Perhaps because he is so strong and wise and terrible. He seems like a very god to them, they fear him so.
“Now maybe,” they say to themselves, “if we respect this great, fierce beast, never lifting a hand to harm him, maybe he will not harm us.”
“Does he ever harm them?”
Always, if they cross his path when he is hungry.
“Are there any other sacred animals?”
Yes; the bull, the white elephant, the monkey, even the serpent, and how many more it is hard to say.
Maybe you can guess which is sacred to the Egyptians, Chinese, etc.
We should not needlessly harm any animal. Shooting birds for mere fun is wrong. Animals have a hard time in this world. Let us not make it harder. But we must worship God only.
They are mere creatures, passing away after a short stay here; God lives forever. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
L.