JUNGLE LORE 209 



over a goat or dog used as a bait, the former the most useful 

 and more preferable, is the chief method. In beating the 

 chances are a hundred to one in favour of the leopard sneak- 

 ing out unperceived. For he is extraordinarily difficult to 

 pick out from his surroundings and can hide under the 

 smallest bush or in tussocky grass. Being an adept at 

 climbing, he frequently sleeps on a branch and is not uncom- 

 monly shot in trees ; when pressed in a beat he probably fre- 

 quently climbs up a tree and hides amongst the foliage, allow- 

 ing the men to pass beneath him. The elevation at which 

 the machan is prepared is according to taste, bearing in 

 mind that the leopard climbs with ease, unlike the tiger. The 

 sportsman occupies the machan and the goat is then brought 

 and tethered beneath, the animal being unaware that the 

 sportsman is sitting above him. One commonly makes the 

 mistake at first of getting into the machan after the goat 

 has already been tethered out below. The animal, as it then 

 knows it has company, will sit down and go to sleep or feed 

 if there is anything to eat ; and the goat is quite impartial 

 in its tastes in this respect. The goat is there to bleat and it 

 will do so as soon as it considers it is forlorn and desertedj 

 If a leopard is in the neighbourhood the bleats will soon 

 attract it. But this does not mean that it will at once 

 advance and seize the bait. Far otherwise ! In any event 

 its suspicions will be aroused and it will cruise around in 

 the offing for a varying period before it has made up its mind. 

 But once decided it will act with promptness and advance in 

 bounds till it almost reaches the animal. If one reserves 

 one's fire, the leopard seizes the goat, kills it, and drags it 

 away, placing it for safety in the branches of a tree where it is 

 safe from vultures who cannot get at it in this position. 

 Like the tiger, the leopard keeps watch over it to prevent 

 the smaller fry stealing the meat. The remains of his feast 

 he will cover up with twigs and leaves in a manner similar 

 to the way a dog buries bones. 



The methods by which tiger and leopard capture their 

 prey differ. The tiger is a heavy, powerful animal but has 

 considerable pace for a short distance, even over the roughest 

 ground and uphill. He is well aware that the fleet deer, 

 once they have got into their stride, can outrun him in a 

 very short distance. Hence the need of secrecy and the 

 careful stalk which precedes the rush on to the animal. On 

 getting alongside of the deer the tiger either jumps for the 



