Read the passage given below:
1. To ensure its perpetuity, the ground is well held by the panther both in space and in time. It enjoys a much wider distribution over the globe than its bigger cousins, and procreates sufficiently profusely to ensure its continuity for all time to come.
2. There seems to be no particular breeding season of the panther, although its sawing and caterwauling is more frequently heard during winter and summer. The gestation period is about ninety to hundred days (Whipsnade, ninety-two days). The litter normally consists of four cubs, rarely five. Of these, generally two survive and not more than one reaches maturity. I have never come across more than two cubs at the heels of the mother. Likewise, graziers in the forest have generally found only two cubs hidden away among rocks, hollows of trees, and other impossible places. 3. Panther cubs are generally in evidence in March. They are born blind. This is a provision of Nature against their drifting away from the place of safety in which they are lodged by their mother, and exposing themselves to the danger of their being devoured by hyenas, jackals, and other predators. They generally open their eyes in about three to four weeks.
4. The mother alone rears its cubs in seclusion. It keeps them out of the reach of the impulsive and impatient male. As a matter of fact the mother separates from the male soon after mating and forgets all about their tumultuous union. The story that the male often looks in to find out how the mother is progressing with her cubs has no foundation except in what we wish it should do at least.
5. The mother carries its cubs about by holding them by the scruff of their neck in its mouth. It trains them to stalk, and teaches them how to deliver the bite of death to the prey. The cubs learn to treat all and sundry with suspicion at their mother’s heels. Instinctively the cubs seek seclusion, keep to cover and protect their flanks by walking along the edge of the forest.
6. I have never had an opportunity to watch mother panther train its cubs. But in Pilibhit forests, I once saw a tigress giving some lessons to its little ones. I was sitting over its kill at Mala. As the sun set, the tigress materialised in the twilight behind my maghan. For about an hour, it scanned and surveyed the entire area looking and listening with the gravest concern. It even went to the road where my elephant was awaiting my signal. The mahout spotted it from a distance and drove the elephant away. F. When darkness descended upon the scene and all was well and safe, the tigress called its cubs by emitting a low haa-oon. The cubs, two in number and bigger than a full-grown cat, soon responded. They came trotting up to their mother and hurried straight to the kill in indecent haste. The mother spitted at them so furiously that they doubled back to its heels immediately. Thereafter, the mother and its cubs sat under cover about 50 feet (15 m) away from the kill to watch, wait, look, and listen. After about half an hour’s patient and fidgetless vigil the mother seemed to say ‘paid for’. At this signal, the cubs cautiously advanced, covering their flanks, towards the kill. No longer did they make a beeline for it, as they had done before.
7. The mother sat watching its cubs eat, and mounted guard on them. Che did not partake of the meal.
On the basis of your understanding of the passage complete the statements given below with the help of options that follow:
(a) To protect its cubs the mother panther hides them:
(i) among rocks
(ii) in the branches of the trees
(iii) behind the tree trunks
(iv) at its heels
(b) The male panther:
(i) is protective of its cubs
(ii) trains its cubs
(iii) watches the progress of the mother
(iv) is impulsive and impatient
Answer the following questions briefly:
(c) How many cubs does the mother panther rarely deliver?
(d) What may happen if the panther cubs are not born blind?
(e) Why did the mahaut drive his elephant away?
(f) Why did the tigress spit at its cubs?
(g) From the narrator’s observation what do we learn about the nature of the tigress?
(h) Why does the panther not face the risk of extinction?
(i) Find words from the passage which mean the same as each of the following:
(i) moving aimlessly (para 3)
(ii) came down/fell (para F)
(a) (i) among rocks
The writer illustrates how the mother panther usually takes care of its cubs, and how they are born blind and are hidden away by her among rocks and in the hollow of trees. These are the “impossible places” where cubs have been found by graziers. The mother panther usually doesn’t keep the cubs with her always because she keeps them away from the father panther. Therefore, out of the options stated above, the correct choice is “among the rocks”.
(b) (iv) is impulsive and impatient
According to the writer, the mother panther always makes sure that her cubs are kept away from the father panther and she raises them in seclusion. The reason is the impatience and impulsive nature of the male parent, who is separated from the cubs right from their birth. It is a myth that the male panther seeks the progress of his cubs when the mother panther is training them. Therefore, the correct choice is that it is impulsive and impatient.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(c) The mother panther rarely delivers five cubs in a litter. It usually delivers only four.
(d) If the panther cubs are not born blind, they might drift away from the hiding place where their mother has kept them safe, for example among rocks or in the hollow of a tree. This might expose them to the danger of being preyed upon by hyenas, jackals and other wild animals in the forest. Therefore, it is nature’s way of protecting the little cubs until they are three to four weeks old.
(e) The mahaut had spotted the tigress from a distance, who was on the lookout for eliminating any kind of external interference so that she could train her cubs in seclusion, without the fear of being attacked or pried upon. On spotting the tigress from a distance, the mahaut knew it better to maintain safe distance for prevention of any kind of attack on him or his elephant, and thus drove away.
(f) The tigress, who was busy teaching her cubs how to prey, wished to inculcate the brilliant tactics of a tiger when it comes to hunting – to watch, wait, look and listen first before attacking the kill. However, as soon as she called upon her cubs, they hastily pounced on the prey. This was something the tigress didn’t approve of and she angrily spit at them to communicate how this was not something they were supposed to do.
(g) From the narrator’s observation, there are quite a few observations that we can derive about the nature of the tigress. First and foremost, she is a caring mother, who makes sure there is no possibility of harm for her cubs when they are preparing themselves under her training. For this, she walks up even to the road, which might have turned out dangerous for her. Secondly, the tigress knew well the tactics of hunting, and the benefits of watching, waiting, looking and listening before pouncing on her prey. This is the same she wants to teach her cubs.
Thirdly, the tigress is really patient, as she devotes over an hour with her cubs and tolerates their failures and repeated attempts until they can learn and inculcate. Lastly, the narrator’s observation also brings to fore the fact that the tigress is extremely protective and selfless, as she doesn’t partake of her cubs’ share of food, but sits there watching over them and protecting them.
(h) From a reading of the passage, it is clear that panthers do not face the risk of extinction because of a number of reasons. The first reason is that the female panther gives birth to four, sometimes even five cubs. Therefore, even though all cannot grow into mature panthers due to some adversity or another, there is always at least two cubs from one mother who grow to maturity.
Secondly, the small cubs are kept very safe and protected, often into hiding in the most impossible of places, including hollows of trees and among the rocks. This prevents their exploitation and killing which could have otherwise become a contributor to their extinction.
(i) (i) drifting
The word “drifting” in para 3 means the same as moving aimlessly. In the context of the passage, it is suggestive of the fact that the cubs are born blind so that they do not drift or move aimlessly away from the protective shelter chosen for them by their mother.
(ii) came down/fell (para F)
The word “descended” in para F of the passage means the same as “came down/fell”. The word has been used in the context of the paragraph to describe the time of dusk, when the sunset has brought about darkness - an ideal time for the tigress to teach her cubs in the seclusive environment. This is described as the ‘descending’ of darkness, and subsequently the night.
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