Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 August 1901 — STEEL TRAPS FOR TIGERS. [ARTICLE]

STEEL TRAPS FOR TIGERS.

flat* ami Pnr. Mstlxx) of CnvturlnK ths Itrntrn In* Hinvitr>i. Capturing tigers by novel methods Is now being adopted in Sumatra and is proving almost lava iably suctes - ful. As soon as a tiger's lair has been found natives are employed to construct a wooden fence nine feet long and four feet wide a short distance away from it, and in this inclo-ir ■is then placed as a bait a dog, which is tied to one of the fence posts. A narrow entrance leads into the Inclosure, and there, deftly concealed under earth, leaves and boughs of trees, is placed a strong steel trap, which is so designed that any animal that p’aces its foot on it is certain to be held captive. This trap is of recent invention and consists of strong Steel plates and equally strong springs. When it is set. the plates form a sort of platform, and as soon as the tiger which has been lured thither by the dog sets his foot thereon the springs are role and the cruel steel grips the leg and holds it fast. Powerful as a tiger is, he cannot free himself from such bondage, and as those who have set the trap are never far away he is in a short time either killed or securely caged. At the same time the dog is released, and, indeed, he could not be removed from the inclosure as long as the trap was set, since this instrument, strong as it is, nevertheless is so delicate that the pressure even of a dog's foot would release the springs and cause the animal’s leg to be crushed in a twinkling.