THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 956, 16 May 1889, Page 37

THE NATURALIST.

A Black Tiger.

No authentic record exists of a black tiger having been seen or killed in Bengal, so I am informed. Black leopards are well known, especially in the Madras Presidency and in the Straits Settlements, and I have heard of them in Bengal, though I never saw them alive there (except in the Calcutta Zoological Gardens). But before Igo hence and am no more seen, I wish to state that I and several others saw a dead black tiger at Chittagong, and from the entries in my diary, which was pretty regularly kept, I know that it was in March 1846t The news was brought into the station that a dead black tiger was lying near the road that leads to Tipperahj at a distance of about two miles from Chittangong. In the early morning we rode out to see it. The body of the animal was lying in the low bush jungle, about 20yds south of the road^ and we dismounted to go and look at it. It was a ; fiill-sized tiger, and the skin was black", br very dark brown, so that the stripes showed rather a darker black in the sunlight, just as the spots are visible on the skin of a black leopard. The tiger had been killed by a poisoned arrow, and had wandeied away more than a mile from the place where it was wounded before it lay down to die, For, several weeks before we saw the dead 'body the natives bad reported that there w,as a black tiger which infested the range of hills behind the military cantonments at CHttagong. More than once, when the herdsman 'brought word that it had killed a cow, Captain Swatman sent an elephant and howdah for me, and we beat through the jungle in vain for it. I cannot venture' to offer >,any explanation why this tiger's skin was black. It is well known that there is considerable difference of colour in the skins of ordinary tigers. Some skins have almost a Jight yellow ground, whilst in others the colour approaches to a dark chest-nut-red. Some people attribute this variety, of colour to the character of the jungle in which the animals have lived, and this has a sort of probability in it ; but the age of the tiger may bave also something to say to it, and a beast which was of a dark red in its prime may turn to a lighter colour when it grows old. >l lt' was my good fortune during the last 40 years to see many more tigers, both wild and in captivity, than falls to the lot of most men in Bengal. I can testify that on the churs bf the Ganges and Berhampooter, when shooting during the' hot winds in the end of March, through the remains of the burnt grass and reeds, the colour of some of the 'tigers was so like that qf the burnt and charred stalks that the animals peem to vanish before, pur eyes, M,any authorities have written that the skin of a man-eating tiger is usually mangy and dull in colour. There were' two man-eating tigers caught and bent to the Calcutta Zoo, whose skins were in perfect condition, and of a rich colour. There was a' fine tigress about, five years old, with a clean and well-marked skin, whose career I had to cut short, as she had taken to preying on the villagers of a place near Dacca ; •so tfiat these cases were exceptions to a general rule. But I have no doubt that it is quite true that many' old and mangy tigers, with decaying teeth and claws, become man-eaters. The reason is simpls. A human being is the most facile prey for a tiger, One grip on the slight neck of a woman, and all is over. There is no striking with pointed horns, or kicking with sharp hoofs, as the tiger finds when he is killing a deer or a cow. And who shall say whether a bealtby young woman is more tender and wholesome food that the flesh of a sickly old cow, half starved in the jungle f—T. BUCKland, F.Z.S., in the Field.

How sponges bore into solid limestone or shells is as yet an unsolved problem. M. Nassonoff has investigated a new species of clione which tunnels oyster and mussel shells, and he believes that the boring of the canals and galleries i 3 performed solely by the soft parts of the sponge. The penetration of the prolongation of the body of the sponge into the shell appears to be accomplished by the secretion of a corroding liquid, probably an acid. • The Athenasum publishes an interesting account of a young gorilla belonging to a trader on the south-west coast of Africa. It follows its owner like a dog, and has accompanied him on a journey of 20 miles, walking the entire distance. It is very docile and tractable, and weeps like a child if it is left alone by its master. The animal seems to have acquired many civilised tastes and habits, and will drink different liquids out of a cup or glass like a human being, This is by no means the first instance of a gorilla being brought under subjection by kindness. The Dog Knew His Master's Hens.— The following little story savours strongly of the improbable, and yet the writer can vouch for its truth. A gentleman and his wife from, Franklyn, La., wishing to attend the Methodist Conference held in our city during December last, and unwilling to leave their pet dog and chickens to the uncertain care of servants, removed them for safety to the home of a relative in a town near by. After a week or so in New Orleans, Mr and Mrs Clay returned home, and on their way stopped for their pets. The dog, Jet, so soon as his first expressions of welcome were over, ran to the barnyard, separated his master's chickens from the others, drove themto a corner, and stood guard over them until all were placed in the vehicle that -would convey them to their own home. This is a true tale, and by no means one of . the most remarkable of , Jet's exhibitions of intelligence. — New Orleans Picayune.