Next to the lion in power is the tiger, an animal not possessed of the
noble qualities of the lion, being fierce without provocation, and cruel
without cause. The chief difference of the tiger from every other animal
of the mottled kind is in the shape of the spots on the skin, which run in
streaks or bands in the direction of the ribs. The leopard, panther and
the ounce are all, in a certain degree, marked like this animal, except
that the lines are broken by round spots, which cover the whole surface
of the skin. The use of the _royal tiger_ in modern coats of arms is
frequent, and has reference to services in the East.
Outram, Bart., has for supporters: _two royal Bengal tigers guardant
proper, gorged with a wreath of laurel vert, crowned with an Eastern
crown_.
_Note._--In a heraldic description (or blazon as it is termed) it is
necessary for the sake of greater clearness, and to prevent confusion, to
name the older mythical creature the "HERALDIC TIGRE," that it may not be
confounded with its natural representative usually called the "ROYAL
TIGER."