THE JAGUAR 399 



spots. Moreover, the rosettes are arranged in from seven to eight longitudinal 

 rows on each side of the body. The ground color of the fur is usually of a rich 

 tan, the same tint obtaining in the middle of the rosettes. There is, however, a 

 considerable amount of individual variation in the general color, and also in the ar- 

 rangement of the spots. Examples from the more southern portions of the ani- 

 mal's range are stated to tend to a more yellow hue, sometimes becoming almost 

 white ; while in the region of the Orinoco there is, according to Humboldt, a darker 

 variety, in which the dark brown fur is marked with scarcely distinguishable black 

 spots, and some individuals are completely black. A variety from Mexico is 

 characterized by the distance at which the small spots which ordinarily constitute 

 the rings are placed from one another, so that complete rings or rosettes of spots 

 only occasionally occur. 



The skull may be distinguished at a glance from that of any of the other large 

 cats by the presence of a well-marked tubercle near the middle of the inner side of 

 the socket of the eye or orbit. The total average length of the jaguar may be set 

 down at about six feet two inches, of which the tail occupies two feet one inch, 

 equal to about one-third the length of the head and body. A large example measured 

 by the naturalist Azara had, however, a total length of six feet nine inches, of 

 which the tail occupied two feet two inches ; while a still larger specimen is said to 

 have measured upwards of five feet from the tip of the nose to the root of the tail. 

 The range of the jaguar embraces the whole of the country lying between the north 

 of Mexico and Texas and the northern parts of Patagonia ; its southern limit coin- 

 ciding approximately with the fortieth parallel of south latitude. 



The jaguar is one of the most expert climbers among the larger cats ; and it is 

 stated by Humboldt, on the authority of the natives, that in certain districts of 

 South America, where the forests are subject to inundation, and the trees stand so 

 thickly that the passage from one to another is perfectly easy, the jaguar will some- 

 times take to an arboreal life, preying upon the troops of monkeys that inhabit the 

 forests. All writers are agreed as to its ferocious nature and likewise as to its 

 noisiness, Humboldt speaking very feelingly as to the loudness and frequency of 

 its cries ; but there is no record of its having attacked human beings without 

 provocation. 



Darwin states that in the forest districts of South America its favorite haunts 

 are the wooded banks of rivers and the reed-clad margins of lakes. And it ap- 

 pears that in general the neighborhood of water is as essential to its well-being as it 

 is to that of the tiger. But in the pampas of Argentina the jaguar inhabits a dis- 

 trict where water is scarce, and where trees are practically unknown ; and it is 

 evidently capable of modifying its habits to a considerable extent in accordance with 

 its surroundings. Writing of its occurrence in the pampas, Mr. W. H. Hudson, in 

 his charming work, The Naturalist in La Plata, observes that probably only an ex- 

 treme abundance of Mammalian prey, which has not existed in recent times, could 

 have tempted an animal of the habits of the jaguar to colonize this cold, treeless, 

 and comparatively waterless desert. 



In the well- watered districts it is stated that the jaguar will sometimes prey to 

 a considerable extent upon fish ; and Humboldt relates that it is partial to the eggs 



