174 BIG-GAME ^HOOTING IN UPPER BURMA 



to get away from the flies and to obtain better 

 feeding, there are possibly half a dozen favourite 

 feeding-grounds and lying-up places in the parti- 

 cular area over which the animals are wandering 

 for the time being. They will visit one place 

 one day, another the next, and a third spot, 

 perhaps, the following day, returning to the 

 original feeding-ground sooner or later, possibly 

 on the third day, but perhaps not for ten days 

 or more. Therefore, if the sportsman follows 

 a trail which is two days old, he is likely to 

 find that it leads from one feeding-ground to 

 another, perhaps six miles apart, with a corre- 

 sponding distance between the jungles the beast 

 has lain up in. So that a six hours' tramp is 

 lengthened to one of twelve or more, involving 

 a night out in the jungle, only for the sports- 

 man to find after all his trouble that the animal 

 has, perhaps, made for another locality alto- 

 gether. This may happen, of course, at any 

 time, even when on absolutely fresh tracks; 

 but the longer the interval that has elapsed, the 

 more likely is it that the animal may have 

 wandered off to pastures new. But if the trail 

 is only a day old, the beast, unless he has changed 

 his ground entirely, has not had time to wander 

 very far afield. He is overtaken while moving 

 from one feeding-ground to another. All animals 

 when changing their ground seem to forsake 

 their usual habits. They are like birds migrating. 



