Fitzwilliam Thomas Pollok

“ Tame Elephants are very subject to epidemics. It is to them what the rinderpest is to cattle,—they die off like rotten Sheep. The only hope of saving the stud is to scatter the animals as far apart as possible, and to let them loose to feed on aquatic plants, which grow in most of the large bheels of India. Elephants, like other animals, must die; yet during thirty years' wanderings in India, and of over three in Africa, I never came across the remains of an Elephant that had joined the majority through natural causes. ”

“ As a rule they are inoffensive, but a solitary bull has been known to charge without provocation; if closely followed, all Gaur are apt to prove pugnacious. They are not difficult to kill; a bullet well placed behind the shoulder, in the middle of the shoulder, or behind the ear, or a raking shot forward, will account for one—I have known one paralyzed by a shot through the dorsal ridge. When alarmed their enormous strength and weight enable them toe rash through tree and bamboo jungle as if they were but reeds. ”

“ There are divers opinions as to the exact mode by which a Tiger takes its prey. Popularly he is supposed to lie in ambush, and spring on his victim as it passes his lair; or, by watching at a pool, awaits the arrival of animals in quest of water. These would offer but precarious chances even to so cunning and stealthy a foe as the Tiger, as all wild animals are so wonderfully cautious in their approaches to such resorts. ”

“ If disturbed by him in a sholah during the day, the Deer immediately resort to the open, watching with eagerness the wood they have quitted, and generally warning the neighbourhood with loud consecutive bells; whilst Monkeys will perch on a branch above the feline, and keep up a constant chatter, and in their language swear at him until they acquaint the whole forest with his presence. ”

“ The Goondas have a broader expanse across the forehead, the bump between the eyes and the root of the trunk is more prominent, but the hollow between the eye and ear—commonly called the temple—is less marked. The countenance is more pleasing, the eye brighter and kinder looking. ”

“ We cannot give him the credit of the intellect of man, who, in pursuit of game, is well aware nothing can be done down wind. Were it so, not a Sambur or Deer would be left alive. The Tiger would bag them all just as he pleased,—in fact, he would then be able to kill any Deer when he wanted it. We have so far considered the acuteness on the part of the game to ensure them against total destruction, and I have only one further observation to record, and that is how often the presence of a Tiger is indicated by the actions of the Sambur and other Deer and also by various Monkeys. ”

“ India is our great nursery, and in it game is still plentiful. Hog hunting is pre-eminently the grandest sport. After it comes Tiger-shooting off Elephants and out of howdahs. Tigers can be shot on foot only in Central India. Where Tigers abound, the grass is too high and too thick for a man on foot to have a fair chance. But mounted on a fairly staunch Elephant, the pursuit is most enjoyable.
It has been a disputed point how a Tiger strikes down his prey. ”

“ Whilst the European sportsman in India fires only for the brain of an Elephant, natives often kill them by firing at the point of the shoulder. Elephants have a very keen sense of smell and of hearing, and they must be approached up wind. In the dry season there are so many fallen twigs and dry leaves that it is almost impossible to come close enough to a herd to kill one; the slightest noise, and off they go! But after the jungles have been burnt and rain has fallen, especially when they are feeding on bamboos, they are easier to get at. ”

“ After four months a domestic Cow was put into the shed, and the two ate from the same bundle of grass, one on the outside, and the other from the inside of the shed. When the Cow was let into the stockade neither of the animals took any notice of the other, so the Cow was taken out. Although so tame with a European, the Gaur would never allow a native to come near him; and it was unsafe to be in the enclosure if a native came anywhere near, as the bull would jump up, snort, and rush about the place in a very excited manner. ”

“ Not only does the Burmese Gaur stand higher, but the dorsal ridge extends further back, to within a span of the croup, the dent in the forehead is deeper, the cylindric crest higher, the horns larger, heavier and more truncated, and but seldom worn at the tips as in the Indian. I fancy food is so plentiful they have no need to grub up roots. The heads of the females are, if anything, longer than those of the males, and the nose is more arched. ”

“ A Leopard is more difficult to circumvent than a Tiger, as it approaches its kill in the most wary and cautious manner, examining every yard of the ground, and, being arboreal in its habits, it scans the surrounding trees, which a Tiger only does after it has been shot at once or twice from a coign of vantage. ”

“ They are fond of rocky ground, and have their dens formed naturally by slabs of stone lying one on the top of the other; but in parts of Assam and Burma they lie on the open prairies in a dense patch of either long grass or in a thicket. Although Bears are very numerous in both countries, they seldom fall a prey to the sportsmen excepting in the hilly districts. When hunted on Elephants, they manage to evade the line, the noise made in forcing a way through the long grass gives them warning that their enemy man is nearing their lair, and they quietly shamble away. ”

“ When the bull arrives at maturity, which is at about six or seven years, rings begin to form at the base of the horns, and it is said one is added each year; if so, I must have shot bulls thirty-five or forty years of age. They prefer hilly ranges with flat table-land at top, at an altitude of about 2500 ft.; but they have been killed up to 5000 ft., and traced up even higher. It is a wonderfully active animal for its size and bulk. They browse on young bamboo shoots, and are also fond of grazing on the young grass which springs up after the annual fires. ”

“ They prowl about after sunset till dawn in search of prey.
Another peculiarity of the Leopard tribe is that when an animal has been killed by one, it commences to feed upon the fore quarter and viscera, whilst the Tiger attacks the hind. A man-eating Tiger is bad enough, but when Panthers take to preying on the human kind they are ten thousand times worse, as they force their way into the frail huts of the natives and devour the people. In some places in the Nizam's dominions, on the borders of the Nirmal Jungle, the average of deaths from Panthers was one man a day ”

