27G TIGERS AND BISON. 



horns or hoofs of powerful deer. They would bite a tiger, should he run 

 from them, in parts that might speedily cause his death. A Sholaga told 

 me that he once saw a tiger confronted by wild dogs, sitting on his haunches 

 against a bamboo-clump. The dogs, ten or twelve in number, were making 

 no active demonstrations, but walked close to him, in a most impertinent 

 and unconcerned manner. The Sholaga having no personal interest — a 

 native's first consideration in all matters — in the result of the meeting, left 

 the rivals. It is possible that in such a case, if the tiger maintained his 

 position, the dogs would ^vithdraw, as they could do nothing against him in 

 a front attack. Causes of hostility may occasionally arise between the tiger 

 and wild dogs through attempted interference with each other's prey. Other- 

 wise it is not clear wdiy the dogs should molest the tiger. 



Bison are occasionally killed by tigers. A tiger's method of attacking 

 a solitary bull-bison has been described to me by jungle-men as consisting 

 in showing himself in the grass and leading the bison to charge, avoiding 

 each rush of the bull, following him on the instant, and striking him behind 

 wdth the intention of emasculating him. The largest and oldest-looking 

 solitary bison I ever shot had a half-healed mark of a tiger's stroke on the 

 outside of his thigh, a long raking wound of about eighteen inches, wliich 

 could scarcely have been got in any other way. 



I once saw the carcass of an old bullock which we had tied for a tiger, 

 and which was killed by a small leopard somewhat in this way. The 

 bullock had been beyond its strength, so it had seized it by the nose, 

 and held on like a bull-dog till the bullock had fallen, when the leopard 

 had bitten the inside of the hind-legs and torn the stomach, and thus killed 

 the bullock without touching the throat. Wild dogs seize deer in tliis way, 

 so it is possible that the tiger adopts the same plan with bison, whose 

 strength is so much greater than his own. The largest tiger would, of 

 course, have no clmnce in fair fight with a bull-bison. The latter's brawny 

 throat, with its hide two inches thick, would afford him a diflieult hold even 

 could he attain it, and no wrench could dislocate the bison's powerful neck, 

 whilst the tiger would be crushed out of all recognition if once caught 

 between the ground and his antagonist's massive forehead or fore - legs. 

 As I have already mentioned, however, a tiger occasionally succeeds in 

 killing cow-bison. A case occurred near Morlay where a tigress and her 

 two nearly full-grown cuIjs attacked a cow-l)ison that had become separated 

 from the herd. One of the cubs was killed before the bison was overcome, 

 and was found by my men next morning. A few years ago a tiger and a 

 bull of t]i(j Annut MahiU Government breed of cattle at the Commissariat 

 d(!i»ot at Iloonsoor, near Mysore, had a desperate struggle in the jungles. 



