54 THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



The Cattle-eaters are the older animals, which have lost some- 

 thing of their strength and activity, and prefer to prowl about 

 the villages in the hope of pouncing upon stray cattle. These 

 tigers are often very troublesome, for they carry off cattle night 

 after night, first breaking the necks of their victims, and then 

 dragging them away to their lairs. In this way a single tiger 

 has been known to destroy no fewer than seventy cattle in less 

 than twelve months. 



More dangerous still, however, are the Man-eaters; for after a 

 tiger has once tasted human flesh he always prefers it to any other 

 food. A man-eater is nearly always an old animal, which, owing 

 to wounds or other infirmities, is unable to procure his ordinary 

 food. He usually makes his lair by the side of a road, and then 

 lies in wait, hidden among the bushes on the opposite side. He 

 will seldom attack men even if they are unarmed, but if a woman 

 or child passes he spi'ings out, strikes down his victim, and drags 

 away the body to devour at his leisure. A single man-eater has 

 been known to kill more than a hundred human beings in the 

 course of a year. 



Tigers are generally hunted with the help of elephants. A 

 kind of wooden or basket-work carriage, called a "howdah'', is 

 fastened upon the elephant's back, and in this the hunters are 

 seated. A suitable position is taken up at the part of the jungle 

 where a tiger is supposed to be lying. A long line of " beaters " 

 then come from the opposite direction, forcing their way through 

 the jungle towards the hunters, shouting, yelling, beating drums, 

 letting off fireworks — making, in short, as much din as possible as 

 they press forward. The tiger, hoping to escape unnoticed, steals 

 away before them, only to find that there are enemies to the 

 front as well. 



Sometimes he is shot down without much trouble, but often he 

 makes a hard fight for his life. With open jaws and flaming eyes, 

 and uttering terrible roars, he dashes furiously at the elephant, 

 which, even after the most careful training, frequently turns and 

 flees before his determined onslaught. A bullet, however, soon 

 ends his career, and then the elephant, if he be not checked, will 

 trample the carcass into a shapeless mass. 



