THE LEOPARD 



at a long, narrow, canal-like pool in forest not far from 

 Topawewa. I was in a tree stage as usual, and waiting 

 for bear, when suddenly, from a point out of my sight, 

 about thirty or more yards to my left, I heard a fearful 

 and agonising shriek, followed by the " pad-pad " of a 

 leopard bounding away, each bound accentuated by more 

 dreadful shrieks and cries, gradually dwindling away into 

 distance as the leopard cleared off with its prey. I never 

 knew what the animal thus pounced on was, as we could 

 not find the track of it next morning, and my natives could 

 not put a name to it. All I know is that the cries sounded 

 dreadfully human, and the effect in that dark jungle was 

 most weird. 



A leopard is fond of taking up a position in a tree 

 overhanging a game path, especially one which connects 

 one small " park " with another, and I remember once 

 when Wright and I were out together, he and his tracker 

 were entering the jungle just ahead of me, when I heard a 

 heavy thump and crash in the undergrowth just ahead of 

 them, and, running up, was told that a leopard had sprung 

 down from a tree just as they were passing under it, bolting 

 away through the undergrowth. 



Still another rather peculiar experience once happened 

 to me when on a camping trip in deer country. 



Towards evening, on one occasion, accompanied by a 

 friend, but having no tracker with us, we were returning 

 towards camp after a stroll round when we heard a leopard 

 roaring some distance ahead, and almost at once we heard 

 also the alarm calls of a lot of deer from the same direction. 



I told my friend we should probably be able to get 

 a shot at the deer, as they would be so fully occupied 

 by the leopard alarm as to hardly notice us, and that is 

 just what did happen. 



257 R 



