V 
THE TIGER 
51 
was 11 feet 4 inches in length when cured. I have 
measured many tigers, and the skins are always 
stretched to a ridiculous length during the process 
of curing ; these would utterly mislead any naturalist 
who had not practical experience of the live animal. 
The tiger of zoological gardens is a long lithe 
creature with little flesh, and, from the lack of exer¬ 
cise, the muscles are badly developed. Such a 
specimen affords a poor example of the grand animal 
in its native jungles, whose muscles are almost pon¬ 
derous in their development from' the continual 
exertion in nightly rambles over long distances, and 
in mortal struggles when wrestling with its prey. A 
well-fed tiger is by no means a slim figure, but on 
the contrary it is exceedingly bulky, broad in the 
shoulders, back, and loins, with an extraordinary 
girth of limbs, especially in the fore-arm and wrist. 
The muscles are tough and hard, and there are 
two peculiar bones unattached to the skeleton frame ; 
these are situated in the flesh of either shoulder, 
apparently to afford extra cohesion of the parts, 
resulting in additional strength when striking a blow 
or wrestling with a heavy animal. 
There is a great difference in the habits of tigers ; 
some exist upon the game of the jungles, others prey 
specially upon the flocks and herds belonging to the 
villagers ; the latter are generally exceedingly heavy 
and fat. A few are designated “man-eaters”; 
these are sometimes naturally ferocious, and having 
attacked a human being, they may have devoured 
the body and thus have acquired a taste for human 
