ABSTRACT
What do we actually mean by ‘wild’ when we talk about wild animals? The term carries an extraordinary range of senses and associations.
The most obvious characteristic of a wild animal is, traditionally, its being dangerous or fierce. This can of course be the case. To meet a tiger in the wild face to face could be a terrifying experience, though opinions differ on how actually dangerous it might be. Jean Delacour (1966:122) describes how he nearly stepped on a tiger which quickly bounded away, but adds that he was in no real danger. On the other hand, a recent birdwatcher in Corbett Park had a similar experience and was killed, and many people are killed by tigers annually (Hamlyn 1987).
