NATURAL HISTORY. 295 



pard. The ground of his colour, like that of the lat- 

 ler, is of a bright yellow, and not grey like that of 

 the ounce ; his tail is shorter than that of either of 

 those animals ; his hair is longer than the panther's, 

 but shorter than that of the ounce ; it is frizzled 

 while he is young, but smooth and strait when he is 

 full grown. 



The jaguar lives by prey like the tiger; but a light- 

 ed brand will put him to flight, will deprive him of 

 all courage and vivacity. He seems to partake of 

 the indolence arising from the nature of the climate ; 

 nor does he discover any activity or alertness, unless 

 when pressed by hunger. 



Almost all the authors who have written the history 

 of the New World, have mentioned this animal; some 

 under the name of tiger or leopard, others under the 

 names which it bears at Brazil, Mexico, &c. They 

 also speak of another animal of the same genus, and 

 perhaps indeed of the same species, under the name of 

 Jaguarct, which we have distinguished from the jaguar 

 in our enumeration. Whether they are two distinct 

 species, however, or only varieties of the same species, 

 I cannot positively affirm, having seen only one of 

 the two kinds. 



The jaguar is found in Brazil, in Paraguay, in 

 Tucuman, in Guiana, in the country of the Amazons, 

 in Mexico, and in all parts of South America. The 

 jaguaret appears to have been always more rare, or 

 at least this creature has always inhabited such places 

 as are more distant from the haunts of men ; and the 

 few travellers who have mentioned it, have only 

 drawn their accounts from those of Marcgravius and 

 Piso. 



