236 FOUB-FOOTED AMEBICANS 



very slowly. The only wonder is that there are so 

 many left, for they are not long-lived animals, seldom 

 living more than fifteen years." 



" Didn't they eat a great many people ? " asked Dodo. 



" No, like the Wolves they dread firearms and seldom 

 or never attack man in spite of all the wonderfnl stories 

 yon will hear to the contrary. The greatest harm they 

 did was to kill food animals npon which man depended. 

 Deer, young Elk, and also calves, they destroyed easily, 

 as well as sheep and pigs, and they have been known 

 to capture, kill, and drag away to a private feeding spot 

 a beast almost twice their own size. The Puma has one 

 good quality, — it is not a wasteful feeder, never taking 

 new prey while it has a supply of food on hand. 



" It is as a hunter that the Puma shows the most in- 

 telligence. He is a fair hunter, watching signs, Avait- 

 ing until he can get to windward of his prey, then 

 creeping slowly upon it and preparing for the spring, 

 as the human hunter stalks and waits for the right 

 moment to shoot. It is upon his Avonderful leap that 

 the Puma depends for his success ; he is too heavy of 

 paw and too short of breath to be a fast runner. He 

 may trust to one, two, or three springs to catch up with 

 his flying prey, then if he does not overtake it he 

 does not follow it further. It is this lack of speed 

 which allows dogs and men afoot to drive him to cover, 

 though of course he has the advantage of being able to 

 cross chasms on logs and to descend steeps by means of 

 trees. Young Deer are perhaps the Puma's favorite 

 food, though he does not despise any animal food, and 

 often makes a meal of that four-legged cactus, the 

 Porcupine. Do you remember how Wolves trapped 



