CAT. 



737 



are in general almost confluent, while along the sides 

 they arrange in four nearly longitudinal rows. They 

 are often, however, mixed with transverse bars of a 

 paler colour, having some resemblance to the stripes 

 on the tiger. The upper part of the animal is in 

 general of a rich yellow colour, and the spots of an 

 intense black. The under part is white, marked with 

 regular spots and transverse bars of black. The skin 

 of this animal is indeed one of the most beautiful ot 

 the whole race, though there is probably less unifor- 

 mity in the markings than in those of any of the 

 others. No two individuals are marked exactly in 

 the same manner, and generally the two sides of the 

 same individual are differently marked. Different 

 individuals vary much in their colour, and some are 

 found with the spots obliterated, except a small ring 

 at the circumference, and a little dot in the centre ; on 

 the other hand, some have been found very dark 

 coloured, approaching to black. The following figure 

 expresses very accurately the character of this animal. 



Jaguar. 



From this figure, it will be seen that, but for the 

 markings, the jaguar has a very tiger-like appearance, 

 only it is lower on the legs, and the tail shorter and 

 thicker. The tail is very frequently borne with the 

 tip trailing on the ground, though, like the tails of all 

 the genus, it is capable of very considerable motion. 

 There are one or two varieties of the jaguar men- 

 tioned by writers on the zoology of South America, but 

 there seems to be no difference between them, excepting 

 in size and in colour, and, as is the case with the tiger 

 in the East, the larger specimens are met with in the 

 richest places. They are chiefly found in the thick 

 forests, near the banks of the great rivers, and seldom, 

 if ever, to the southward of Paraguay. They are so- 

 litary animals, or, at all events, they are found only 

 in pairs ; but it is not ascertained whether their 

 pairing is constant, like that of the lion, or only 

 temporary, as is the case with the tiger. Analogy 

 would, however, lead us to suppose that, as they agree 

 most with the tiger in appearance and in locality, they 

 also agree most with it in all their habits. 



As the jaguar is not quite so powerful an animal 

 as the tiger, and not nearly so active, even in propor- 

 lion to its strength, it is not in any situation so formi- 

 dable to human beings during the daylight; but, after 

 nightl'al, it is a dangerous animal, whether met with 

 in its native forests, or when, as it sometimes does, it 

 makes an inroad upon the remote settlements. Gene- 

 rally speaking, a fire or a light will keep it at a 

 distance ; but when it is very hungry, or otherwise 

 greatly excited, it is said to bid the same defiance to 

 these as the tiger does. 



NAT. HIST. Vol.. I. 



Its usual time for preying is during the night, or at 

 least when the sun is down, and it lies in wait to 

 attack, and springs upon the back of its prey. As 

 the largest native mammalia of that continent are but 

 of inconsiderable size, the jaguar finds them a very 

 easy conquest ; and since the introduction of cattle 

 and horses by Europeans, and the great multiplication 

 especially of the former, in a wild state, the jaguar 

 gets nobler game than peccaries, and game more, 

 obedient to his claws than armadilloes. The full- 

 grown bulls are as formidable to him as the buffaloes 

 are to the lion in southern Africa ; but the cows and 

 the young he readily masters ; and even the horse is 

 said to be a favourite prey with him. His method is 

 to lie in wait, and to spring, uttering a yell which, 

 though not very agreeable, is not so horrible as that 

 of the tiger, alighting on the shoulders of the larger 

 animals ; then, holding on with the hind feet, he 

 advances his fore paws, and, grasping across the 

 nostrils with the one, and the chin with the other, 

 closes the nose and mouth, and, straining his bodv 

 together at the same time, at once suffocates the 

 animal, and dislocates its neck. Though the march 

 of the jaguar is not very swift, and he is unable to 

 carry such a load, either in the teeth or across the 

 shoulder, as the tiger, yet he can drag the carcass of 

 a horse for a considerable distance, and even swim 

 with it across a river. 



The strength and the predatory disposition of the 

 jaguar make him a subject of great dislike in a country 

 where wild cattle form a considerable portion of the 

 wealth of the inhabitants, and therefore, among the 

 settlers in the vicinity of his haunts, the hunting of 

 him becomes an object of advantage, as well as of 

 glory. This is usually done by dogs not that they 

 can master this powerful animal, or are very fond of 

 going in upon him to make the attempt ; but he is 

 not so staunch as the lion, and especially the tiger, 

 for the dogs put him to flight, from which he does 

 not rally so as to act an offensive part. He is not 

 habitually a climber ; but if there be a sloping tree 

 within reach, he mounts into that, and is despatched 

 by spears or musket-shot, according as he is better 

 situated for the one or the other. Some of the native 

 tribes, too, are expert at despatching him with their 

 arrows, prepared with waurali poison, and delivered 

 from the bow or blown from the tube. When he 

 takes refuge in a hole of the earth, he is either 

 worked out, or the Indians tempt him with one hand 

 wrapped in a skin, while they spear him with the 

 other ; but this is an exploit which requires great 

 courage and presence of mind. As is the case with 

 the lion in southern Africa, and the tiger in most 

 parts of India, the jaguar is now nearly exterminated 

 irom all the settled parts of South America. 



THE PUMA (Fc/is concolor}. The puma is another 

 South American species. It is of an uniform dun 

 yellow colour when full grown, and has, on that 

 account, been sometimes called the American lion, 

 though it has few or none of the characters of the 

 lion, any farther than that both belong to the same 

 jerius, are of a uniform colour when adult, though 

 both have stripes when they are young. 



The general form and expression of the puma are 

 shown in the annexed figure, from which it will be 

 seen that there is much more of the common cat than 

 of the lion, especially in the head, neck, and tail of 

 this animal. 



Notwithstanding its cat-like aspect, the puma is an 

 3 H 



