400 THE CARNIVORES 



of the turtles which are so abundant on the Orinoco, and even to the turtles them- 

 selves, the flesh of which it scoops out with its paw from the shell. According to 

 Darwin, in similar districts its common prey is the capybara, and when this animal 

 is abundant, it seldom attacks any other. The mode of killing its prey is invariable. 

 Leaping to the back of the victim, the jaguar, by a rapid movement of the fore- 

 paws, twists its head round and breaks its neck. When the islands they usually 

 inhabit are flooded, as is frequently the case, jaguars resort to the mainland to 

 assuage their hunger, and are never so terrible as at such periods. There is a story 

 that one of these gaunt, famished creatures, finding the door of the church of St. F6 

 open, went into the building. Two priests entering one after the other were killed ; 

 and a third, forewarned by the sounds of crunching and growling, escaped by a 

 miracle. No one daring to go into the church to destroy the monster, a portion of 

 the roof was taken off, and a deadly bullet aimed at him through the breach. At 

 such times jaguars also prey largely upon cattle and horses. If driven from a 

 carcass they will seldom return to it, preferring to hunt down another animal. 

 When on the Amazon, Bates records how he once surprised a jaguar which 

 had just made a meal off an alligator, the only parts of the reptile which were left 

 unconsumed being the head, fore-quarters, and the solid bony armor. 



Referring to the habit of scoring the bark of trees with its claws, possessed by 

 the jaguar in common with other cats, Darwin observes that "one day when hunt- 

 ing on the Uruguay, I was shown certain trees to which these animals constantly 

 repair, for the purpose, it is said, of sharpening their claws. I saw three well- 

 known trees. In front the bark was worn smooth, as if by the breast of the 

 animal, and on each side there were deep scratches, or rather grooves, extending in 

 an oblique line, nearly a yard in length. The scars were of different ages. A 

 common method of ascertaining whether a jaguar is in the neighborhood, is by 

 examining these trees. I imagine that this habit of the jaguar is exactly similar to 

 that which may any day be seen in the common cat, as with outstretched legs and 

 extended claws it scrapes the leg of a chair. Some such habit must be common to 

 the puma, for on the bare, hard soil of Patagonia, I have frequently seen scars so 

 deep that no other animal could have made them. The object of this practice is, I 

 believe,- to tear off the ragged points of their claws, and not as the Guachos think, 

 to sharpen them." 



Like the other large cats, the jaguar takes to the water readily, and swims 

 well. Its cry, which cannot be correctly described as a roar, is loud, deep, and 

 hoarse, and has been compared to a series of repetitions of the syllables, pu, pu, pu. 

 From two to four cubs are produced at a birth, which takes place about the end of 

 the year. It is generally regarded as being of an utterly untamable disposition, 

 even when captured young. Lad}' Florence Dixie succeeded, however, in render- 

 ing one of these animals perfectly docile, and even affectionate. 



A peculiar animosity to the jaguar is displayed in the pampas by its near rela- 

 tive, the puma, Mr. Hudson observing that, "it is well known that where the two 

 species inhabit the same district they are at enmity, the puma being the persistent 

 persecutor of the jaguar, following and harassing it as a tyrant bird harasses an 

 eagle or hawk, moving about it with such rapidity as to confuse it, and when an 



