THE TRAIL OF THE TIGER 285 



until the carcass is finished, drinking largely of 

 water between and immediately following meals. 

 Water and shade are the two needs of well-regu- 

 lated tiger life. 



The " man-eater " is the jungle nightmare of 

 India, and numerous are the theories to account 

 for its abnormal appetite. Commonly it is said 

 to be an old tiger which has found game too difficult 

 to bring down, or a sickly tiger which has resorted 

 to man-killing in its weakness as the easier method. 

 The consensus of opinion among experienced hun- 

 ters and observers is, however, that a man-eater is 

 an ex-cattle killer which in conflict with herders, 

 who are often quite brave in the defence of their 

 cattle, has discovered how much less work it is to 

 kill man than cattle— for the cattle killer is usually 

 fat and lazy. Nothing has been found, so far as 

 I have discovered, to suggest appetite for human 

 flesh as the impelling motive, or that man-eaters 

 reject all flesh not human, or that the cubs of a 

 man-eating tigress inherit the man-killing propen- 

 sity. Rather is it a case of contempt for man bred 

 of familiarity, and more often the lust lays hold 

 of the tigress, very likely because in foraging for 

 her cubs (as she does until they begin to hunt for 

 themselves at seven months) and in their defence, 

 she has come more frequently in contact with man ; 

 or it may be because the female is more numerous 



