THE LEOPARD. 2IQ 



boar. It will be some time before I can have another shy at 

 tigers, and probably my elephant is ruined, as no huttie can 

 face a tiger again after such a mauling. His trunk was 

 bitten through in a dozen places." 



THE LEOPARD. {Felts pardus.) 



The leopard, or as he is often called in Southern India, 

 the cheeta from the native word chita, is a most beautiful 

 animal to look at. Some naturalists assert that we have two 

 species of leopards independent of the true cheeta, in India ; 

 the panther, and the tree leopard : for my part I never could 

 tell the difference, which I believe is chiefly in the size, the 

 larger leopard being sometimes almost as large as a tigress. 

 McMaster agrees in this and believes that there is only one 

 species, and that varieties in colour, shape, and size, are 

 accidental or caused by climate or diet. 1 The leopard is a 

 very formidable animal to meet ; from being much bolder and 

 more active than the tiger he is exceedingly dangerous, and 

 although he cannot kill with one blow as the tiger does, I 

 have known several instances where lives have been lost or 

 persons very fearfully mauled by leopards. Sir James 

 Outram who was as great a sportsman as he was a soldier, 

 told me that he would sooner any day face a tiger than a 

 leopard. 



The leopards are often found up among the branches of 

 trees, and they run about them with the activity of a squirrel. 

 They are very fond of preying on the large black monkey, 



1 Blandford (Fauna of British India) makes only one species Felis 

 pardus, the Leopard or Panther. 



