The son of a wealthy Russian and a former Cossack cavalry commander under the Czar, the hunting-obsessed General Zaroff is the antagonist in the classic Richard Connell short story, "The Most Dangerous Game." Zaroff has hunted animals all over the world, and his fabulous display of mounted heads is the envy of his surprise guest, Sanger Rainsford. But the most cunning of all wild game no longer interests Zaroff.
"Hunting tigers ceased to interest me some years ago. I exhausted their possibilities, you see. No thrill left in tigers, no real danger. I live for danger, Mr. Rainsford."
"... hunting had ceased to be what you call 'a sporting proposition.' It had become too easy. I always got my quarry. Always. There is no greater bore than perfection."
He has become bored with hunting animals--his greatest love in life--and the "perfection" which he has achieved as a master hunter. He desires a still more challenging type of game.
"I wanted the ideal animal to hunt," explained the general. "So I said, 'What are the attributes of an ideal quarry?' And the answer was, of course, 'It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason.' "
"But no animal can reason," objected Rainsford.
"My dear fellow," said the general, "there is one that can."
"But you can't mean--" gasped Rainsford.
Yes, it was the most dangerous game of all--the human being.
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