Animals in the Wild [123 



THE BIG CATS 



Tigers and lions appeal strongly to the average child 

 because of his affection for pussy cats. A small cub appears as 

 gentle and playful as a kitten, and even an adult particularly a 

 tiger suggests a giant "tabby." 



Lions and tigers are the two biggest members of the cat family. 

 Some kinds of tiger grow considerably larger than others. The 

 Bengal tiger, one of the best known, may be twelve feet long and 

 weigh more than five hundred pounds. The Siberian tiger, which 

 is even larger, also has longer, heavier hair to protect it in the 

 cold northern forests where it lives. 



Tigers "Ten Pounds of Meat a Day": A mother tiger has two to 

 four babies in a litter. In a zoo, tiger babies are sometimes raised 

 by human foster parents who feed them milk from nursing bottles. 

 In captivity they sleep, purr, play, and chase their tails like the 

 kittens that are so dear to the hearts of children. In the natural 

 state young tigers start killing small game by the time they are 

 seven months old. They stay with their family about two years. 

 The usual diet of a tiger is wild game, such as deer, but many 

 prey on sheep, cattle, and other domestic animals. Occasionally a 

 tiger turns man-eater and becomes a serious menace to the com- 

 munity. Well-fed tigers in a zoo are usually peaceable and con- 

 tented. It takes about ten pounds of meat a day to keep them 

 that way! 



LIONS NOT So LIONHEARTED 



A lion may also become a man-killer, but it is more usual 

 for him to avoid humans whenever possible. By day, lions like to 

 rest quietly in shady places; at night, they are on the alert, seek- 

 ing such game as zebra and antelope. The cliches "king of beasts" 

 and "brave as a lion" help keep alive the idea that lions are the 

 most daring and courageous of all the animals. But, though they 

 look the part, they do not really live up to it. 



According to Frank Buck, the famous "Bring 'em Back Alive" 

 animal collector, a tiger is often self-confident enough to take on a 

 more powerful foe a water buffalo, for example but a lion rarely 



