32 THE SOTAL TIGER OF BENGAL. 



it to the category of travellers' stories. It is said 

 also that he is sometimes surprised and destroyed by 

 the great python (P. mollurus) of the Indian jungle 

 and swamps ; and though I have no knowledge of, 

 or scarcely any helief in such an occurrence, I 

 think it not absolutely impossible ; for I have seen 

 and helped to kill a python nearly twenty feet in 

 length, which probably would have been equal to the 

 destruction of a tiger, had it been so inclined, and 

 had the opportunity occurred. There can be no 

 doubt that the destruction of human beings by tigers 

 is very great in India (though the actual amount 

 may have been exaggerated), as well as in other 

 localities where they abound — and where they 

 become man-eaters, the sacrifice of life is often 

 serious. It is said that these man-eaters are gene- 

 rally, though not always, very old tigers, whose teeth 

 have become blunted or defective. 



The tiger is generally most dangerous to cattle, 

 but not always so. In some parts of India the man- 

 eater appears to be the rule rather than the exception. 

 Jerdon says that in Central India, in the Mudlah 

 district, near Jubbulpore, in 1856 and previous 

 years, an average of between 200 and 300 villagers 

 were killed yearly by tigers. Captain B. Eogers, 

 Bengal army, has lately drawn a melancholy pic- 

 ture of the ravages committed on human beings ; 

 and only lately I observe that Grovernment has 

 appointed an officer in the Madras Presidency 

 especially for the purpose of destroying tigers. It 



