THE JAGUAR. 65 



the Leopard of Asia. Though ferocious in his wild state, he 

 is amenable to civilizing influences and becomes mild and 

 tame in captivity. He is an excellent swimmer and an expert 

 climber, ascending to the tops of high branchless trees by 

 fixing his claws in the trunks. It is said that he can hunt 

 in the trees almost as well as he can upon the ground, and 

 that hence he becomes a formidable enemy to the monkeys. 

 He is also a clever fisherman, his method being that of 

 dropping saliva on to the surface of the water, and upon the 

 approach of a fish, by a dexterous stroke of his paw knock- 

 ing it out of the water on to the bank. D'Azara, says: " He 

 is a very ferocious animal causing great destruction among 

 horses and asses. He is extremely fond of eggs, and goes to 

 the shores frequented by turtles, and digs their eggs out of 

 the sand." 



The strength The strength of the Jaguar is very great, and 

 of the Jaguar. as he can climb, swim, and leap a great distance, 

 he is almost equally formidable in three elements. He is said 

 to attack the alligator and to banquet with evident relish off 

 his victim. D'Azara says that on one occasion he found a 

 Jaguar feasting upon a horse which it had killed. The Jaguar 

 fled at his approach, whereupon he had the body of the 

 horse dragged to within a musket shot of a tree in which he 

 purposed watching for the Jaguar's return. While temporarily 

 absent he left a man to keep watch, and while he was away the 

 jaguar reappeared from the opposite side of a river which was 

 both deep and broad. Having crossed the river the animal 

 approached, and seizing the body of the horse with his teeth 

 dragged it some sixty paces to the water side, plunged in 

 with it, swam across the river, pulled it out upon the other 

 side, and carried it into a neighbouring wood. 

 A Ni?ht ofj Mrs. Bowdich tells a story of two early settlers 

 Horror. fa the Western States of America, a man and 

 his wife, who closed their wooden hut, and went to pay a 

 visit at a distance, leaving a freshly-killed piece of venison 



5 



