THE LEOPARD 



eating leopards are unknown, but in India many- 

 instances are recorded. 



Unlike most other animals, the leopard has no 

 instinctive dread of dogs, for throughout India it 

 has the reputation of swooping down whenever a 

 chance presents itself, by night and by day, and 

 carrying off dogs from the very presence of their 

 owners. 



In South Africa this trait is not so pronounced, 

 although it is a fairly common occurrence for the 

 dogs of natives, and even those of European hunters, 

 to be carried off in the night and devoured. 



A pointer dog belonging to a friend was carried 

 off one night by a leopard. We had only extin- 

 guished the light in the lantern about five minutes, 

 and were composing ourselves to rest under a 

 tarpaulin-covered wagon, when we were startled 

 into alertness by the sharp terrified bark of a dog, 

 followed by a succession of abject yelps, and lastly 

 a muffled squall. The other dogs, yelping in the 

 extremity of their terror, dashed into our presence 

 and crouched on our blankets. Lighting the 

 lantern and seizing our weapons we cautiously 

 sallied forth, and presently discovered splashes of 

 blood on the ground and herbage, and also the spoor 

 of a leopard. 



A gentleman living at Siussi, in German East 

 Africa, has recently written the following interest- 

 ing account of a battle between a python and a 

 leopard : "I was sitting at breakfast with one of 



VOL. i 129 9 



