LETTER XX. FAUNA OF INDIA 



SIMLA, May 6th, 1912. 



I PROPOSE, faute de mieux, to offer you to-day 

 a few remarks on some of the fauna of India. 



I have the greatest regard for a tiger: I might 

 almost say an affectionate regard. He is such a 

 gentleman. A man-eater is said to be a cowardly 

 brute who will sneak up to a wretched human 

 unawares and kill and eat him. I have met but 

 two man-eaters and they behaved as well as any 

 other tiger. 



A tiger only asks to be let alone. He takes toll 

 of cattle from the ryots (peasants), but he more 

 than recoups them their loss. The real enemies 

 of the ryot are the wild-hog and the smaller deer. 

 Both do an incalculable amount of damage to 

 crops. Neither can be exterminated, and the 

 numbers of each are greatly curtailed by tigers. 

 Indeed, in localities where deer are very plentiful 

 or where pig swarm, the loss in cattle from tigers 

 is quite insignificant. Besides, it is usually an 

 old and often diseased cow or a worthless young 

 calf who gets killed through lagging behind or 

 getting lost in the jungle. 



Even when wounded a tiger will generally leave 

 you alone if you are not quite close to him and give 

 him a clear course. I never heard of a wounded 

 tiger deliberately following a man or lying in wait 



