204 WILD LIFE IN CHINA. 



have been brought to bay or to bag in China have been found 

 sheltered in caves and amongst rocks. I know that to some 

 extent this is true of India, and that it comes doubtless from 

 the ordinary cat's love of dryness and warmth. But it also 

 suggests one explanation of the presence and of the comfort 

 of tigers in Arctic climates. They are apparently almost 

 always found amongst the hills, and there probably they find 

 not only the food they require but also the shelter they like. 

 Limestone hills, plentiful in many parts of China, are often 

 honeycombed with caves, and these unquestionably provide 

 quarters entirely sheltered from rain, snow, or wind. A good 

 thick fur under such circumstances would be all that the 

 tiger would require for warmth. 



Such points as these might be cleared up once for all if 

 the hunting expeditions which I have suggested could be 

 brought about. It is time this was done. There is hardly 

 a country in the world where there is so much pioneering 

 work of the kind to be achieved as in China. Central Africa 

 is now a familiar land in comparison. North America is 

 known from end to end. Much of South America is likewise 

 familiar. Europe contains no secrets, and Australia no big 

 game to speak of. China, Manchuria, and South Siberia 

 alone are left. Who is going to undertake the task? 



