SCENE IN THE JUNGLE.

TIGER.

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LARGER IMAGE]

DYING MAN-EATER.

The great distinctive character is, of course, the colour. Of this, and of the main points of difference between the two sexes, Sir J. Fayrer writes as follows:—“The colour of a full-grown Tiger in good health is exceedingly beautiful. The ground is of a rufous or tawny-yellow, shaded into white on the ventral surface. This is varied with vertical black stripes, or elongated ovals or brindlings. On the face and on the back of the ears the white markings are peculiarly well defined, and present an appearance as remarkable as beautiful. The depth of shade of the ground colour, and the intensity of the black markings, vary according to the age and condition of the animal. In old Tigers the ground becomes more tawny, of a lighter shade, and the black markings better defined. The young are more dusky in the ground colouring than the middle-aged or old Tigers. The depth of colour is also affected by locality and climate. Those found in forests are often of a deeper shade than Tigers found in more open localities. It is said that in more northern latitudes they are of a lighter colour, almost white. The circular white patches on the back of the ears, and the white and black about the face, are very conspicuous in the Tiger, rushing through the grass or jungle when disturbed. Brilliant as is the general colour, it is remarkable how well it harmonises with the grass or bush among which he prowls, and for which, indeed, until his charge, and the short deep growls or barkings which accompany it, reveal his presence, he may be mistaken. The Tigress differs from the Tiger; the head, as well as the whole body, is smaller and narrower. The neck is lighter, and is devoid of any crest, which, though very much smaller than the voluminous mane of the Lion, undoubtedly exists in large and old males. The Tigress is lither, more active, and when accompanied by her offspring, far more savage and bloodthirsty than the male; she will then attack, even when unprovoked; and in defence of her young, of which she is proverbially fond, is as courageous as she is vicious. Most of the accidents that have befallen sportsmen and others who have encountered these animals have been due to Tigresses. I have seen a Tigress, accompanied by her young, charge, unprovoked, a line of Elephants, and inflict severe injuries before she was despatched. The only well-authenticated case in which a sportsman was taken out of a houdah was one in which a Tigress, in one bound, reached the sportsman, her hind feet resting on the Elephant’s head, the fore feet on the rail of the houdah. The occupant, who had mortally wounded her as she sprang, was seized, and, after a short struggle, dragged or thrown to the ground. The Tigress then received another bullet, and died where she fell; the sportsman, severely wounded, was carried into camp, and slowly recovered.”

As to the size of adult animals, the same author has the following remarks:—

“It is generally admitted that the Tiger attains the greatest size in India, and there can be no doubt that he is really the largest of the existing Felidæ.... The size of the Tiger varies; some individuals attain great bulk and weight, though they are shorter than others which are of a slighter and more elongated form. The statements as to the length they attain are conflicting and often exaggerated; errors are apt to arise from measurements taken from the skin after it is stretched, when it may be ten or twelve inches longer than before removal from the body. The Tiger should be measured from the nose along the spine to the tip of the tail as he lies dead on the spot where he fell before the skin is removed. One that is ten feet by this measurement is large, and the full-grown male does not often exceed this, though no doubt larger individuals (males) are occasionally seen, and I have been informed by Indian sportsmen of reliability that they have seen and killed Tigers over twelve feet in length. The full-grown male Indian Tiger, therefore, may be said to be from nine to twelve feet, or twelve feet two inches, the Tigress from eight to ten, or perhaps, in very rare instances, eleven feet in length, the height being from three to three and a half, or, very rarely, four feet at the shoulder. But we must look with doubt on Buffon’s statement that one had attained a length of fifteen feet; and with even greater hesitation can we accept the recorded statement that Hyder Ally presented a Tiger to the Nawab of Arcot that measured eighteen feet.”

The Tiger is entirely confined to Asia, where its range is very wide, extending from the Caspian to the Sea of Okhotsk, and from latitude 50° southwards. It has been found in the Elburz Mountains, Bokhara, China, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and Bali. It is known about Ceylon and from the great tableland of Tibet. Its head-quarters are North India, where great numbers are killed annually. From what has been said, it will be evident that the Tiger is by no means, as one is very apt to imagine, an altogether tropical animal; the Caucasus, the western limit of its range, is far from being a warm region, and its eastern limit, the island of Saghalien, is as far north as Kamtchatka. It has been found also at a height of 8,000 feet above sea-level. It is an interesting circumstance that the Tigers found amongst the snows of Mantchuria and Corea have the “body covered with long softish hairs,” and a shaggy ruff round the neck. Thus, as is so constantly the case, a definite variety is produced solely by the action of surrounding conditions. Certain Tigers find it advantageous to live farther north than the generality of their kind, so as to have a freer field for their depredations than would be afforded to them by the more southern districts, and, to suit themselves to the vigorous climate, acquire long warm fur, such as would be quite out of place on the back of a denizen of the Bengal jungles.