MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 69 
“The distance that a panther can pass over in a single leap 
is almost incredible. On level a Single spring of twenty feetis 
by no means uncommon, and on one occasion Mr. Sheppard 
measured a leap over snow of nearly forty feet. In this in- 
stance there were three preliminary springs, and the panther 
struck his deer on the fourth. The longest leap measured by 
Mr. Sheppard was one of sixty feet, but here the panther 
jumped from a ledge of rocks about twenty feet above the level 
upon which the deer was standing. He struck it with such 
force as to knock it nearly a rod farther off. 
Under certain conditions of the deep snows the deer cut in 
so deeply that the poor animals can make but slow progress. 
At such times a panther, by spreading the toes of his great 
broad paws, simulates a man on snow-shoes and sinks but a 
short distance in the snow. He thus gains a vital advantage 
over his prey, and will now give chase to and capture one that 
he missed on his first spring. Under no other circumstances 
will a panther pursue a deer, for he is too well aware of the 
uselessness of an attempt to overtake so fleet an animal. Im- 
mediately upon killing one he drags it bodily into some dense 
thicket or windfall, where he will not be likely to be observed. 
He has thus been known to drag a full-grown deer consider- 
ably over a hundred feet before reaching a satisfactory covert. 
Unlike the wolf, he makes the most of his prey and devours 
it all before killing another. One deer generally lasts a 
panther a week or ten days, and during that time he may usu- 
ally be found within a mile of the carcass, hidden under some 
log or uprooted tree. Sometimes, but very rarely, does he 
partially bury it, after each meal, by scraping leaves and 
brush over it. When all but enough for one or two meals has 
been eaten, the panther, especially if a female with young, 
will often make another hunt, but, if unsuccessful, returns to 
the remains of the old carcass.”’ 
At the risk of repeating the substance of a previous part of 
this chapter we quote from Merriam’s above mentioned work 
remarks upon | 
Some Common Fallacies Concerning Panthers. 
1st. Concerning the alleged fierceness of the panther. 
. “Hiven many very respectable works upon Natural History 
contain the most detailed and heart-rending accounts of the 
loss of human life by the brutal attacks of these ferocious 
beasts. * * * The illustrious Audubon, in his great work 
