HISTORY OF THE JAGUAR 117 



is about five years before they attain their full 

 growth. The splendid male jaguar named 

 "Senor Lopez" was presented to the New York 

 Zoological Park in 1901 ; he was full grown when 

 he arrived, so at the present writing he must be 

 at least the age of seventeen. I would judge 

 from this, and from what I have gathered from 

 other sources, that, barring accident, their expec- 

 tation of life is about twenty years. 



Both the jaguar and puma frequently occupy 

 the same range, and there seems to be a decided 

 enmity between them; though the puma is con- 

 sidered less formidable and less daring, it is, 

 nevertheless, the persistent persecutor of the 

 jaguar. 



Like all animals with retractable claws, they 

 delight in sharpening them, as it is called, but it 

 is not for this purpose that it rears up and claws 

 the bark on either side of a tree trunk. The 

 object of this practice is to tear off the ragged 

 ends and to cleanse them, and not for the pur- 

 pose of sharpening them, as is generally sup- 

 posed. Some assert that each animal has an 

 especial tree to which he repairs for the purpose, 

 and a common method of ascertaining if a jag- 

 uar is in the neighborhood is to examine the 

 trunks of the trees. 



