THE TIGER 



1. Old age and failing powers, rendering the 

 killing of cattle and buffaloes a matter of some 

 difficulty, or at least an operation necessitating 

 considerable exertion. 



2. Hunger, the result of the foregoing, embolden : 

 ing the tiger to acts of daring which eventually lead 

 to a conflict with man, upon which the former, 

 finding how weak a creature the latter really is, 

 loses fear of him, and often kills human beings in 

 preference to attacking animals which are far more 

 difficult to overcome. 



3. Hunger, in the case of a tigress with cubs 

 dependent upon her, when game is scarce or hard 

 to approach owing to the season, leading to the 

 same result as that supposed in 2. 



4. A wound, or wounds, causing the same con- 

 ditions as those suggested in i and 2. 



In theory it would appear to be a very easy and 

 natural transition from game to cattle, and from 

 cattle to man, and yet, as has already been stated, 

 man-eaters are very rare as a matter of fact, while 

 many tigers live exclusively upon game. 



We can well imagine a young animal in the 

 prime of life, who is ordinarily able to make a 

 decent living by stalking, and by lying in wait for 

 game near water or near a salt-lick, being driven 

 by stress of circumstances to kill cattle ; and pro- 

 bably the reason why so few of such take later on 

 in life to man-eating, is due to the fact that so many 

 tigers are killed pretty soon after they have com- 

 menced business in the beef line that comparatively 

 few of them live to attain old age. 



. I0 5 



