A LESSON FROM A TIGER

A Lesson from a Tiger ~ 304 ~ A LESSON FROM A TIGER Jim Corbett, after whom a famous national park in India has been named, was an expert on the nature of tigers. He once wrote: “No tiger attacks a human being unless provoked.” People who live in jungle areas where tigers roam will confirm the truth of Jim Corbett’s words. There is usually no cause for concern when one comes face to face with a tiger. Unless it is provoked or harbours deep-rooted suspicion of human beings the beast will ignore one and continue on its way. And how does this suspicion form in some tigers? Tigers are by nature not ill-disposed towards human beings. Only very few of them can be called man-eaters, and even they were not born as such. They became man-eaters, not through any fault of their own, but through the folly of human beings. Usually it is inexperienced hunters who do the damage. They shoot at a beast, wounding but not killing it. A tiger injured in this manner becomes man’s enemy. Wherever it sees a human being, it attacks and kills. The same is true of most beasts of