1148 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



No. II.— OLD WOUNDS IN TIGER AND PANTHER. 



The accompanying illustration is from a photograph of the left and right 

 femur of a tiger and panther respectively, shot by myself. It will be 

 noticed that they have both been fractured but have re-united, making of 

 course in each case one hind leg shorter than the other. In the case of 

 the tiger, I was unable to ascertain how the bone ( the larger one in the 

 photograph ) had been fractured, but in the case of the panther the injury 

 had, no doubt, been caused by a bullet, as I found no less than three old 

 bullets in its body. The tiger too had probably been wounded in the same 

 way although there were no signs to show this. Both animals must, at the 

 time of the injuries, have had considerable difficulty in obtaining their 

 natural food if indeed they were not quite incapacitated from doing so. It 

 is at such a time that tigers and panthers are supposed to take to man- 

 eating as being the easiest way of satisfying their hunger, but I can confi- 

 dently say that neither of these animals were man-eaters. The panther 

 was an exceptionally fine one and measured 7 feet 8 inches in length. It 

 had killed two or three of my young buffalloes before I shot it. There is 

 room for much conjecture. 



Marsh Hall, South Molton, N. Devon. L. L. FENTON, 



30th October 1910. Lt.-Col. 



[Our Society has in its museum a somewhat similar specimen to the above- - 



being' the tibia and fibula of a tiger shot by Lt.-Col. G. H. S. Gimlette, I.M.S 



at Rewah, C.I., some years ago. Major Gimlette when sending the specimen. 



remarked that the tiger when phot was going quite soundly and showed no sign 



lameness. The bullet, if we remember rightly, was still in the leg bone. — Eds.] 



No. III.— THE NUMBER OF CUBS IN A TIGER'S LITTER. 



In March 1887 I was out on the banks of the Kosi after tiger, when 

 a tigress was shot. On examination it was found that the uterus held 5 

 foetus. 



In 1888, on the 31st March, on the same ground a tigress was shot, 

 the uterus held 5 foetus within a work of being born, the skins were to be 

 sent to Rowlend Ward. 



In 1887, 7 tigers were shot in 6 days. 



In 1888, 21 tigers were shot in 31 days, over ground some 20 miles in 

 length and 10 miles in breadth. This ground is partly in British India 

 Territory and partly in Nepal. It is a great grazing ground in the hot 

 weather and tigers follow the herds and in addition hog-deer and pig are 

 very common, so tigers are well fed and their procreative powers are well 

 developed. We came several times on a tigress and 3 cubs. 



Pen Ixhon Hall, Newton, N. Wales, W. FORSYTH. 



4th January 1911. 



