OUNCES. 349 



example of the care with which the Indians observed the habits o 

 the animals, and the interest which is attached to preserving the 

 names given by them. The su9uarana has, in fact, the habit of 

 hiding its prey under an enormous heap of dry leaves, after having 

 eaten a portion of it, and returning to this provision when it is 

 again hungry. It is the only one of the large felidae of South 

 America which has this habit, of which I am surprised that 

 travellers have not spoken. . . . We will, therefore, preserve the 

 Indian name, so characteristic of its habits, by calling it Felts 

 suptarana" 



Captain Burton says,* in addition to what I have already 

 quoted, " There are four large varieties of these felidse : 



" i. Onca c.uc.uaranna or guc.urana (Mr. Bate's sassii-arana, or 

 the false deer), whence the barbarously corrupted ' Cougouar '- 

 derived through the ' Gouazouara ' of Azara. It is variously termed 

 Felis onga, or brasiliensis, or concolor, the last term being the best 

 name. It is one of the biggest. I have seen a brown-red skin 

 five feet eight inches long, not including the tail, yet it is the 

 least dangerous. The range of this puma, or red lion, appears to 

 extend throughout the tropical and temperate zones of the New 

 World. It is evidently the 'painter' (panther) of the United 

 States. 



" 2. Cangouassu or Cangassu, the largest variety, with smaller 

 rounded spots of a lighter colour, on a dark red-brown skin. 

 Prince Max. informs us that in Bahia it is applied to a small 

 animal whose pelage is marked with smaller black spots. 



" 3. Onga pintada (painted ounce), also called the jaguarete 

 (true or great eater). This ' Felis discolor ' is a beautiful animal, 

 especially when the white field of its maculae has a light pink blush. 

 ... It is the most dreaded ; it worries and destroys far more 

 than it needs, and, after gorging itself with the blood, it returns at 

 leisure to eat the flesh. 



" 4. The ' Tigre,' or Onga preta, is the black jaguar, a rare 

 animal now in Brazil, but still found, I am told, on the banks of 

 the Paraguay river." 



M. Liais gives an account of the jaguarete under the head of 



* Vol. ii. p. 21, note. 



