MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 979 



pry into the inner life of wild animals, but the process of doing so does not 

 always add to our respect for our jungle friends. 



E. COMBER. 

 Karachi, Ibth August 1909. 



No. Ill —TIGER ATTACKING A BEAR. 

 I do not ever remember to have heard of a Tiger attacking a Bear, until 

 last cold weather, when shooting in the Central Provinces. When making in- 

 quiries of an old Karmar, who spent his life in fishing and hunting, regarding 

 the game to be found in the district, he casually remarked that a lame bear 

 used to frequent a certain part of the jungle, but that it had quite recently 

 been killed and eaten by a tiger. He was: quite positive of the fact — in support 

 of which he advanced the evidence that he found the partially devoured remains 

 of the bear in the bed of the river and the sand showed ample evidence of 

 there having been a fierce struggle between it and a tiger which in the end 

 had come off victorious and made a meal off his foe ! A few days afterwards 

 when passing the spot he pointed out some of the bear's hairs lying scattered 

 about the place — the carcase having been cleared away by animals. He said the 

 bear was a large one, but for a long time past — for he had often seen it in the 

 neighbourhood — he had noticed that it was lame. I had no reason for doubt- 

 ing the man's words, but the incident was certainly a very unusual one. 



L. L. FENTON, Lt.-Col. 

 ith October 1909. 



No, IV.— A FIGHT BETWEEN A HY^NA AND A PANTHER. 

 " In March 1908, a party of Royal Artillery Officers from Secunderabad 

 had a drive for tiger in the Mahadapore Taluka in His Highness the Nizam's 

 Dominions near the village of Somnapally some 16 miles off the Godavery. 

 A tiger came out first and was bagged, shortly afterwards a panther came 

 out and received a flesh wound in the neck, after which it disappeared into a 

 deep cave. This was surrounded; and they soon heard the noise of a fight 

 going on inside spelling fighting, roaring, etc. The shikaries said that there was 

 a tiger in the cave which was killing the panther ; the officers tried for half an 

 hour to dislodge the animals by firing rifles and throwing fireworks into the 

 cave but without success. So leaving the officer who had wounded the panther 

 on guard, the other two went off to secure the dead tiger. Shortly afterwards 

 a small hyaena came out and was shot. The hyaena was a female about 4 feet 

 <i inches in length and was somewhat badly scratched about the face but other- 

 wise uninjured. Next morning on returning to the cave a female panther, 

 about 5 feet 10 inches, was found lying just outside the cave stone dead. On 

 examination it was found that she had a flesh bullet wound in the neck, which 

 was not sufficient to kill her, but she had been bitten in two places by the hyaena, 

 firstly through the loins, secondly through the kidneys and at the same time 

 injuring the spine, and there is little doubt that the panther died from these 



