40 PANTHERS. 



and the above classification can leave no doubt as to the 



nature of the animal indicated. The hunting leopard 



frequents open country such as rumnahs (large meadow or 



pasture lands) and is a comparatively rare animal. I have 



occasionally seen them when stalking antelope, their 



natural prey, but have never fired at one, they run like 



lightning for 250 yards or so, no animal can touch them 



in speed for this distance ; and they are tamed and trained 



to catch antelope, by the nobles of Hyderabad (Deccan), 



and native chieftains in other parts of India. The 



black panther is only to be found in hilly ground, at 



elevations of not less than 3000 feet. I have never shot 



one, although chances occasionally occurred of doing so in 



the hills of Southern and Western India. The first I 



ever saw was on the Baba Booden hills, in Mysore. We 



were beating for a tiger at the time, and I saw what was 



apparently one of the large black monkeys of the hills 



coming over some rocks in my front not forty yards off. As 



these monkeys were old acquaintances I did not examine 



my friend closely, and only discovered what he was, as he 



dashed past into a thick patch of jungle, giving me 110 



time to fire, which I would certainly have done, even at 



the risk of losing the tiger, had his identity been earlier 



known. The panther and cheetah frequent rocky ground, 



cairns, heaps of boulders, and sometimes shady nullahs, in 



the neighbourhood of villages as a rule, where they can 



pick up pariah dogs, goats, different sorts of young cattle, 



and an occasional child. They are frequently found in 



such places in the open country, far from anv jungle. 



They are very partial to pork, and porcupine flesh, and 



manage to catch considerable numbers of peafowl and 



monkeys, so their bill of fare is an extensive one. At 



Secunderabad, in the Deccan, they were given to plundering 



