98 



THE BEASTS OF PREY 



his victim at one huge bound. The chief success of 

 his attack lies in its surprise. An animal that is 

 close to him, he seizes immediately ; one that is far- 

 ther away he reaches by quick bounds ; he pursues 

 a fleeing one, and, if it be a large animal, he tries to 

 tear the muscles and tendons of its hind legs by 

 furious blows of his paw. 



The Tiger either drags his prey into a thicket 

 immediately or he waits for dusk ; and sometimes he 

 carries it a short distance. Sanderson saw an enor- 

 mous male Tiger carry an ox weighing about three 

 hundred and sixty pounds a distance of about three 

 hundred paces. When not disturbed the Tiger eats as 

 much as he can, which is nearly sixty pounds. He 

 usually begins with a hind leg ; seldom with a flank. 

 While eating, he interrupts his meal at intervals by 

 going for a copious drink of water. He is said to 

 sometimes wade into the water and dip his head in 

 as far as the eyes, lapping and gurgling as if he 

 wished to rinse his huge mouth. After a satis- 

 factory meal, he goes to sleep. He only arouses to 

 procure drink, and, in fact, he attends to his diges- 

 tion with a great measure of enjoyment. In the 

 evening, generally between four and nine o'clock, he 

 returns to his prey, to eat what he has left, if he can 

 find it; for his table, like the Lion's, is, during his ab- 

 sence, spread for all kinds of hungry beggars, and 

 he not infrequently discovers that the latter have 

 made away with the carcass, even to the bones. 



He can endure hunger and thirst for a very long 

 period. Two Tigers were once hemmed in by nets, 

 in an impenetrable thicket about one hundred paces 

 in diameter ; they were wounded on the fifth day, 

 but were not killed until the tenth, and then with the 

 assistance of an Elephant. The weather was very 

 hot and they had been, besides, surrounded by fires, 

 and in all this time they had neither food nor water 

 and they suffered from their wounds ; yet, they re- 

 tained their strength to the last. 



Methods of There are a great man)- devices for 

 Catching catching Tigers. All kinds of traps 



the Tiger. are se t f or them and pitfalls are very 

 efficient. Formerly pointed poles were placed in the 

 center of the latter but an innocent human being 

 was impaled on one of them and since that time 

 their use has been interdicted, at least in the neigh- 

 borhood of Singapore. Hasskarl writes me from 

 Java that large traps are made of tree-trunks, and 

 the bait is a young Kid, whose bleating attracts the 

 beast. After due caution the Tiger creeps into the 

 trap, tries to carry off the prey and thereby pulls a 

 string, which shuts the trap. H. O. Forbes tells us 

 that the natives (if Sumatra make a hole in the fence 

 surrounding a village, and attach a spear above the 

 aperture so that when the Tiger crawls through he 

 detaches a spring, which forces the spear into his 

 body. In Assam, O. Flex tells us, automatic bows 

 with poisoned arrows are put in the Tiger's path, 

 near the place where he goes for water. Spring guns 

 are also used to good effect. Lately strychnia has 

 been employed very extensively, but it is said to 

 lose its efficacy when the meat upon which it is 

 strewed begins to decompose 



The profits of a successful Tiger-hunter are not to 

 be despised. Besides receiving the bounty offered 

 for killing a Tiger, he can use nearly all parts of its 

 body, especially the fat, which amounts to from four 

 to six quarts, and which is believed by the natives 

 to cure rheumatism and certain diseases of Cattle. 

 In some localities the flesh is eaten, and Jagor de- 

 clares that its taste is not bad. In some countries 



the teeth and claws, the fat and the liver are valued 

 more than the flesh and bones. The teeth are 

 counted by the Shicaris as precious charms which 

 render the wearer invulnerable against attacks of 

 other Tigers. The claws, framed in gold and silver, 

 are worn as ornaments by European and Asiatic 

 ladies. The skins are cured and sold to Europeans 

 and Chinese merchants. The Khirgiz adorn their 

 arrow-cases with them. In Europe a Tiger skin, ac- 

 cording to Lomer, may be sold for as much as three 

 hundred dollars. 



Tiger Kittens The Tiger seeks his mate at varying 

 and Their seasons according to his locality, the 

 Training. breeding period beginning in the north- 

 ern regions late in the fall or early in the winter; in 

 the southern countries, like India, it is restricted to- 

 no particular time. The Tigress gives birth to two 

 or three, sometimes four, and in rare cases five or 

 six cubs, having first selected for her lair some im- 

 penetrable spot, surrounded with thick vegetation. 

 The little ones are about half the size of our adult 

 domestic Cat and are charming little creatures, as 

 are all Kittens. During the first few weeks the 

 mother does not leave the young ones until she is 

 nearly famished ; but as soon as they are somewhat 

 older and require solid food, she begins to prowl 

 around for prey. 



Sanderson says: "Little Tigers are extremely 

 pretty and very good-natured. But if one wishes to 

 tame them, they must be captured before they are 

 a month old, and have no knowledge of life in the 

 wilderness, or any dread of Man. They show a 

 great deal of affection for their owner, follow him 

 about, lie under his chair, and utter a peculiar, joy- 

 ous snort when he caresses them. As soon as they 

 taste meat, they do not want anything else to eat and 

 will turn up their little noses at milk. The belief 

 that a raw meat diet renders them wild is totally 

 unfounded, as my own experience with them has 

 shown. That is really the only food on which they 

 thrive, and if they have enough of it they are very 

 tractable. At the age of four months the}- are al- 

 ready quite strong and stately, but they can be left 

 to run about for a much longer period. I kept a 

 couple of them at liberty until they were eight 

 months old. They used to play very nicely by 

 themselves and also with Men, and with a tame 

 Bear. My experience has taught me that Tigers 

 tamed in this manner are neither malicious nor blood- 

 thirsty, and arc not at all subject to savage outbursts 

 if food is furnished in plentiful supply. I once had 

 one of considerable size which had accustomed him- 

 self to sleep in my bedroom. After I had fallen 

 asleep he would frequently jump upon my bed ; but 

 he never took it amiss when I gave him a few cuffs 

 and threw him down again." 



Tigers are Oi late Tigers have been trained to per- 



Teachable but form certain tricks. The trainer enters 



Treacherous. a ca g e anc j causes them to go through 

 a fixed programme, but it always remains a risk 

 attended with decided danger. The Tiger is a genu- 

 ine Cat, and shows affection for those who pet him, 

 sometimes not only tolerating caresses but also re- 

 turning them. Still his friendship is always doubt- 

 ful, and he obeys in matters that are repugnant to his 

 nature only when he recognizes and fears Man's 

 authority. He never deserves full confidence ; it is 

 not so much his malice that is to be dreaded as 

 his consciousness of his own strength. He has as 

 little malice or treachery as our own Pussy, but is 



