FURTHER NOTES ON MAN-EATING TIGERS. 87 



I think there can be no question that this tigress was the man-eater. 

 She was killed in the immediate neighbourhood of the place where she 

 had slain her human victims and she was admitted by the inhabitants to 

 be the culprit. The weight of this evidence tends to show that the 

 pugs around the corpses of her victims were those of a small tiger. 

 Since this, there have been no further human beings killed by tigers 

 in the Thana District. It is true, three other tigers have been killed 

 in the Thana District since, one by a native near Bhiwandi in April, and 

 two others in May by Mr. G. P. Millett and myself, but I think there 

 can be no question that none of these were the culprits. As I fear there 

 is scarcely a tiger left now in the Thana Districts, I shall not be able to 

 investigate further in this particular district, my theory as to man-eaters 

 inheriting the vice, and never entirely disappearing from a particular 

 district. Perhaps, therefore, the last man-eater has disappeared from 

 Thana for ever. I should add 1 have seen the skin, which is not 

 mangy. 



The question remains why should this youthful tigress have taken to 

 man-killing. As her first victim was killed in July, 1894, and her 

 cubs were 3 ft. 9 ins. in January, 1895, I take it that she commenced 

 killing about the time her cubs were born or soon after or perhaps even 

 soon before. I am not able to say for certain, but I believe there 

 were probably cattle grazing about in these jungles and lots of 

 wild pig, so that hunger cannot have been the cause. She was not 

 lame nor unable from any bodily defect to kill cattle and game. Her 

 first two victims were not even eaten, although she appears to have had a 

 full opportunity to eat without disturbance, as the corpses were not 

 sought for or found till the next day. Query, — Could she have killed 

 these out of anger at being disturbed with hei* cubs ? Her third, fourth 

 and last victims were all partially eaten, and in two cases it may be 

 noted that the legs of the victims were eaten. Her parents or com- 

 panions could not have taught her this vice, because, as I have before 

 stated, no man-eaters have been heard of in these districts since 1880. 

 She must then have inherited this vice from some distant ancestor. 



I have nothing further to add which may throw light on the subject. 



