1 88 Wild Beasts 



and others vouch for the truth of this, and there is nothing 

 intrinsically improbable in the statement that an animal so 

 large, so powerful, and so formidably armed with claws 

 which are more effective than those of the jaguar in every 

 way, might be able to cling to its enemy long enough to 

 inflict mortal wounds. When attacked by a tiger, the ant- 

 bear turns upon his back and uses his talons with deadly 

 effect. It is said that both parties in such an engagement 

 are apt to perish. The jaguar cannot disengage himself, 

 and the ant-eater dies under the fangs of his adversary. 



Those qualities which this creature exhibits in procuring 

 food — the varied styles of attack and modes of destruction 

 it makes use of — entitle the American tiger to be consid- 

 ered as among the first of the whole group of beasts of 

 prey. But there is little doubt that some things are attrib- 

 uted to him through that admiration and reverence he 

 excites in the aborigines, which are without foundation. 

 It is said, for instance, that jaguars mimic the cries of 

 many animals, and thus beguile them within their reach. 

 Of those creatures upon which jaguars prey most con- 

 stantly, however, a number only call at certain seasons, 

 others are practically voiceless, and some, as monkeys in 

 general, are not to be deluded in this manner. 



Priests, naturalists, and geographers, whose special pur- 

 suits occupied them fully, have chiefly written of the jaguar's 

 provinces ; so that the strong light which is cast upon the 

 character and habits of wild beasts by narratives of the 

 chase, is almost entirely wanting. J. W. Wells ("Three 

 Thousand Miles through Brazil ") says, speaking of hunt- 

 ing jaguars with dogs, what the author knows to be true ; 



