The two Latin poets exactly seize the two qualities which give pre-eminence to the Felis regalis, his ferocity and his beauty. The first tame tiger seen in Rome was shown by Augustus at the dedication of the theatre of Marcellus. Afterwards Claudius exhibited four. If Voss's theory that the Daphnis of Virgil's fifth Eclogue is intended for Julius Cæsar be accepted, and the verse —
Daphnis et Armenias curru subjungere tigres Instituit,
is to be taken literally, the introduction of tigers to the imperial city must be antedated.
For a full account of the tiger's anatomy, geographical range, and habits, the Indian sportsman may turn with confidence to Dr. Fayrer.[1] From his researches into the thanatophidia of India, which he has given to the world in a sumptuous and gorgeously illustrated folio, to the little handbook which appears to have been compiled for the prince's instruction, whom he is now attending on his Eastern progress, is a great descent in point of bulk, if we measure Dr. Fayrer's book after the ludicrous manner in which Lord Macaulay estimated the dimensions of Dr. Nares' memoirs. Appraising the Bengal tiger's life and death, however, by the practical value of the treatise, and the amount of information it contains, it is sufficiently weighty.
The Tigris regalis is the only species of the kind, and obtains the appellation of "Bengal" because its beauty and ferocity are there most developed. It has a wide geographical range, though it is limited entirely to Asia. From Ararat and the Caucasus on the west, it extends to the island of Saghalien, and, with the exception of the central table-land of Thibet, extends through the length and breadth of India and round by China and Mongolia into Persia. It is found at considerable elevations on the Himalayas (Dr. Fayrer gives an instance of one which was shot last year eight thousand feet above the level of the sea), and penetrates through Siam into the Malayan Archipelago, being found in Java and Sumatra. As might be expected, it varies greatly in colour, thickness of hair, etc., according to its habitat, the fur growing longer and thicker in colder localities. None of the f elides have as yet been found in Australia or Madagascar. Recently Captain Lawson, however, has astonished the scientific world by his discovery of the " moolah; " which was in shape and size, he tells us, like a Bengal tiger, but much handsomer, the skin being a white ground with black and chestnut stripes. One which he shot was seven feet eight inches from the nose to the tail; larger than any tiger he had seen in India. Ill-natured persons on reading these details may be tempted to fancy that the gallant captain had served with the marines. In Ceylon, too, it is unknown.
The special points in the anatomy of a tiger which call for mention are the enormous developments of muscle in neck, chin, and fore-arms, and his formidable canine teeth. The digitigrade feet are armed with cruel retractile claws and cushioned with soft pads, which aid his stealthy advance. In man, and many other creatures, the partition which separates cerebrum and cerebellum is membranous; in the tiger it is bony, which lends additional strength to the skull. The senses are acute, though that of smell is less developed than the others. The skeleton is strongly compacted; the frame being especially adapted to the requirements of strength, speed, and agility. The curious little clavicles are deeply sunk in muscle, and if not carefully sought for are liable to be passed over; the natives esteem them highly as amulets and charms. Digestion of the flesh which forms the tiger's food is speedy, owing to its simple stomach and short intestine. Lightness of foot and extreme facility in executing those bounds which are characteristic of the felidae generally are noticeable points in the tiger. In fact, he is nothing more nor less than a huge cat, with power and ferocity excessively developed; a very "king of cats." Travellers sleeping in their tents may hear one calling to its mate in the neighbouring jungles, till night is made hideous by their amatory growls and roarings, just as their diminutive congeners on European housetops serenade the moon, and provoke the exasperated sleeper to dislodge them with a hair-brush, a lump of coal, or whatever comes first to hand. The crowning point of a cat's ferocity, stealthiness, and delight in bloodshed is arrived at in the royal tiger. Those who have seen him after he has been shot and his skin stripped off have noticed his singular resemblance to the frame and fore-arm of an athlete. The muscles of his arm and shoulder are but modifications of those seen in man and other mammals adapted
- ↑ * The Royal Tiger of Bengal: his Life and Death. By J. Fayrer, M.D., F.Z.S. London: Churchill. 1875.
