WILD DOGS AND HYENAS. 265 



of him, for that would be nearly certain death ; 

 their sole object is, I imagine, to drive the tiger 

 away. They may, when in sufficient numbers, be 

 able to kill a leopard ; but even this I doubt. I 

 know, however, of two instances where wild dogs 

 have been seen following them. In one instance 

 they had ' treed' the leopard, which certainly looked 

 like mischief; possibly they may have chased it 

 as dogs would a cat, for I have heard of both 

 tigers and leopards being fairly chased on the 

 hills* by a pack of spaniels, and such-like dogs, 

 when parties have been out beating the woods for 

 game, but, like their wild brethren, they gener- 

 ally kept at a respectful distance. If a pack of 

 wild dogs were to attempt to close in on a tiger 

 to kill him, they must leave some of their number 

 dead on the battle-ground before they succeeded. 

 Yet I have never heard of anyone meeting with 

 such a sign. The tiger, like all the cat tribe, is 

 not naturally a bold animal, and, though both he 

 and the leopard will not hesitate to steal on and 

 kill the largest dog, yet they have not the courage 

 to fairly face a pack of the smallest curs. The 

 instinct of the wild dog has taught him this, and 

 hence, I imagine, the cause of the scene my 

 friend witnessed.' 



Apropos of the writer's reference to dogs tack- 



* The Neilgherries. 



