TEE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL. 15 



H , and the soene of the adventure was in the 



Oude Terai, where it was witnessed by one of the 

 party, from whom I received the description. I 

 have seen a tigress, unaccompanied by her young, 

 deeply lacerate the heads of two and the hind 

 quarters of a third elephant, severely injuring a 

 mahout by tearing his leg with one of the fore 

 paws, in the space of a few minutes, before she 

 was placed hors-de-combat This exciting incident 

 took place in Purneah, in Bengal, and the scene of 

 ifc was a large tract of long fine grass, in which she 

 could not be seen until she charged and seized the 

 elephants. In this ease the cubs were probably not 

 far distant. 



As fl, general ru le , the firpt instinct of the h l^Ti^'^d- 

 _ tiger is_t o 'escap a,his--ffarsuersr-and-as -hie-is-very"" 

 wary, much skUl and management are needed ixr' 

 prevent him from doing .so. He will creep stealth- 

 ily out "ojT the corner of the cover, and slip 

 away unseen, if not watched, at the different outlets 

 or nakas. The only chance of securing is to wound 

 him ; he will then, generally, turn and flght,^2Eaige_ 

 'repeateffly at"the"nearest object, until he is disabled, 

 an^^mcapable of fighting^ any longer. 



The tiger has synonyms, according to his habitat. 



Cin Bengal and some other parts of India he is 



s known as Bagh; the Tigress Baghni — sometimes 



(jSela-Bagh, or Gro-Bagh. In the North by the 



Persian name Sher — female, Sherni ; — according to 



Jerdon, in Bundelkund and Central India, Nahar, — 



