MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 69 



"The distance that a panther can pass over in a single leap 

 is almost incredible. On level a single spring of twenty feet is 

 by no means uncommon, and on one occasion Mr. Sheppard 

 measured a leap over snow of nearly forty feet. In this in- 

 stance there were three preliminary springs, and the panther 

 struck his deer on the fourth. The longest leap measured by 

 Mr. Sheppard was one of sixty feet, but here the panther 

 jumped from a ledge of rocks about twenty feet above the level 

 upon which the deer was standing. He struck it with such 

 force as to knock it nearly a rod farther off. 



Under certain conditions of the deep snows the deer cut in 

 so deeply that the poor animals can make but slow progress. 

 At such times a panther, by spreading the toes of his great 

 broad paws, simulates a man on snow-shoes and sinks but a 

 short distance in the snow. He thus gains a vital advantage 

 over his prey, and will now give chase to and capture one that 

 he missed on his first spring. Under no other circumstances 

 will a panther pursue a deer, for he is too well aware of the 

 uselessness of an attempt to overtake so fleet. an animal. Im- 

 mediately upon killing one he drags it bodily into some dense 

 thicket or windfall, where he will not be likely to be observed. 

 He has thus been known to drag a full-grown deer consider- 

 ably over a hundred feet before reaching a satisfactory covert. 

 Unlike the wolf, he makes the most of his prey and devours 

 it all before killing another. One deer generally lasts a 

 panther a week or ten days, and during that time he may usu- 

 ally be found within a mile of the carcass, hidden under some 

 log or uprooted tree. Sometimes, but very rarely, does he 

 partially bury it, after each meal, by scraping leaves and 

 brush over it. When all but enough for one or two meals has 

 been eaten, the panther, especially if a female with young, 

 will often make another hunt, but, if unsuccessful, returns to 

 the remains of the old carcass." 



At the risk of repeating the substance of a previous part of 

 this chapter we quote from Merriam's above mentioned work 

 remarks upon 



Some Common Fallacies Concerning Panthers. 



1st. Concerning the alleged fierceness of the panther. 



"Even many very respectable works upon Natural History 

 contain the most detailed and heart-rending accounts of the 

 loss of human life by the brutal attacks of these ferocious 

 beasts. * * * The illustrious Audubon, in his great work 



