204 DIARY OF A SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 



will catch the movement at once and be off in a flash. This 

 is not so necessary with the tiger who is not so prompt in 

 decision and will wait to have a second look. He does not 

 make up his mind with the lightning speed, nor has he any- 

 thing like the cunning, of the leopard. As a general rule 

 reduce the motion necessary to get the rifle to the shoulder 

 to the minimum possible. Having picked up in the machan 

 much of the jungle lore I have been able to assimilate, I 

 have no hesitation in recommending it as the best educator 

 available for the object in view. 



A very brief introduction to the jungles and their denizens 

 impresses upon the newcomer one factor — the great difficulty 

 experienced in " picking up " the animals in their natural 

 surroundings. Even when on the move it is by no means 

 easy at first to pick them out from the background against 

 which they are moving, and when they are halted the diffi- 

 culty becomes immeasurably greater. This applies generally 

 to all the jungle animals, from the elephant to a partridge 

 or quail. Even a large animal like the tiger can move along 

 in his surroundings in an almost invisible manner. His 

 outline becomes merged in the general colour of the grass or 

 scrub jungle but there is nothing definite to pick up, and 

 when he is motionless he is almost invisible, if not quite, 

 to the untrained eye. In the same fashion a leopard may be 

 stared at, at comparatively close quarters, without the 

 untrained eye being able to pick out its outHne from the 

 surroundings. It is usually the eyes of the animal which are 

 first perceived if it is facing the observer. Other animals, 

 sambhar, chital, and so forth, are easily quickly lost, after 

 being picked up, owing to the extraordinary protective 

 colouring which so blends with the colour of the jungle as to 

 enable them to fade away whilst being watched within a 

 comparatively short distance. The " jungle eye " is not 

 born with the man of the higher civilization. Much patience 

 and perseverance is required to acquire it up to a certain 

 point. You will never emulate the jungle-man ; and even 

 the latter may be beaten by the leopard who is a past- 

 master in the art of hiding behind a tiny grass tussock and 

 in sneaking out, ventre a terre, between closely advancing 

 beaters, remaining perdu whilst they walk over him, or in 

 slipping out between the rifles, the easiest task of all. 



Whilst therefore, in a new environment and with an 

 untrained eye, the newcomer finds some difficulty in picking 



