MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE LEOPARD. 43 



" Leopards frequent the vicinity of pasture-lands in quest of the Deer and other peaceful animals 

 which resort to them ; and the villagers often complain of the destruction of their cattle by these 

 formidable marauders. In relation to them the natives have a curious but firm conviction that 

 when a Bullock is killed by a Leopard, and, in expiring, falls so that its right side is undermost, 

 the Leopard will not return .to devour it. I have been told by English sportsmen (some of whom 

 share in the popular belief), that sometimes, when they have proposed to watch by the carcase of 

 a Bullock recently killed by a Leopard, in the hope of shooting the spoiler on his return in search 

 of his prey, the native owner of the slaughtered animal, though earnestly desiring to be avenged, 

 has assured them that it would be in vain, as, the beast having fallen 011 its right side, the Leopard 

 would not return. 



" The Singhalese hunt them for the sake of their extremely beautiful skins, but prefer taking 

 them in traps and pitfalls, and occasionally in spring cages formed of poles driven firmly into the 

 ground, within which a Kid is generally fastened as a bait, the door being held open by a sapling 

 bent down by the united force of several men, and so arranged as to act as a spring, to which a noose 

 is ingeniously attached, formed of plaited Deer's hide. The cries of the Kid attract the Leopard, 

 which, being tempted to enter, is enclosed by the liberation of the spring, and grasped firmly round 

 the body by the noose."* 



There is a Scottish adage which says that " Hawks will not peck out hawks' een ; " but the Leopard, 

 a Carnivore, has a confirmed liking for the flesh of the flesh-eating Dog. This fact has been observed 

 by a writer who states that the Leopard has quite a mania for that sort of diet, and will not hesitate 

 to penetrate into a tent at night in quest of his favourite game. 



There is a rather curious habit of the Leopards which we have observed at the Zoological Gardens, 

 though whether it holds good with all Leopards we are not prepared to say, never having seen the 

 circumstance mentioned. The Lion and Tiger, when devouring their reeking bones at their four o'clock 

 dinner, at Regent's Park, lie down at full length, and hold the meat between their foi'e-paws, in 

 this way steadying it while they take their tremendous bites. The Leopards, on the other hand, do 

 not lie down, but squat on their haunches, the fore-legs being kept almost vertical, and the head, of 

 course, correspondingly bent down to reach the food. The paws are rarely used to steady the piece of 

 meat, and only, in fact, when the beast comes across a particularly fractious morsel which he finds it 

 impossible to manage with his teeth alone. For this reason, a Leopard in the act of feeding is a far more 

 awkward-looking beast than the Lion or Tiger, both of which hold their food in quite a civilised way. 



In connection with the Leopard's mode of feeding, we may mention a curious tale about its diet. 

 There can be little doubt that it is a mere "yarn," or rather a piece of folk-lore, but still it is 

 interesting, especially when we think of the many tales of clay-eating men : " The natives [of Ceylon] 

 assert that it devours the kaolin clay, called by them kirl mattee, in a very peculiar way. They say 

 that the Cheetah [Leopard] places it in lumps beside him, and then gazes intently on the sun, 

 till, on turning his eyes on the clay, every piece appears of a red colour like flesh, when he instantly 

 devours it." 



As a rule, the Leopard seems to be far more cowardly than the Lion or Tiger. Jules Gerard, the 

 Lion-killer, holds the beast in the greatest contempt for its pusillanimity. Still, it often shows a good 

 deal of pluck, chiefly, however, when in want of food. As to this matter, the actual experience of 

 those who have observed the animal in its native land will convey a truer idea than any summing 

 up of its good and bad points. " One night I was suddenly awoke by a furious barking of our 

 Dogs, accompanied by cries of distress. Suspecting that some beast of prey had seized upon one of 

 them, I leaped, undressed, out of my bed, and, gun in hand, hurried to the spot whence the cries 

 proceeded. The night was pitchy dark, however, and I could distinguish nothing ; yet, in the hope of 

 frightening the intruder away, I shouted at the top of my voice. In a few moments a torch was 

 lighted, and we then discovered the marks of a Leopard, and also large patches of blood. On counting 

 the Dogs, I found that ' Summer,' the best and fleetest of our kennel, was missing. As it was in vain 

 that I called and searched for him, I concluded that the Tiger [Leopard] had carried him away ; and, 

 as nothing further could be done that night, I again retired to rest ; but the fate of the poor animal 



* Sir James Emerson Tennent, " Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon." 



