d amongst the
tigers, over a tract of country about half as large as Scotland, for traps
were set in two out of the four divisions into which Mysore was then
divided.

It has often been a subject of remark that tigers, without any motive that
we can even guess at, avoid certain parts of the country which, to us,
seem to be equally favourable to them. This is remarkably so in my
district in Mysore, parts of which, apparently quite as suitable for
tigers as other parts, have never been known to hold one. It is also
remarkable that they invariably cross from one range of hills to another
by almost exactly the same route, at least such is my experience. These
tiger passes as they are called by the natives are well known to them.
There is one about a mile and a half to the north of my bungalow, and
another at about the same distance to the south, and between these two
points I have never heard of the track of a tiger being seen except on one
occasion.

It seems singular that, as so much has been written about tigers, there
should be any dispute as to the way in which the tiger usually seizes its
prey, but I find that Mr. Sanderson differs widely from Captain Forsyth,
and Captain Baldwin and others, and says that, though the tiger does
occasionally seize by the nape of the neck in the case of his having to
deal with very powerful animals, his usual method is to seize by the
throat; and another sportsman of great experience tells me that, though he
has seen hundreds of kills, the seizure was always by the throat. In my
part of the country it is so much the usual method for the tiger to seize
by the nape of the neck, that a native, when asked if he is sure that it
was a tiger and not a panther, always puts his hand to the back of his
neck, and if he says that the animal was seized by the throat, we
invariably assume that the seizer is a panther. As Mr. Sanderson was a
most careful observer, I cannot doubt the correctness of his experience,
and as little can I doubt the experience in my neighbourhood. But this
apparent discrepancy may easily be explained, and I regard it as probable,
or even quite certain, that tigers may vary their method of attack in
accordance as they live mainly on game or mainly on village cattle. In the
case of a bison, a wild boar, or of a large and powerful village buffalo,
Mr. Sanderson admits that the seizure is by the nape of the neck, and that
no doubt is the rule with the forest tigers, such as tho