70 HOW I KILLED THE TIGER. 



It is a popular delusion that tigers are in the 

 habit of springing upon their prey. Mr. Bland- 

 ford and other eminent authorities agree that 

 it is a rare thing for them to move their 

 hind-legs from the ground, except of course when 

 they are obliged to leap over some such obstacle 

 as a fence. That they are able to spring to a 

 great height is undoubted. It is on record that 

 a tiger once pulled a native from a tree at 

 a height of eighteen feet from the ground. 

 According to Mr. Sanderson, fifteen feet is the 

 most that a tiger can clear horizontally ; but 

 there are instances of this distance being exceeded. 

 "The tiger's usual attack," to quote Sir J. 

 Fayrer once more, " is a rush, accompanied by 

 a series of short deep growls or roars, in which 

 he evidently thinks he will do much by intimida- 

 tion ; when he charges home he rises on his 

 hind-legs, seizes with the teeth and claws, and 

 endeavours and often succeeds in pulling down 

 the object seized." I may say that I can 

 personally vouch for the correctness of Sir J. 

 Fayrer's description. 



The jungle tiger relies for food upon such 

 animals as deer, antelopes, and wild pigs, but 

 domestic cattle are liable to be attacked, and it 

 will also eat monkeys, porcupines, and fowls of 

 various kinds. According to "The Royal Natural 



