i6o 
IVILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
Although the tiger belongs to the genus Felis, 
it differs from the cat in its peculiar fondness 
for water. In the hot season the animal is easily 
discovered, as it invariably haunts the banks of 
rivers, when all the brooks are dry and the tanks 
have disappeared through evaporation. The tiger 
loves to wallow in shallow water, and to roll upon 
the dry sand after a muddy bath ; it will swim large 
rivers, and in the Brahmaputra, where reedy and 
grassy islands interrupt the channel in a bed of 
several miles’ width, the tigers travel over consider¬ 
able distances during the night, swimming from 
island to island, and returning to the mainland if no 
prey is to be found during the night’s ramble. 
The tiger is by no means fond of extreme heat; 
it is found in northern China, Manchuria, and the 
Corea, where the winters are severe. In those 
climates during winter the skin is very beautiful, 
consisting of thick fur instead of hair, and the tail 
is comparatively bushy. Well-preserved skins of 
that variety are worth £20 apiece and are prized 
as rarities. In the hot season of India the tiger is 
by no means happy: it is a thirsty animal, and 
being nocturnal, it quickly becomes fatigued by the 
sun’s heat, and the burning surface of the soil if 
obliged to retreat before a line of beaters. The 
pads of the feet are scorched by treading upon 
heated sandy or stony ground, and the animal is 
easily managed in a beat by those who are 
thoroughly experienced in its habits, although 
during the winter season, when water is abundant 
