128 FLESH-EATERS OF THE LAND 



until they have exterminated the unwelcome visitor. At 

 any rate, there are not now two thousand Jaguar skins 

 exported annually from Buenos Ayres alone, as Humboldt 

 says was the case in his day, when he calculated that quite 

 four thousand Jaguars were killed in South America every 

 year. 



PUMA (Felts concolor). 

 Coloured Plate V. Fig. i. 



Few animals have been gifted with more names than 

 the Puma, which is the largest American cat next to 

 the jaguar. Sometimes it is called the Cougar, but it is 

 familiarly known by the names of Panther (corrupted into 

 Painter) and the Lion. The last mentioned name has 

 been given to it in consequence of the hue of its fur, 

 which much resembles that of a true lion, being of a 

 uniform dun. Hence the specific name, concolor, i.e., 

 uniformly coloured. In some cases the animal's coat 

 cannot fairly be described as dun, being more of a 

 cinnamon colour tinged with gold, while the belly and 

 chest are white. 



Being able to endure great variations of temperature, the 

 Puma has a wide range, extending from Montana to the 

 south of Patagonia. In the northern animals the fur shows 

 a marked seasonal change, being redder in tint in summer 

 and greyer in winter. Strangely enough, the fur does not 

 lengthen as a protection against the cold, as does that of 

 the tiger in Central Asia. 



The Puma is much smaller than any of the preceding 

 Felidae, its total length seldom exceeding six and a half 

 feet, its height at the shoulder being about twenty-five 

 inches. Considering its size, it is undoubtedly the boldest 

 and fiercest of the cats. In the south it will attack the 

 jaguar, from which it will snatch its still living prey ; and 

 in the north, with equal fierceness, it will overcome the 

 grizzly bear. 



In addition to preying upon deer, the capybara, viscacha, 

 the rhea or American ostrich, and many other wild 

 creatures, the South American Puma is a terrible scourge 



