i833.] THE JAGUAR. 141 



was told that they frequented the reeds bordering lakes : 

 wherever they are, they seem to require water. Their 

 common prey is the capybara, so that it is generally said, 

 where capybaras are numerous there is little danger from 

 the jaguar. Falconer states that near the southern side of 

 the mouth of the Plata there are many jaguars, and that 

 they chiefly live on fish ; this account I have heard repeated. 

 On the Parana they have killed many wood-cutters, and 

 have even entered vessels at night. There is a man now 

 living in the Bajada, who, coming up from below when 

 it was dark, was seized on the deck ; he escaped, however, 

 with the loss of the use of one arm. When the floods drive 

 these animals from the islands, they are most dangerous. 

 I was told that a few years since a very large one found its 

 way into a church at St. F6 ; two padres, entering one after 

 the other, were killed, and a third,' who came to see what 

 was the matter, escaped with difficulty. The beast was 

 destroyed by being shot from a corner of the building which 

 was unroofed. They commit also at these times great 

 ravages among cattle and horses. It is said that they 

 kill their prey by breaking their necks. If driven from the 

 carcass they seldom return to it. The Gauchos say that 

 the jaguar, when wandering about at night, is much 

 tormented by the foxes yelping as they follow him. This 

 is a curious coincidence with the fact which is generally 

 affirmed of the jackals accompanying in a similarly officious 

 manner, the East Indian tiger. The jaguar is a noisy 

 animal, roaring much by night, and especially before bad 

 weather. 



One day, when hunting on the banks of the Uruguay, I 

 was shown certain trees to which these animals constantly 

 recur for the purpose, as it is said, of sharpening their 

 claws. I saw three well-known trees ; in front, the bark 

 was worn smooth, as if by the breast of the animal, and on 

 each side there were deep scratches, or rather grooves, 

 extending in an oblique line, nearly a yard in length. The 

 scars were of diff"erent ages. A common method of 

 ascertaining whether a jaguar is in the neighbourhood is 

 to examine these trees. I imagine this habit of the jaguar 

 is exactly similar to one which may any day be seen in the 

 common cat, as with outstretched legs and exserted claws 

 it scrapes the leg of a chair ; and I have heard of young 

 fruit trees in an orchard in England having been thus 

 much injured. Some such habit must also be common to 



