280 THE TEAIL OF THE TIGER 



defence of a dog, of which leopards are particu- 

 larly fond, when, had the intruder been a tiger, they 

 would have been paralyzed into inaction from very 

 fear. Based on my experience, I consider panther 

 hunting quite as dangerous as tiger, up to a certain 

 point, and that point is actual close conflict. The 

 panther is the quicker to charge because of shorter 

 temper and less caution ; and he is less apt to bluff. 

 But the charge home of the tiger is incomparably 

 overwhelming. There is no turning it aside. It 

 may have false starts and move with studied care, 

 but when it does come nothing human can with- 

 stand it. 



While their pelts differentiate slightly in mark- 

 ings and in length of fur according to habitat, there 

 is, I believe, no scientific classification of tigers 

 other than that given to the single species, Felis 

 tigris; although that mighty hunter, Doctor Wil- 

 liam Lord Smith, who spent 1903-04 hunting in 

 Corea, Java and Persia, tells me he thinks he can 

 establish a sub-species. Be that as it may develop, 

 at this writing the tiger family is really one, from 

 the heavy-furred Siberian, to the Chinese, Corean, 

 Malayan, Indian, and Persian, which latter Dr. 

 Smith says does the family no credit in the matter 

 of courage. The Chinese and Corean are the same 

 and both fighters; the Indian and Malayan are 

 practically identical, and the most beautifully 



