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The Gentleman

Our instructors never tired of telling us that the Tiger was the "Gentleman of the Jungle". It would never attack a human without extreme provocation. To reinforce the statement, they would narrate the story of a Forest Ranger cycling on a forest path in Lacchiwala Forest Range in Dehra Dun. As he came round a bend, he collided with an animal and fell to the ground. When he dazedly looked up, he saw a tiger standing a few yards away. It was obvious he had crashed his cycle into the beast. When the tiger saw the Ranger raise his head, it growled .... and the poor fellow froze where he was. After a couple of minutes, the tiger moved into the bushes along the roadside. The Range Officer got up and, as he picked up his bike, he saw the tiger looking at him from behind a bush. This time he froze for 10 minutes. Only after ten minutes had elapsed, he made a dash for the Forest Rest House about a mile away, racing as if the tiger was after him .... which it wasn't. He reported his encounter to the DFO camping there, who later recorded it in his diary .... The entire matter is on record in the FRI, Dehra Dun!

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