i 82 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
buffalo, there is no animal that is held in greater 
respect by this ferocious beast than an old bull of 
that species. 
It is by no means an uncommon occurrence that 
should a tiger have the audacity to attack a buffalo 
belonging to a herd, the friends of the victim will 
immediately rush to its assistance, and the attacking 
party is knocked over and completely discomfited, 
being only too glad to effect a retreat. 
A few months ago, from the date at which I am 
now writing, a native came to my camp with the 
intelligence that a large tiger had suddenly sprung ' 
from a densely wooded nullah and seized a cow that 
was grazing within a few yards of him. The man 
shouted in the hope of scaring the tiger, when two 
buffaloes who were near the spot and were spec¬ 
tators of the event at once charged the tiger at full 
speed, knocked it over by their onset, and followed 
it as it sprang for safety into the thick bush, thus 
saving the cow from certain destruction. The cow, 
badly lacerated about the throat, ran towards its 
native village, followed by its owner. I lost no time in 
arriving at the spot, about two miles from camp, and 
there I found the recent tracks precisely tallying 
with the description I had received. We organised 
a drive on the following morning, but the crestfallen 
tiger had taken the notice to quit, and had retreated 
from the neighbourhood. 
An example of this kind is sufficient to exhibit 
the cautious character of the tiger. My shikari, a 
man of long experience, differed in opinion with the 
