94 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



above the sea-level. He does not ascend high 

 mountains, and even in the Himalayas he is not 

 found at a greater elevation than six thousand feet. 

 The banks of rivers thickly grown with reeds, impen- 

 etrable bamboo bushes and other thickets are his 

 favorite haunts. He is also fond of ruins, and not 

 infrequently as many as three or four are seen lying 

 on an old wall or on the roof of a deserted temple. 

 All observers agree that he habitually returns to 

 hiding places and lairs that have once been selected, 

 although others just as desirable may be in the 

 immediate neighborhood. Blanford writes : " Some 

 spot grown with high grass or reeds, on the bank of 

 a river or edge of a marsh, some thicket of bushes 

 among a dozen of similar kind, some special pile 

 of rocks among a hundred just like it, continues to 

 be the home of a Tiger for years, and when its in- 

 habitant is killed by a sportsman, another will soon 

 move into the deserted home." 



Habits and The Tiger possesses the same habits 

 Characteristics and customs as all the Cats, but they 



of Tigers. are proportioned to his great size. His 

 movements are as graceful as those of the smaller 

 felines, and he is possessed of wonderful agility and 

 great endurance. He glides noiselessly along, cov- 

 ering great distances in a short time ; he runs swiftly 

 at a gallop and swims excellently. His jumping 

 ability has been much overestimated. The foot- 

 marks left by him in the pursuit of game have been 

 measured and the greatest distance covered in a 

 single leap was about seventeen feet. He does not 

 climb trees, unless their trunk is inclined or very 

 gnarled ; and he is unable to ascend those that are 

 upright and have a smooth bark. But he sometimes 

 jumps on trees in play, Cat-like, and tears the bark. 



The Tiger cannot be said to have exclusively 

 nocturnal habits. Like all Cats he prowls around at 

 any hour of the day or night, but he prefers the 

 period just before or after sunset. He lies in wait 

 for prey chiefly at points where animals go to drink, 

 near roads or along paths through the wood. In 

 southeastern Siberia he nightly visits places where 

 salt is being made ; for he, like the native sports- 

 men, is well aware that Deer congregate there, 

 attracted by the product of the mines. Often he 

 encounters hunters intent on the same game as him- 

 self. No mammal enjoys immunity from his attacks, 

 except the strongest, like the Elephant, the Unicorn, 

 or the Buffalo. He is said, sometimes, to try his 

 strength on the latter, but usually, and especially if 

 the Buffalo be a male, he comes out worsted. There 

 also are a few reports to the effect that an old and 

 tried Wild Boar occasionally gets the better of him. 

 Now and then the Tiger may pick a quarrel with a 

 Bear, but his favorite game is Wild Boars, Deer and 

 Antelopes. When times are hard he eats any ani- 

 mal that comes along, whether it creeps, flies or 

 walks. The Bengal Tiger, during inundations, lives 

 upon fish, Turtles, Lizards and Crocodiles. Simson 

 found the stomach of a slain Tiger stuffed with 

 Grasshoppers. He is said not to disdain Frogs ; 

 and when, in northern regions, food is scarce in win- 

 ter, he goes Mouse-hunting. 

 The Tigera Thus all animals, large or small, have 



Terror to good reason to be on their guard against 

 all Animals, the Tiger. As Crows, or the smaller ani- 

 mals, make a noise when pursued by a bird of prey, so 

 many animals in the tropics lift up their voices at 

 the approach of the Tiger. They know him from 

 experience, and realize what is in store for them 

 when he begins his hunt. Forsyth and others tell 



us how useful Monkeys may be on a Tiger hunt. 

 " Once," Forsyth tells us, " I followed a Tiger 

 through a dried-out water-course, guided solely by 

 the conduct of numerous Hoonumans, which were 

 plucking fruit on the banks. When the Tiger was 

 passing under them, they fled to the highest trees, 

 shook the branches violently and screamed and chat- 

 tered so that one could hear them at a great dis- 

 tance. Each troop continued its noise until he was 

 out of sight, and then the next one sounded the 

 alarm ; after which the first troop of Monkeys de- 

 scended and complacently resumed their berry-eat- 

 ing. In this way I was kept informed as to the 

 precise whereabouts of the Tiger, and was able, at a 

 bend of the river, to cross it, run ahead of the brute 

 and lie in wait for him. Soon I saw him sneaking 

 along with great, swinging strides, his tail between 

 his legs, the very personification of a guilty mur- 

 derer. His conscience evidently smote him, for he 

 guiltily looked around and up, as if imploring the 

 Monkeys to keep still and not betray his presence. 

 A bullet put an end to his career." 

 Tigers, though On the whole the Tiger is not a coura- 

 Fierce, not geous animal. He is not only cautious 



Brave. anc j timid, but downright cowardly, 

 though exceedingly .cunning. At a first meeting 

 with Man, the Tiger always seeks safety in flight. 

 Some Tigers are put out of countenance by noises 

 and gestures, and probably none resist a resolute 

 opponent. Some there are, who know by experience 

 that Man is their most easily conquered prey, and 

 these are very dangerous, as they then lie in wait 

 for unsuspecting victims. Under certain conditions 

 they are not only bold, but impudent. A few dis- 

 tricts are so infested with Tigers that communica- 

 tion between given points can only be had in safety 

 by means of large bodies of men, who protect them- 

 selves by night by building fires, of which these 

 animals have great fear. Tigers are known to have 

 carried away people in the neighborhood of villages 

 and even from between huts, and instances are re- 

 corded where they have compelled people to desert 

 their homes for places of greater security. Those 

 have most to fear whose occupation demands a rather 

 solitary outdoor life, as shepherds, mail-carriers, 

 wood-choppers and field laborers. The first named 

 are also in constant fear for their flocks. 



Villages During the latter part of the '6o's a 

 Terrorized by Man-eating Tiger had taken up his 



Tigers. abode in Maisur, and attained unenvi- 

 able notoriety under the name of Benkipur, terror- 

 izing the neighborhood for miles and miles around, 

 until a bullet closed his career of cruelty. Forsyth 

 freed the central provinces of several Man-eaters, 

 of whose deeds he tells us. One of them had 

 stopped all communication on several roads, driven 

 away the inhabitants of several villages and com- 

 pelled others to live in fortified and closed houses. 

 This Tiger was said to have carried away over one 

 hundred people before Forsyth succeeded in killing 

 him. According to Fayrer, a Tiger in the same dis- 

 trict, during the years 1867, 1868 and 1869, carried 

 away respectively twenty-seven, thirty-four and for- 

 ty-seven people ; continuing his depredations until 

 he was killed by a spring gun. One Tigress drove 

 away the inhabitants of thirteen different localities, 

 and escaped all pursuit in the most cunning manner, 

 until an Englishman killed her. But because such 

 things happen it must not be concluded that they 

 are of common, every day occurrence. 



