92 PUMAS AND JAGUARS 



of the lakes. Here they feast — for a change, or when 

 nothing else is to he had — on fish, eggs, and even turtles, 

 which they scoop neatly out of their shells with a paw. 

 Sometimes they inhabit the islands scattered about the 

 great streams ; but when the rivers suddenly rise, and their 

 homes are flooded, and no food is to be had, they swim 

 on shore in search of it, and it is at these times the jaguar 

 becomes unusually dangerous, for, as a rule, it never 

 attacks man first. On one occasion, a half-starved jaguar 

 hid itself in a church at Santa Fe, and as the priest 

 entered to celebrate mass, it sprang out and gnawed 

 the poor man, till there was hardly a scrap of him left to 

 tell the tale. Then the murderer stole stealthily back to 

 its hiding-place, with its appetite still keen, waiting till 

 the second priest should come in and fall a victim, exactly 

 as the first had done. And even two priests would not 

 have made a meal for this hungry creature, but that 

 fortunately the third priest, whose ears were quick, heard 

 the sound of crunching through the open door, and 

 stopped outside in time. 



He rushed back and collected some men, but no one 

 could be found rash or daring enough to advance into 

 the church in order to shoot the monster. It was found 

 that the only safe way to get at it was to go up on the 

 roof of the church, and to lift off a part, so as to take aim 

 from a safe distance. 



When goaded by hunger, jaguars will eat tame 

 cattle and horses ; but they much prefer wild game, 

 which they kill in the same way as the puma, by dis- 

 locating the neck. If they are disturbed during a meal 

 they will hardly ever return to the half-eaten body, but 

 begin a fresh hunt — and in the level pampas of Argentina 

 and Patagonia, game is very plentiful and easily seen. 

 In the southern parts of Brazil man-eating jaguars are not 

 at all uncommon, and one will be heard (or seen) tracking 

 a party during a whole day, stopping when they stop, 

 and moving when they move. 



