greatest number he had ever seen with their mother was three; but they were small. The cubs are in the habit of
springing against trees, and scratching the bark with their claws, as though exulting in their strength, and, should they get
among a herd of cattle, strike down as many as they can reach. When the Tigress has been deprived of her cubs she
exhibits great distress, and for several nights afterwards stays about the same place, roaring all the time m a very excited
manner. Nothing, perhaps, in the animal kingdom can exceed the beauty and grandeur of the Tiger when, free and fearing
nothing, he roams at will in his native jungles. Perhaps no one had more experience with this terrible animal than the late
Captain’Forsyth; and he gives, in his book on the highlands of Central India, a graphic description of his meeting with a
Tiger, just as the sun had risen, as the brute was returning to his lair after a night passed in some murderous foray. The
route’ the beast was taking was plainly shown to his pursuer by the action of the monkeys; for as he passed beneath the
trees on which they were, the nimble animals climbed up to the highest branches, shook them violently, and poured forth
a torrent of abuse at their mortal enemy that could be heard for miles away. The river, along whose bank the Tiger was
walking, made a great curve; and by swimming across the neck of this the hunter succeeded in getting ahead of the animal,
and, having hid himself, waited for the creature to come up. At length he was visible, advancing with a “ long slouching
Walk, with his tail tucked down, and looking exactly like the guilty midnight murderer he is. His misdeeds evidently sat
heavily on his conscience; for as he went he looked fearfully behind him and up at the monkeys in a beseeching sort of
way, as if them not to betray where he was going.” When nearly opposite to the Captain, he came out from the
trees into “ the faint yellow light of the just-risen sun; and he looked such a picture of fearful beauty!—with his velvety step
and undulating movements, the firm muscles working through his loose glossy skin, and the cruel yellow eyes blinking in
the sun over a row of ivory teeth, as he licked his lips and whiskers after a night’s feed.” As he reached the mouth of a
small ravine the hunter fired; and with a roar that silenced every chattering monkey in the trees the beast bounded into
the thicket. Shortly afterward, on following him, the animal was found lying dead, shot very near the heart. The Tiger
is very fond of certain localities, and year after year, if not killed, will be met with in the same place, although others
equally suitable may be quite near. I t likes to haunt ruins and he on the top of walls. Like the Lion, occasionally the
Tiger becomes a man-eater; and when he has once commenced this practice, he seeks this kind of prey in preference to any
other. I t is generally observed that old Tigers are the ones that seek human food; for, their teeth becoming blunted and
decayed, they cannot easily overpower cattle or other beasts. The destruction caused by these cannibals can be best appreciated
from the report made by Captain Rogers to the Social-Science Society, when it appeared that a single Tigress caused
the destruction of thirteen villages, and 256 square miles of country were thrown out of cultivation. In 1869 one Tigress
killed 127 people, and stopped a public road for many weeks. In Nuydunca a Tigress in 1867, 1868, and 1869 killed
respectively 27, 34, and 47, total 108 people. The Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces in India reports the
following number of persons killed by T i g e r s 1866-67, 372; 1867-68, 289; 1868-69, 285 ; total 946. Jerdon says
that in the Bustor country, south-east of Nagpore, he found that in several parts the villages were deserted entirely on
account of the ravages of Tigers, even although they had been protected by high stockades. He also states that in the
Mundlah district, east from Jubbulpore, on an average between two and three hundred villagers were annually killed. The
above facts, to which many others might be added, exhibit sufficiently what a dreadful scourge this animal is in the
various districts in which he is found. The author just mentioned remarks that among the natives many superstitions
prevail regarding the Tiger. They believe that every year an additional lobe is added to its liver, and that the flesh
possesses medicinal properties, that the claws arranged in a circle protect a child from the evil eye when hung around
its neck, and that the whiskers are a deadly poison; consequently they are burnt off as soon as the animal is killed. The
flesh of the Tiger is eaten by some of the lower castes in India.
This active creature ascends trees to a certain height with great facility; and a wounded individual does not hesitate to
attack his adversary in a tree, should he happen to have taken such a position in order to be in a secure place from which
to fire his rifle. I t is related that several officers of the 76th English Regiment, stationed in India, went on a Tiger-hunt
near the Manair river, about 15 miles from its junction with the Godavery. A Tiger was started, and was endeavouring
to break back towards the beaters, when a shot turned h im ; and he then galloped towards a tree in which a lieutenant and
his attendant were posted about 10 feet from the ground. Two ineffectual shots were given, when the beast sprang into
the tree, dragged the gun-bearer to the ground, and then, returning, brought down the officer also. His friends came to
his rescue; and the Tiger was killed; but the unfortunate men were so mangled that they both died two days afterwards.
F E L I S T IG R I S .
The usual colour of the Tiger is a dark tan, striped irregularly with black. No two individuals are marked exactly alike;
and the shade of the ground-colour varies greatly. As before stated, the specimens from Sumatra are darker than those
from the continent, and without white on the face; while those from Siberia and the far northern parts of Asia are very
light in colour, the fur generally long and thick, the tail inclined to be bushy, and the white of the face and underparts is
very extensive and pure. M. David states that in Mantchouria the colour also varies greatly, some individuals being of
a brownish black, others perfectly white.
The skull of the Tiger is very similar to that of the Lion; and there is not much difference between them in size,
frequently that of the present species being fully as large as the largest of those belonging to its great relative. One character
will always serve to distinguish the skulls of these great Cats from each other. The frontal processes of the maxillae are
truncated in the Tiger, but pointed in the Lion. If a fine is drawn connecting the ends of the frontal processes of the
maxillaries, it will be found to fall below the frontal processes of the nasals; in the Lion it will go above them, and rest
entirely on the frontals. The nasals are depressed posteriorly, and form a median groove at the symphysis. The inner
bounding line of the lower half of the nasal aperture in front takes the form of a double curve. As a rule also the interorbital
space is not quite so wide nor so flat in the Tiger as in the Lion. The inferior border of the ramus is straight,
without any indication of the process under the last molar, always present on. the jaw of the Lion. When viewed from
above, the Tiger’s skull appears long and narrow.
The Plate contains representations of the various styles of Tigers known. The figure in front, lying down, exhibits
the ordinary Bengal Tiger; the one sitting behind is the long-haired form from Northern Asia; and the sleeping figure is
the Sumatran style, without any white markings. All are portraits, every mark and line having been accurately copied
from the specimens.