396 THE CARNIVORES 



In addition to dogs, which can, of course, be obtained only in the neighbor- 

 hood of villages, leopards prey largely upon the langurs and other monkeys which 

 haunt the rocky hills. Indeed, few animals come amiss in the way of food ; about 

 the largest which he is capable of killing being the sambar deer, or an Indian 

 bullock. 



In killing its prey, the leopard, writes Sir Samuel Baker, seizes by the throat, 

 and clings with tenacious claws to the animal's neck, until it succeeds either in 

 breaking the spine or in strangling the victim, should the bone resist its strength. 

 When the animal is dead, the leopard never attacks the hind-quarters first, accord- 

 ing to the custom of the tiger, but it tears the belly open and drags out all the 

 viscera, making its first meal upon the heart, lungs, liver, and inside generally. It 

 then retreats to some neighboring hiding place, and, if undisturbed, it will return 

 to its prey a little after sundown on the following day. Mr. H. Hunter remarks 

 that in Africa the leopard nearly always puts the remains of his " kill " up a tree, 

 probably for the purpose of protecting it from the attacks of hyaenas. On one occa- 

 sion the skeleton of a lesser kudu antelope was found in the fork of a branch, which 

 it was believed had been placed there by a leopard, and Mr. Hunter on several 

 occasions saw one of these animals descending from a tree. 



It has yet to be mentioned that the leopard does not display that marked 

 partiality for the neighborhood of water so characteristic of the tiger, many of its 

 haunts in the hills being in districts which are absolutely dry. On occasion, 

 however, it will take to the water as readily, and swim as well as a tiger. 

 Although usually found singly or in pairs, leopards, in Africa at least, may some- 

 times be found in parties comprising several full-grown individuals; probably, 

 however, these are all members of a single family. The leopard is a still more 

 silent animal than the tiger, seldom giving vent to any sound except when dis- 

 turbed or charging an enemy, when it utters a short roar. According to Captain 

 Baldwin, who is supported by Mr. Blanford, its real cry, which is but seldom heard, 

 is quite different from the roar of a tiger, and takes the form of a harsh noise, 

 something between a grunt and a cough, which is repeated three or four times. In 

 India the female leopard gives birth to its young in the spring, during the months 

 of February and March, two, three, or four cubs composing a litter. Young leop- 

 ards are said to be more difficult to tame than either lions or tigers, and the adult 

 when in captivity always displays an uncertain and morose disposition. 



With regard to leopard hunting, Sir Samuel Baker observes that " it is far more 

 difficult to circumvent a leopard than a tiger. The latter seldom or never looks up- 

 wards to the trees, therefore it does not perceive the hidden danger when the hunter 

 is watching from his elevated post ; but the leopard approaches his ' kill ' in the 

 most wary and cautious manner, crouching occasionally, and examining every yard 

 of the ground before it, at the same time scanning the overhanging boughs, which it 

 so frequently seeks as a place of refuge. Upon many occasions, when the disap- 

 pointed watcher imagines that the leopard has forsaken its ' kill ' and that his 

 patience will be unrewarded, the animal may be closely scanning him from the 

 dense bush, under cover of which it was noiselessly approaching. In such a case 

 the leopard would retreat as silently as it had advanced, and the watcher would 



