THE JAGUAR. SSI 



Description. 



from the ridge of the back downwards. Animal* 

 of the leopard or panther kind have this differ- 

 ence, that those stripes are broken into spots, all 

 over the body, whereas in the tiger they are 

 stretched unbroken, and there is scarcely one 

 round spot on any part of the skin. 



The jaguarette is more rarely to be found near 

 the haunts of men than the jaguar. It is a still 

 more shy and cautious animal, preferring those 

 solitudes where it is less liable to the destructive 

 arts of mankind. 



The jaguar, as we have before observed, nearly 

 resembles the panther and leopard, except in the 

 disposition of its spots, and that its neck and 

 head are rather streaked than spotted ; it is also 

 said to be somewhat lower on its legs than the 

 leopard of Senegal. The principal distinction 

 used by Buffon is taken from the size of these 

 three quadrupeds; the first, he says, is usually 

 six feet, the second four, and the last about three 

 in length; however, it appears, from the parti- 

 cular subjects of his description, that the panther 

 in his possession 7 was not above three feet seven 

 inches long; that the leopard's skin, which he 

 describes, was about four; and that the jaguar, 

 at two years, was between two and three feet 

 long, which, when come to its full growth, 

 would, no doubt, be four feet in length, as well 

 as the two former. 



" From hence, therefore," says Goldsmith, 

 ** w.e may conclude, that the size in these animal* 



