CAPTURE OF ANIMALS. 68 



specimens, four feet in height, four feet eight inches in girth, 

 and thirteen feet six inches in total length. Its color is a 

 tawny yellow, Avith transverse, dark-colored or black stripes. 

 The under parts, the chest and throat, and the long tufts of 

 hair on each side of the face are nearly white, and the mark- 

 ings on these parts are indistinct. The general make of the 

 Tiger is a little more slender than that of the lion. Their 

 haunts are the forests and jungles, and they prey upon all ani- 

 mals which come within their reach and power. They are of 

 amazing strength and often bound upon their prey by a single 

 leap of fifty feet. The Indian buffalo, which is as large as an 

 ox, is killed and dragged off by the Tiger without difficulty. 

 Tiie female has from three to five young at a birth, which she 

 defends with great fierceness. The range of the Tiger is con- 

 fined to Asia, and to certain districts of that Continent. Some 

 sections are terribly infested with them, and the inhabitants 

 are kept in a state of terror by their depredations. They are 

 common in the wilds of Hindostan, in various parts of Central 

 Asia, even as far north as the Amoor River, and are also 

 found on some of the large Asiatic Islands. Portions of 

 Sumatra are so infested with them as to be almost depopulated. 

 Here and in some parts of India, the Tiger is protected by 

 the superstition of the people, who regard it as a sacred ani- 

 mal, animated by the souls of their dead ancestors, and none 

 are killed but the " Man-eaters." 



Wood in his Natural History gives the following description 

 of the habits of the Tiger : — 



" When seeking its prey, it never appears to employ openly that 

 active strength which would seem so sure to attain its end, but 

 creeps stealthily towards the object, availing itself of every cover, 

 until it can spring upon the des-tined victim. Like the lion, it has 

 often been known to stalk an unconscious animal, crawling after 

 it as it moves along, and following its steps in hopes of gaining a 

 nearer approach. It has even been known to stalk human beings in 

 this fashion, the Tiger in question being one of tliose terrible ani- 

 mals called ' Man-eaters,' on account of their destructive propen- 

 sities. It is said that there is an outward cliange caused in the Tiger 

 by the indulgence of this man-slaying habit, and that a ' Man-eater' 



