Wild Beasts and Their Ways, Reminiscences of Europe, Asia, Africa and America — Volume 1

by Sir Samuel White Baker

If a bright starlight night and there is no foliage above the rifle, the white paper will be distinctly seen, especially if the light is behind the shoulder. A piece of lime made into thick paste, and stuck upon the muzzle-sight, is frequently used by native hunters; but if it is at hand, there is nothing so effective as luminous paint; this can be purchased in stoppered bottles and will last for years. A small supply would be always useful in an outfit.

A man-eating tiger requires peculiar caution, not only lest it should observe the presence of the hunter, but he must remember that if upon the ground he himself becomes a bait for this exceedingly stealthy animal, which can approach without the slightest noise, and attack without giving any notice of its presence. A curious example of this danger was given a few years ago in the Nagpur district. A tigress had killed so many people that a large reward was offered for her destruction; she had killed and dragged away a native, but being disturbed, she had left the body without eating any portion. The shikaris considered that she would probably return to her prey during the night, if left undisturbed upon the spot where she had forsaken it. There were no trees, nor any timber that was suitable for the construction of a mucharn; it was accordingly resolved that four deep holes should be dug, forming the corners of a square, the body lying in the centre. Each hole was to be occupied by a shikari with his matchlock. The watchers took their positions. Nothing came; until at length the moon went down, and the night was dark. The men were afraid to get out of their hiding-places to walk home through the jungles that were infested by the man-eater; they remained in their holes, and some of them fell asleep.

When daylight broke, three of the shikaris issued from their positions, but the fourth had disappeared; his hole was empty! A few yards distant, his matchlock was discovered lying upon the ground, and upon the dusty surface were the tracks of the tiger, and the sweeping trace where the body had been dragged as the man-eater carried it along. Upon following up the track, the remains of the unlucky shikari were discovered, a considerable portion having been devoured; but the tigress had disappeared. This cunning brute had won the game, and she was not killed until twelve months afterwards, although many persons devoted themselves to her pursuit.

Many incredible stories have been told concerning the power of a tiger in CARRYING away his prey, and I have heard it positively stated by persons who should have known better, that a tiger can carry off a native cow simply through the strength of the jaws and neck. This is ridiculous, as the height of the cow exceeds that of the tiger, therefore a portion of the body must drag upon the ground. The cattle of India are exceedingly small, and are generally lean, the weight of an ordinary cow would hardly exceed 350 or 400 lbs.; as an average male tiger weighs about the same, it can of course drag its own weight by lifting the body partially in its mouth, and thus relieving the friction upon the ground. In this manner it is astonishing to see the strength exerted in pulling and lifting a dead bullock over projecting roots of trees, rocky torrent-beds, and obstructions that would appear to be insurmountable; but it is absurd to suppose that a tiger can actually lift and carry a full-grown cow or bullock in its jaws without leaving a trace of the drag upon the surface.

Many persons when in pursuit of tigers are accustomed to tie up a small buffalo of four or six months old for bait; the natives will naturally supply the poorest specimen of their herds, unless it is specially selected; therefore it may be quite possible for a large male tiger to carry so small an animal without allowing any portion of the body (excepting the legs) to drag upon the ground. As a rule, the tiger will not attempt to carry, but it will lift and pull simultaneously if the body is heavy.

The attack of a large tiger is terrific, and the effect may be well imagined of an animal of such vast muscular proportions, weighing between 400 and 500 lbs., springing with great velocity, and exerting its momentum at the instant that it seizes a bullock by the neck. It is supposed by the natives that the tiger, when well fastened upon the crest, by fixing its teeth in the back of the neck at the first onset, continues its spring so as to pass over the animal attacked. This wrenches the neck suddenly round, and as the animal struggles, the dislocation is easily effected. The tiger then changes the hold to underneath the throat, and drags the body to some convenient retreat, where the meal may be commenced in security. With very few exceptions the tiger breaks the neck of every animal it kills. Some persons have imagined that this is done by a blow of the paw, but this is an error. The tiger does not usually strike (like the lion), but it merely seizes with its claws, and uses them to clutch firm hold, and to lacerate its victim. I have seen several examples of the tiger's attack upon man, and in no instance has the individual suffered from the shock of any blow; the tiger has seized, and driven deeply its claws into the flesh, and with this tremendous purchase it has held the victim, precisely as the hands of a man would clutch a prisoner; at the same time it has taken a firm hold with its teeth, and either killed its victim by a crunch of the jaws, or broken the shoulder-blade. In attacking man the tiger generally claws the head, and at the same moment it fixes its teeth upon the shoulder. An Indian is generally slight, and shallow in the chest, therefore the wide-spread jaws can include both chest and back when seized in the tiger's mouth. I have seen men who were thus attacked, and each claw has cut down to the skull, leaving clean incisions from the brow across the forehead and over the scalp, terminating at the back of the neck. These cuts were as neatly drawn across the skull as though done by a sharp pruning-knife; but the wounded men recovered from the clawing; the fatal wound was the bite, which through the back and chest penetrated to the lungs.

It is surprising that so few casualties occur when we consider the risks that are run by unprotected natives wandering at all seasons through the jungles, or occupied in their daily pursuits, exposed to the attacks of wild animals. The truth is that the tiger seldom attacks to actually kill, unless it is driven, or wounded in a hunt. It will frequently charge with a short roar if suddenly disturbed, but it does not intend to charge home, and a shout from a native will be sufficient to turn it aside; it will then dash forward and disappear, probably as glad to lose sight of the man as he is at his escape from danger. Of course there are many exceptions when naturally savage tigers, without being man-eaters, attack and destroy unoffending natives without the slightest provocation; upon such occasions they leave the body uneaten, neither do they return to it again.

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 considerable 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 pounds 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 in all the numerous nullahs and pools, there is no animal more difficult to discover than the tiger. It may be easily imagined that the dense green foliage of Indian jungles renders all objects difficult to perceive distinctly, but the striped skin of a tiger harmonizes in a peculiar manner with dry sticks, yellowish tufts of grass, and the remains of burnt stumps, which are so frequently the family of colours that form the surroundings of the animal. In this covert the tiger with an almost noiseless tread can approach or retreat, and be actually within a few yards of man without being seen. Although a ferocious beast, it is most sensitive to danger, and the slightest noise will induce it to alter the direction of its course when driven before a line of beaters. Its power of scent is excellent, therefore it is always advisable if possible to arrange that the beaters shall advance down wind. If they do, the tiger may be generally managed so adroitly that it will be driven in the required direction; but if the beaters are travelling up the wind, the tiger must necessarily follow the same course, and it will probably obtain the scent of the guns that are in positions to intercept it, in which case it will assuredly dash back through the line of beaters, and escape from the beat.

In the hot season very few trees retain their leaves, and the jungles that were impervious screens during the cooler months become absolutely naked; an animal can then be discerned at 100 yards' distance. The surface of the ground is then covered with dried and withered leaves, which have become so crisp from the extreme heat that they crackle when trod upon like broken glass. It will be readily understood that any form of shooting excepting driving is quite impossible under these conditions, as no person could approach any animal on foot owing to the noise occasioned by treading upon the withered leaves.