62 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SHIKAR 



Another time, in thick bamboo jungle, I tied up a 

 lantern with a shade over the top, which reflected 

 the light in a circle on to the ground and the goat. 

 It bleated for a time, then lay down and went to 

 sleep. It was a dark night and the panther came 

 very late. I heard nothing until he sprang from 

 under the ladder I was sitting on, and landed with 

 a soft thud on to the goat, who that moment jumped 

 to its feet. I heard a roar and a gurgle and saw a 

 confused dark mass below as they rolled on the 

 ground together. 



By the light cast by the lantern, I could see well 

 enough to get my shot, and killed him. To my 

 surprise, the goat got up, looking, with its head 

 funnily cocked on one side, the picture of amazement 

 and satisfaction. It stood over the body with its 

 nose on the panther, sniffing at it. 



I climbed quickly down from the ladder and ran 

 up to feel if the goat was trembling or if its heart 

 was beating fast. Not a bit of it ! It was quite 

 normal and self-contained, so to speak, and it trotted 

 along home seeming perfectly content. Its wounds 

 were syringed and disinfected, but the next day it 

 could not swallow properly and it died a day or two 

 later. 



In the Kanara jungles there were very few tigers 

 compared with the number of leopards, but there 

 can be some excitement with leopards at times. 



I was camping in a place called Lakoli, where 

 the patel of the village was a very sporting old 

 man and quite a character. One morning word was 

 brought to me that a pig had been killed by a tiger 



