" KILLS " BY CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS. 317 



displayed and lay down, a magnificent sight. Tired of the position he 

 turned over and faced our malchans. There were still, to our minds, 

 two very important observations to make, and the fear of being seen 

 was, at this time, considerable. 



At 7 p.m., however, quietly getting up (that is after a rest of 

 ten minutes, after killing, during which time the breathing of the 

 panther shewed that he had been suffering from the great heat 

 of the day), he strolled to the " kill." Ho seized it by the 

 throat — dropped it — seized it by the back — dropped it — again seized it 

 by the throat and tried to walk off, dragging the carcase between the 

 fore legs. The goat had been tied in the rational way, by the hind leg, 

 to an iron peg, by a double rope about two feet in length, well hidden 

 by thorns. This rope hell firm. Seeing that it was useless to try and 

 drag, the panther now sniffed the posterior of the goat and deliberately 

 turning the hind leg over so as to get the goat almost on its back, 

 started to eat at the pelvis. I regret that this time was not recorded, 

 as my wife got too interested and forgot to make the note. 



It was not till 7-7 p.m. in the uncertain light that Mr. M. took his 

 shot and missed. The beast had been in full view, at this time, for forty- 

 one minutes, and I have now to record the fact that that panther was 

 at that kill again at 7-12 p.m. The moon though giving a splendid 

 light was somewhat low down, with the result that the kill was in deep 

 shadow. Accurate shooting was out of the question, so with the aid of 

 a powerfid pair of binoculars I watched the panther feed till 7-40 p.m. 

 All the time while feeding at the hind quarters the panther kept on the 

 alert. He took a mouthful, looked up, listened and then went at it 

 again. Just as the moon would have given us a fair shot he got up and 

 walked away. Mr. M. saw him go to the water close at hand, 

 drink, spring over the stream, and disappear. 



The points established may now be summed up as follows : — 



(1) The process of " killing" takes time, although the animal 

 is apparently insensible from the first. 



(2) Strangulation — not dislocation of the vertebras — is the 

 direct cause of death. 



(3) There is an instinctive desire to drag the carcase away. 



(4) The position occupied by the carcase when being dragged 

 is evidently between the two front legs, and 



(5) The point at which a panther starts to feed is evidently at 

 the pelvis. 



