332 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTEAL INDIA. 



varieties, not distinct species. In English he calls the 

 larger the panther and the smaller the leopard, and it 

 will be well if sportsmen will avoid future confusion by- 

 adopting this appropriate nomenclature. The points of 

 difference between the two varieties of F. Pardus he 

 states to be the larger size of the panther, which reaches 

 in line specimens seven feet eleven inches in length 

 from nose to tip of tail, the leopard not exceeding five 

 feet six inches ; the lighter colour, and taller and more 

 slender figure of the panther, and the rounder, more 

 bulldog-like head of the leopard. 



In my early sporting days I fell into the mistake of 

 most sportsmen in supposing that the panther might be 

 hunted on foot with less caution than the tiger. On 

 two or three occasions I nearly paid dearly for the 

 error ; and I now believe that the panther is really by 

 far a more dangerous animal to attack than the tiger. 

 He is, in the first place, far more courageous. For 

 though he will generally sneak away unobserved as long 

 as he can, if once brought to close quarters he will 

 rarely fail to charge with the utmost ferocity, fighting 

 to the very last. He is also much more active than the 

 tiger, making immense springs clear off the ground, 

 which the tiger seldom does. He can conceal himself 

 in the most wonderful way, his spotted hide blending 

 with the ground, and his lithe loose form being com- 

 pressible into an inconceivably small space. Further, 

 he is so much less in depth and stoutness than the 

 tiger, and moves so much quicker, that he is far more 

 difiicult to hit in a vital place. He can climb trees, 

 which the tiger cannot do except for a short distance up 

 a thick sloping trunk. A few years ago a panther thus 

 took a sportsman out of a high perch on a tree in the 

 Chindwara district. And lastly, his powers of offence 



