga (the book's region of focus) that is off limits to the tiger; it alone can mete out death at will.     

Hopefully you picked up on what I will point out to you. The hind legs are a source of power for the attack leap - Power eminates from the ground up and can be observed everywhere in any environment at any time by any living creature.

Always observe, be aware of your surroundings and most of all stay strong!
-Johnny

Amur Tiger