The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1878-05-04
Watching the Tigers.

The Gagged lion or tiger is seen at a
great disvantage; he is a prisoner, and
cannot be expected TO show of. At the
London Geological Gardensa playground
has been attached to the cage of the
tigers, sufficiently large for them to sport
in and exhibit some of their Jungle hab-
its. MIR. auckland thus describes in
Land and Water what he saw while look
ing at the tigers in their Fairgrounds
1t was indeed a beautiful sight to see
these lovely gigantic cats, the four tigers,
gradually emerge one by one into their
new, large, open playground. When
they arrived Mt the opening it was beau
tiful to watch them crouch down, max
ing themselves appear as small as posi-
BILE.
Finding nothing hurt or alarmed
them, they curiously examined the
trunks of the trees and rock-work placed
there for their especial benefit. They
trusted to their sense of smell rather
than to their sense of sight.
One of the greatest ornaments the
tigers head possesses besides the regula-
ton V mark over the eyes, which is OBJ
servable in all thoroughbred tigers, the
loneliness OF their countenances is much
enhanced by the long graceful whiskers,
situated for the most part on each side
of the upper lip.
To the lower end of each wbisker is
adjoined a very large bulb of nerve-mat-
ter, and from this bulb of nerve-matter
goes directly to the brain nerve. This
nerve is in fact a telegraph-wire, and
the whiskers are the Office Mt which news
is received.
When the tiger is crouching for or
gradually creeping up to its prey in the
jungle, these whiskers act like so many
sentries, which warn it to keep TO the
right or left, that the coast is clear or
INSTRUCTED, SO that when the animals
eyes are fully occupied watching its
prey, the whiskers act as watchful sem
tries to guide it.
When the four tigers were loose in
their playground, and the door closed be-
hind them, they at once began to play,
and very beautiful were their move
ments as they ran after each other, tum-
bled and gamboled like young kittens
before fire, their coats looking like
satin in the warm sun.
All of sudden a new and to them
most interesting object made its appear
ance. This was young and very
white zebu calf of few days old, which
came out of its shed, that was situated
in full sight of the cage only a few yards
off.
The moment he saw it one of the
tigers crouched to the ground, and re-
manned stationary and statue-like, watch
ing the innocent-looking baby zebu. He
was all fixed and statue-like, perfectly
motionless, except the very tip of his
tail, about two inches of which kept
jerking from side to side, signifying great
anxiety, expectation, and readiness for
immediate action.
Presently the other three preceived
that their comrade had seen something.
They also instantly assumed various at
tiudes, indicating their intense desire to
kill this young zebu calf and eat him.
This group of four magnificent tigers,
all intent upon one and the same object,
was grand in the extreme. 1t was also
very interesting to observe that the
mother of the young zebu seemed to
know instinctively that her calf was in
danger, as she seemed to warn it in her
peculiar way.