“ If he kills, the shikarie fills a saucer full of blood, and whilst the Leopard is lapping it up, he is hooded and led back. His call is a bleat-like mew. If taken as cubs, the natives assert they are useless for the chase. Only the adult ones who have been trained by their parents to hunt are of any use in a domesticated state. I never heard of their breeding in confinement in India; but I believe an instance or two has occurred in the large zoological establishments on the continent. None have bred in our "Zoo." ”

“ The Elephant (Elephas indicus) .
This most useful and generally docile animal when domesticated is employed in many ways. It is essential for Tiger hunting in the vast prairies covered with long grass in Bengal, Assam, and Burma.
There are two varieties in the East: one, the Goondas, have large tusks; and the other, the Muchnas, which have none, or only rudimentary ones. Some naturalists assert that having tusks, or the contrary, is a freak of nature, like whiskers in a man; but the peculiarities which distinguish one male from the other also extend to the females. ”

“ When thoroughly alarmed and seized with a panic,—by no means a rare occurrence,—scarcely anything will stop an Elephant. A sportsman incautiously took his steed up to a dead Bear, as he thought; but in putting her hind foot on Bruin, from whom no more sport was expected, she began to jump and trumpet, and set off at a fearful pace:—"On looking round I saw that the Bear had hold with his teeth of the right side of the Elephant's buttock. ”

“ The Tiger (Felis tigris) .
Foreigners say that wherever Englishmen travel the cry is "Let us go and kill something." This alludes, of course, to our love of sport, and they rather laugh at our enthusiasm for slaying the feræ naturæ; but I attribute two-thirds of our acquired possessions to the innate love of sport implanted in the breasts of our islanders. Our pioneers have generally been men in search of game. To be a successful sportsman a man must study the habits, manners, and customs of the beasts he intends to hunt. ”

“ A peculiarity of this beast is, that whilst it remains in a locality it will deposit its ordure only on one spot, and visits it for that purpose once when it commences feeding at night, and again before leaving off soon after daybreak. Considering the great value put on the flesh, hide, and horn of the animal, I am astonished that any are left alive. All a native shikarie has to do, is to dig a pit near this mound, and lie in wait until its usual visit, and then to pot it.
The Assamese do not waste a morsel of the flesh. The shields over the shoulders are dried in the sun ”

“ An ordinarily marked Leopard would be too conspicuous, and would die of starvation. The fittest—the black—survive, as they are not so easily seen. A black Pantheress who mated with an ordinary Leopard had two or three litters which showed no signs of being melanoid. In Africa the ordinary Leopard, as distinguished from the Panther, is most plentiful, and great numbers are killed every year by the natives with poisoned arrows. Numbers are caught in traps, and Colonel Montagu, of the Commissariat, caught twelve Leopards and one small Tiger in a trap in his compound at Shillong. ”

“ When the two animals were still again, we could distinctly see the cow standing up with her neck embraced by the Tigress, who was evidently sucking her jugular; the poor cow made a few feeble efforts to release herself, which the Tigress resented by breaking her neck."
What induces a Tiger to prey on human beings? Some affirm that it is only when age overtakes the animal and he finds himself unable to cope with his ordinary victims, Deer or cattle, that he falls upon man ”

“ The trunk is longer and very ponderous, possessing immense strength, as if to compensate the animals for the want of the formidable tusks possessed by the Goondas.
If nature has not given intellect to these animals, it has given them an instinct next thing to it. ”

“ It is an exploded idea that their skins are impenetrable. The outer cuticle offers no great resistance whilst on the living animal, but when removed and dried in the sun it will turn aside an ordinary bullet fired with a moderate charge of powder; yet heavy rifles with large bores and immense driving power behind are absolutely requisite, for the vital spots have between them and the skin such a mass of blubber, muscle, and bone that only a hardened ball driven as above described can reach them. If shot behind the ear an ordinary smooth-bore will account for them. ”

“ They are easily tamed, and become as familiar as a dog. They possess immense strength, and although they can force their way through any forest, they yet have regular tracks which they follow, and which lead to a considerable number of them being shot, as skikaries lie in wait for them. The hides are valuable, and the natives like the flesh. They, like Rhinoceroses, must have marshy land handy to retire to; they swim and dive well, and are harmless, unless wounded and cornered, when they show fight. At times the people imitate their cry, and as they approach kill them. ”

“ The Tiger too would betray his presence to them by that peculiar smell attaching to him, so that the odds are greatly against our striped friend's success, though of course he occasionally is rewarded by catching some unwary over-thirsty animal that rushes to the pool heedless of the consequences. ”

“ It is rather profitable to catch the little ones. If a cow with a calf is killed, the little one remains near the carcass. All Assamese villages have nets for catching various beasts, from Deer to Buffaloes, and it is easy to surround and capture the little one. One I captured was more savage than a Tiger ”

“ I can see no resemblance between a Tsine and a Gaur, but a very great one, especially at a distance, between the Gaur and the Gayal. I am glad to see that the doctor says the bull he shot had a slight dewlap, about three inches in its greatest breadth. But whilst his bulls were wanting in the white patches on the buttocks, mine had them very distinctly. The bulls are certainly savage, and attack most pluckily after being wounded,—at least mine did. ”

“ The beast makes off full pelt, uttering its squeak, but in a few minutes it falls down, and in its dying moments makes a noise which once heard can never be forgotten, and is a sure sign of approaching dissolution. ”