Fayrer, J., 1875. The royal tiger of Bengal, his life and death. London, J. & A. Churchill , pp. 1-99
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| Location: |
Asia - South Asia - India |
| Subject: |
Captivity |
| Species: |
Indian Rhino |
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[18] He is one of the symbols of power in the East; in China, the judicial throne is covered with his skin; and he has always occupied a prominent place in the menageries and parks, or rumnas, of Oriental princes, kept for show, and often, half or wholly tamed, led about by a chain, or confined in large cages and enclosures where he was made to fight with other tigers or with buffaloes, elephants, rhinoceros, or even with the horse and other animals, for the amusement of the native courts and their visitors.
I have seen several tiger fights at Lucknow in former years, before King Wajid Ally was deposed; and the memorable scene that followed that monarch's removal from his government— when an auction of tigers, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, rhinoceros, giraffes, and other animals, took place—had probably never been, and never will be, equalled. A dozen tigers, sold to the highest bidder, at ten rupees each, was perhaps one of the most remarkable purchases ever made, not surpassed even by that of a brace of rhinoceros at 250 rupees, or a giraffe at 500 rupees. All this has now changed; the rumnas and wild beasts have long since disappeared. Lucknow is no more as she has been. The tiger-throne of Hyder Ally, the tiger of Mysore, at Seringapatam, and his toy tiger devouring an English soldier, in which he is said to have delighted, are gone likewise. How different Hyder Ally and Tippoo Sultan must have been from the amiable and accomplished old gentleman, Tippoo's last surviving son, who died lately in Calcutta at a ripe old age! He was well known in England some years ago as Prince Gholam Mahomed, and was much respected by Europeans and natives in India.
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The royal tiger of Bengal, his life and death
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