Hundreds of dancing ‘tigers’ gather for Indian folk festival

Hundreds of people have gathered for one of India’s more colorful traditions (and that’s saying something): competing for best ‘tiger’ at ‘Pulikali.’ Performers and spectators alike descend on towns in Kerala each year to celebrate the end of Onam with Pulikali, or ‘tiger dance.’ Highly trained tiger impersonators don tiger headdresses and paint their torsos with the fearsome visage of the tiger to march, dance and jiggle their bellies vigorously through the streets. The parade also features drummers, floats and an offering of coconuts at the local temple, before different tiger troupes have a tiger off to determine who is the best tiger.

You know, if furries did things like this instead of the unspeakable damage to hotel rooms they usually cause, people would probably be ok with them.