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I 
THE LEOPARD. 83 
than it is to Tigers ; and, as a rule, the former animals resort to 
hilly and more or less broken districts, especially when well- 
wooded; and, although in many parts of India and Africa 
numerous in such districts, they are, from their purely noc- 
turnal habits, but seldom seen. Occasionally, however, the 
traveller on a mountain-path, if accompanied by a Dog, may 
be surprised by the sudden dash of a Leopard in pursuit of 
his canine companion, Dogs being a favourite prey of these 
animals. Capable of hiding completely in a very small 
amount of cover, Leopards always attack very stealthily, with- 
out giving any warning of their proximity by preliminary 
growls ; but when once the attack is determined on, it is made 
with great suddenness and rapidity, and these animals are said 
to charge home more frequently than Tigers. Messrs. Nicolls 
and Eglington write that in South Africa, ‘except when hunt- 
ing in couples, it is unusual for them to attack the very large 
Antelopes, but they are extremely destructive to the smaller 
varieties, and the young of all, including the Giraffe. When 
pressed by extreme hunger, Man himself is not free from as- 
sault.” The victim is invariably seized by the throat. Domestic 
animals of the smaller kinds are terribly harried by Leopards, 
and from the ravages inflicted on the flocks of the settlers, 
these marauders have been pretty well exterminated from those 
districts of South Africa which have been long settled. A few 
still remain, however, in the hills and mountains of the Trans- 
vaal and Bechuanaland, while farther in the interior they are 
much more numerous. 
When wounded, a Leopard will fight to the last gasp; and on 
this account the animal is regarded as even more dangerous 
than the Lion. It is stated, however, that although more men 
are wounded by Leopards than by either Tigers or Lions, the 
fatalities caused by the former are less numerous than those 
due to the latter. 
