The yaguar 193 



offal, that betrays the jaguar's presence when he, usually a 

 noisy animal, has cause to be quiet. 



It is singular that a creature so noteworthy, and one 

 so frequently mentioned, should remain so imperfectly 

 known in many important particulars relating to its 

 natural history, habits, and character. Dr. Carpenter 

 (" Zoology ") remarks that it "may be regarded as the 

 panther of America," and many traits which favor this 

 likeness have been given. It remains to say, however, 

 that while zoologists express themselves in guarded terms 

 with respect to species of Felis onca, and the natives dis- 

 criminate half a dozen among the spotted kind alone ; while 

 Liais describes *' Ic Jaguar noir" as "a third species," and 

 Azara (" Descripcion y Historia del Paraguay") writes of 

 a yellowish-white variety as a fourth specific form, the 

 black jaguar, in all probability, only adds another to the 

 many resemblances that liken this beast to the panther. 

 Black or dark-brown cubs have not, as in the case of 

 Felis pardiis, been found, so far as the writer knows, in 

 one litter with those marked with spots ; but there is 

 reason to believe that they occur in this manner. 



Two cubs are born together as a rule, although, as hap- 

 pens with other species of this family, the average number 

 is sometimes exceeded. Of the young jaguar's first essays 

 in life very little is known. Whether its father takes part 

 in the whelp's education, as a lion does, or is on the con- 

 trary a destroyer of his male offspring, like the tiger ; 

 how long parental care continues, and in fact all details 

 relating to its period of infancy, remain obscure. If one 

 inquires about these matters from natives, they entertain 



