The Leopard 



since, when approaching a " kill," it is stated to invari- 

 ably scan the boughs above, whereas a tiger only does 

 this when it has learnt caution from having been fired 

 at from above on a previous occasion. It has been 

 already mentioned that whereas a tiger commences its 

 meal by tearing at the hind-quarters of its victim, a 

 leopard begins operations on the fore -quarters and 

 viscera. 



Leopards are on the prowl for prey throughout 

 the night, dogs being their favourite victims in the 

 neighbourhood of human habitations, while, as already 

 stated, in many forest-districts they subsist chiefly on 

 monkeys. When a leopard takes to man-eating, it is 

 even more to be dreaded than a tiger with similar 

 propensities, since it will frequently not hesitate to 

 burst through the frail walls of native huts and seize 

 the inhabitants as they lie asleep. Colonel Pollok 

 states that in certain portions of the Nizam's dominions 

 the average deaths from man-eating leopards reached 

 one per diem^ while in others it was as many as two 

 daily. Even shikaris posted on platforms {rnachans') in 

 trees have been carried off by the stealthy approach 

 trom behind of the very animals for which they were 

 lying in wait. 



In many parts of India the favourite haunts of 

 leopards are rocky, scrub-clad hills, containing numerous 

 clefts and caverns, in which they make their lairs. 

 Water is less essential to their well-being than is the 

 case with the tiger, and they are not unfrequently 

 found in completely dry districts in India, while in 

 Somaliland they commonly dwell in such situations. 

 In India, at any rate, leopards are generally found in 

 pairs, and the cubs are born during February or March, 

 the number in a litter being usually from two to four, 

 although Colonel Pollok states that he has heard of as 

 many as seven. In leopard-cubs the spotting is much 

 less distinct than in the adult, and the general colour 

 brownish ; this being precisely the reverse of what 



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