as horns, and a deer has antlers.
Well, the tiger creeps around to the side, then more and more around,
till he gets behind the antelope.

Meanwhile the tigress creeps around the opposite way. So when the tiger
makes a sudden jump at the antelope, and the antelope tries to run away
in either direction, the tiger or the tigress is there to catch it. And
meanwhile the cubs also have crept nearer and nearer, hiding behind
shrubs and bushes. They can take part in catching the prey by preventing
it from escaping in their direction.

_Tiger Cubs Learn to Catch Prey by Themselves_

"But when do the tiger cubs actually learn to _catch_ the prey?" you may
ask.

Well, that takes a little longer to learn. For when the cubs have
learned to catch different kinds of prey--wild pigs, wild sheep, wild
goats, deer, antelope, cattle--their education is almost finished, just
as in the case of a boy who has learned to earn his living in several
different ways. So it takes the tiger cubs at least the next four
months, from the age of six months to ten months, to learn to catch
different kinds of prey, as I shall now describe to you.

In the beginning the cubs learn by example; that is, they watch and see
how their father or mother catches the prey. Some kinds of prey are very
easy to catch, such as wild pigs or wild sheep, as they cannot run fast,
and are also very stupid. A tiger can just rush at a wild pig or a wild
sheep, and catch it. So the cubs soon learn to do the same. And as I
have already told you that wild pigs and wild sheep are the usual food
of tigers, the cubs soon learn to earn their _ordinary_ living.

But then they have to learn a little more difficult lesson--to catch
animals which are not so easily caught; and these animals supply them
with a more tasty kind of food than just pork or mutton. These animals
may be divided into two classes.

First, the prey may be weak, but it can run fast--even faster than the
tiger. The deer and the antelope belong to this class.

The second class of prey is just the opposite; it is strong, but it
cannot run fast--at least, not as fast as the tiger. Buffaloes,
bullocks, and all kinds of cattle belong to this class.

In catching these two different kinds of prey, the tiger or the tigress
uses different methods. First I shall describe to you how a tiger
catches an animal of the first kind, that is, an animal that is weak,
but which can run faster than the tiger, such as a deer.