ROUND THE CAMP FIRE 335 



to be passed by the wounded tiger in endeavouring to 

 make his way to distant haunts, and should watch at night 

 from such places. Again, some days later on, means for 

 searching the previously impossible covert may be pro- 

 cured. 



The fact of the tiger being carnivorous and hot-blooded 

 will usually result in almost any fairly placed effective 

 bullet in almost any portion of his body, or limbs if 

 bones be broken being fatal or entirely disabling within 

 three days. A lesser degree of wound will in most cases 

 permit of his moving away to a considerable distance, if 

 not at once, then during the succeeding cool of night ; 

 and it is more than likely that in such cases he will be 

 shyer of man than ever. The idea that a once wounded 

 tiger will turn man-eater appears only to have been elabo- 

 rated from the fanciful stories told by natives, whose 

 superstitions lead them to imagine that such beasts will 

 visit mankind with revenge for their injuries. It is open 

 to doubt whether any such case has ever been verified by 

 responsible sportsmen. 



That a tiger, enraged by a lately inflicted wound and 

 still suffering from it, will often attack a man if suddenly 

 come on in its retreat, is doubtless true enough, and if 

 left in possession of the body of its victim may in rare 

 cases possibly eat of it ; but this is not " man-eating," and 

 it seems highly unlikely that human flesh so tasted would 

 result in the particular animal forthwith turning "man- 

 eater." Man-eating, by tigers at any rate, is probably due 

 to chance or mistake in many instances ; necessity the 

 result of a paucity of game or cattle in others ; while 

 possibly, more than anything else it is the result of early 

 training by a tigress-mother pushed to cater for hungry 

 cubs. 



The purport of these remarks is to endeavour to help 

 break down the dangerous advice of pushing an inconti- 

 nent and headlong "following up" of wounded felines; 



