HOW WILD ANIMALS ARE CAPTURED
Few who see wild animals in cages realize the vast amount of trouble,
danger, and expense necessary to get them there. The greatest danger
lies in capturing the animals in their native countries.
It is an easy task to hunt wild animals for sport, compared to the
difficulties connected with their capture, not only alive, but
uninjured. An injured animal is rarely any use. The injuries, added
to the frenzy of a wild animal when first caught, leave very little
chance of his surviving the ordeal, even for a few days; and should he
do so, the chances are that he will remain in such a miserable state
for so long that he will not repay the cost of capture, feeding, and
transportation.
As a rule, although rare specimens have been made exceptions, an
injured animal is either killed at once, or, if there should appear
to be no immediate danger to the lives of his captors, is allowed to
escape.
The chief danger lies, not so much when face to face with the animals,
but when hunting and tracking them. The wariest and most careful hunter
may be tracking an animal, and at the same time be tracked by the very
animal he is seeking, who may spring on him at any moment.
There is no more ticklish or dangerous task than tracking lions in the
vast Nubian deserts. The scorching sun pours down with such force that
few men can stand it. The effect on the eyes is blinding. There is
little or no shade, with the exception of occasional small palm-trees
and bushes, while the jutting rocks afford splendid hiding-places for
the king of beasts.
It may happen that when a lion-hunt has been formed an elephant or a
rhinoceros appears, and either of these animals in their wild state
presents a difficult problem. A rogue elephant will put a whole crowd
of lion-hunters to rout, and clear that part of the country of men
for some little time to come. A rhinoceros is also a formidable foe.
Although comparatively slow-moving, it can, when excited, move quite
quickly enough, and its horns can be used with terrible effect.
[Illustration: WILD ASS, QUAGGA, AND ZEBRAS]
In capturing animals alive, it is generally considered better to get
young ones. A number of natives form parties and then go in different
directions, until they come upon the spoor of either a lioness or young
lions. They then signal to one another by peculiar calls, and, meeting
together, follow up the trail until they find the lair.
Should they find that the lair contains a lioness and cubs, they do all
they can to induce the lioness to come out, and if unable to capture
her alive, shoot her and then capture the cubs. This sounds very
simple, but a lioness with cubs is one of the most savage of animals,
and she will fight to the last. Having killed the lioness, there is
still danger with the cubs; for lion cubs are fierce, strong, and
vicious creatures, and can tear and bite with their claws and teeth in
a terrible manner.
One plan is to throw nets or a piece of strong sackcloth over the
young ones, in which they become entangled. The men then run forward,
pick them up, and carry them off, and they are extremely lucky if they
escape with a few scratches only, for the cubs, though tangled in
the net, are able to make an exceedingly lively fight. Sometimes the
lioness is not wounded fatally, and she is then far more dangerous than
before. It is quite impossible to take the cubs in that case, for she
would follow for miles, and in addition to making the cubs more savage,
her cries of pain and distress would be more than likely to bring out
her mate from some neighboring hiding-place, and then nothing could be
done but to drop the cubs and withstand the lions’ attack.
When the cubs are captured, goats are obtained in full milk, and the
cubs are fed by them until they are past the first teething-stage
and able to eat meat. In some cases spaniels are provided as
foster-mothers, and although at first the dogs are uneasy at their
somewhat rough and savage foster-children, they generally grow fond of
them, and the affection is more often than not returned by the cubs.
For catching full-grown lions large traps of various forms are used.
One trap is square, one of the sides lifting up on a spring, like the
old-fashioned mouse-trap. This trap is baited with a piece of fresh
meat, and as soon as the lion has entered the trap the door shuts
down and he is a prisoner. But lions are shrewd and cunning, like all
the cat tribe, and many a man has lost his life by going to look at a
baited trap.
Many cases have been known where a lion, becoming suspicious, resisted
the temptation of the fresh meat, and lay down in hiding and kept
watch. When the rash hunter came to see whether the bait had been
touched, the lion sprang on him, preferring fresh man-meat to the bait
inside the trap. In one case the lid went down, but, in some way or
other, one of the paws of the lion was caught in it, and when the men
came to look at him, by a wonderful feat of strength he raised the lid
and sprang out, killing two of them.
Animals are also captured by driving them with torches or fire into
inclosures made with bamboo rods and nets. When in these inclosures the
animals are fairly secure, as any attempt to climb over the bamboo rods
only sends them back into the nets, the bamboo not being sufficiently
strong to bear their weight. The animals are generally kept a little
while without food until they become somewhat subdued, and are then
taken to their places of transportation.
In India the natives catch tigers by a peculiar method. The leaves of
the sycamore and the large plantain are smeared with a sticky substance
and left in the trail of the tiger. The moment the animal puts his
foot on one of these leaves he immediately rubs it over his head,
in order to get rid of it. This naturally makes his head sticky and
uncomfortable, which causes him to roll on the ground. By doing this
he becomes covered with the leaves, and when he is mad with rage the
natives come cautiously up and cover him with strong nets and sacking.
In other parts of Asia the animals are caught in various ways,--some in
pitfalls and traps, and some by meat baited in such a cunning manner
that a native is able either to wound or to capture the animal while
he is eating it. In running through the forests, the animals pass over
these traps, which are carefully concealed by branches and limbs of
trees, fall in, and are prisoners. In many cases the animals are so
terrified that they die of fright; in others, they absolutely refuse
to eat, and die soon after capture. Sometimes the captured animals die
just when the cost of transportation has been paid, and it is then
discovered that they had been injured internally in falling. In most
cases, however, they are kept without food for a short time, and when
they have quieted down a little some meat is thrown in to them, and
they soon become accustomed to their surroundings.
Elephants are generally caught in nooses, or by being driven into a
keddah. A number of men surround the elephant, and forming a circle of
fire, which they make smaller and smaller, compel him to go into the
keddah. He is then roped to some strong logs and allowed to remain in
that state until quiet, when a tame elephant leads him about until he
becomes tractable. Some elephants can never be tamed, and in this case
it is generally considered wiser either to kill the animal or to let
him have his freedom again.
In catching snakes various devices are used, but all methods are
attended with a certain amount of danger. One way is to set the
grass on fire in a circle where it is known that snakes have their
hiding-places. This will always bring them out, and they naturally rush
from the fire. As they rush out, they are caught in large nets mounted
on wooden hoops to which is attached a large bag.
As the reptiles are generally stupefied with the smoke, it is not a
difficult thing to those accustomed to the task to drop them into the
bag. They are then carried to the packing-station, where they are
packed in boxes and sent direct to Europe.
While on the journey, neither food nor water is given them; the chief
things are warmth and freedom from damp. Cold is dangerous to all
snakes; it not only makes them dull and torpid, but causes them to have
mouth disease, from which they never recover; and as some of them are
extremely valuable, this point is very important. Many instances have
been known where a whole collection of valuable snakes have been found
dead on arrival.