130 THE ART OF TEAINING ANIMALS. 



frequently met with in menageries, his dociiity and the ease with 

 which he may be taught to leap and climb, rendering him a fa- 

 vorite for these collections. He is much pleased with the society 

 of those persons to whom he is accustomed j lies down on his 

 back between their feet, toys with their garments, and acts very 

 much like a playful kitten. He has a great predilection for water, 

 and, if provided with a tub of that liquid, will jump in, souse 

 around in it, and jump out again highly delighted. 



Tigers being more treacherous and less influenced by kind 

 treatment than lions, tamers generally prefer to have as little to 

 do with as possible. This rule, however, is not without an 

 exception ,• the natives of India tame tigers more frequently 

 than lions, and the tame tigers of the fakirs, the celebrated 

 " royal tigers," natives of Hindoostan, naturally the most pow- 

 erfal and ferocious, in the world, exhibit great gentleness and 

 confidence — attributable doubtless to the ample way in which 

 they are fed. In this country tigers are principally kept merely 

 as objects of curiosity and few efforts are made to tame them. 

 When taming is deemed desirable, resort is generally had to in- 

 timidation. An old tiger can seldom be subdued except by 

 brute force ; a crowbar is more effective with him than kindness, 

 though when once rendered tractable, kindness succeeds severity 

 in his treatment. 



Tigers are not, however, entirely destitute of affection, and this 

 is sometimes manifested toward the person who has reared them. 

 An example of this kind, a tigress in the town of London, may 

 be familiar to the reader. This animal on its arrival in London 

 grew very irascible and dangerous, from the annoyance of visi- 

 tors and the bustle on the Tliames, After she had been here 

 some time her old keeper visited the tower and ^lesired to enter 

 the cage. So sulky and savage had the beast become that the 

 superintendent feared to grant this request, but was finally pre- 

 vailed on to do so. No sooner, however, did the animal catcb 

 sight of her old friend than she exhibited the utmost joy and on 

 his entering her cage, fawned upon and caressed him, showing 

 extravagant signs of pleasure, and at his departure cried and 

 whined for the remainder of the day. 



The cowardice of the tiger is well known. This characteris- 

 tic is ill ustrated in the contests between buffaloes and tigers 

 exhibited in India. The tiger seems to menace the spectators, 

 swelling his fur, displaying bis teeth, and occasionally snarling 

 and lashing his sides with his tail. As soon as the buffalo en- 

 ters the enclosure, the tiger '^ sinks into the most contemptible 

 despondency, sneaking along under the palisade, crouching and 

 turning on his back, to avoid the buffaloes charge. He tries 



