46 TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL. 



young and active males. The heavy old tiger 

 seldom, if ever, is so energetic in springing up 

 heights ; though he will take a good broad ditch or 

 wall, etc., in a hound. 



I have heen told by an eye-witness of an 

 incident that illustrates not only the tiger's activity 

 but his strength when he chooses to exert them. 

 A tiger at a bound sprang from an elevation 

 right among a herd of cattle, and in his spring 

 struck down simultaneously a cow with each fore 

 foot. Both were disabled ; one, he immediately killed 

 and began to devour, whilst the other wretched 

 creature lay with its back broken by the tiger's 

 terrible blow within a few feet watching the fate of 

 its companion. In this position the group was seen 

 by my informant, who added that he never saw such 

 an expression of terror and suffering as was depicted by 

 the wretched cow. The tiger unfortunately escaped. 

 It must be remembered that when a tiger stands on 

 his hind feet, his fore paws reach nine to twelve feet 

 high, and this brings him well up to the head, hind 

 quarters, or pad of an elephant. Having seized, he 

 holds tenaciously, and if he makes a good grip with 

 his hind claws he may get higher. The fore claws 

 are driven fiercely in, and elephants are often severely 

 lacerated by them. On one occasion I remember 

 to have seen a tigress pull a large elephant down till 

 her head almost rested on the ground, simply from 

 tlie intense pain caused by the implanted claws. 

 Tlie tigress was partly shaken, partly shot off the 



