The Leopard and Panther 161 



until the animal is forced into this temporary cage. 

 Bamboo crosspieces are then slipped under and secured, 

 and very shortly he is en route. If the destination be a 

 zoological park or menagerie, it is said that the beast will 

 live longer and develop physically more completely in 

 captivity than it would in a state of freedom. This is, 

 to say the least, doubtful. Much might be advanced upon 

 the subject, but biological discussions are out of place 

 here, and it is enough to point out the fact that this opin- 

 ion must be purely arbitrary, since no vital statistics exist 

 from* which such a conclusion could be legitimately 

 drawn. 



Returning to the subject of traps, they are not always 

 constructed alike. Besides excavations there are en- 

 closures that must be entered intentionally or not at all. 

 These are made by driving palisades deep in the earth, 

 roofing them, and cutting a sliding door in the side. It is 

 connected with the bait by a string in such a manner as to 

 drop when this is touched. Tigers are seldom taken in by 

 these inventions, but the panther is frequently caught, es- 

 pecially if a live animal be placed in the trap. How he 

 reasons upon the unusual circumstances then presented we 

 do not know. Perhaps there is little or no deliberation upon 

 what he ought to do, and the brute merely acts in obe- 

 dience to its immediate impulses. But if we examine the 

 behavior of panthers that go into villages to kill men, in 

 all instances of this kind the animal's conduct is marked 

 by a union of skill and daring with cunning and circum- 

 spection. What makes him lose his prudence in face of a 

 trap ? Except himself, there is not a great cat in Asia 



