THE SERVAL. 



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eggs under a slight covering of earth, there to be warmed into being by the genial 

 rays of the sun, the Jaguar springs upon the creature as it is slowly making its way to 

 its familiar element, and with a quick and adroit movement of the paws, turns the turtle 

 on its back. There the poor reptile lies, helpless, and waiting until its captor is pleased 

 to consummate his work by killing and eating the animal which he has thus ingeniously 

 intercepted. The Jaguar needs no saw to cut through the bony shell, nor lever to 

 separate the upper from the lower portion, nor knife to sever the flesh from the bones, 

 for his paw stands him in the stead of these artificial instruments, and serves his pur- 

 pose right well. Tearing away as much as possible of the softer parts that lie by the 

 tail, the Jaguar inserts his supple paw, armed with its sharp talons, and scoops out, as 

 neatly as if cut by knives, the flesh together with the vital organs of the devoted chelonian. 

 The difficulty of this task can only be rightly appreciated by those who have under- 

 taken a similar task, and have achieved the feat of removing the interior of a tortoise 

 or turtle without separating the upper and under shells. 



The eggs of the turtle are nearly as important to the Jaguar as is the flesh of the 

 mother turtle herself. After inverting the maternal turtle, the Jaguar will leave her 

 in her impotent position, and going to the shore, coolly scoop out and devour the soft 

 leather-covered eggs which she had deposited in the sandy beach in vain hopes of 

 their seasonable development by the warm sunbeams. 



Birds are simply struck down by a single blow of the Jaguar's ready paw ; and so 

 quick are his movements, that, even if a bird has risen upon the wing, he can often 

 make one of his wonderful bounds, and with a light, quick stroke, arrest the winged 

 prey before it has had time to soar beyond his reach. As to the fish, the Jaguar 

 watches for them at the water side, and as soon as an unfortunate fish happens to 

 swim within reach of the spotted foe, a nimble paw, with outstretched talons, is sud- 

 denly thrust forth, and the fish swept out of the water upon dry land. 



The Jaguar is quite as suspicious and cautious an animal as any of the Old World 

 felidae, and never will make an open attack upon man or beast. Should a solitary 

 animal pass within reach, the Jaguar hesitates not in pouncing upon it ; but if a herd 

 of animals, or a party of men, should be travelling together, the Jaguar becomes very 

 cautious, and will dog their steps for many miles, in hopes of securing one of the party 

 in the act of straggling. If the Jaguar should be very hungry indeed, and unable to 

 wait patiently, it will yet temper audacity with caution, and though it will, under that 

 urgent necessity seize one out of the number, it will always choose that individual 

 which is hindermost, hoping to escape with its prey before the companions can come 

 to the rescue. A Jaguar has been known to follow the track of travellers for days 

 together, only daring to show itself at rare intervals. 



In the countries where the Jaguar most abounds, many tales are rife respecting the 

 strength, agility, and audacity of this fierce animal. When the earlier settlers fixed 

 their rough wooden huts in the recesses of the American forests, the Jaguar was one 

 of their most persistent and relentless foes. Did they set up a poultry-yard, the Ja- 

 guar tore open the hen-roosts, and ate the fowls. Did they fill their stables with horses, 

 the Jaguar broke their necks, and did his best to carry the heavy carcasses to his 

 forest-home. Did they establish a piggery, the Jaguar snapped up sow and litter ; 

 and in fine, it was hardly possible to secure their live stock so effectually that it could 

 not be reached by this ravenous beast. The only resource was to kill the Jaguar him- 

 self, and so to put an effectual stop to his depredations. But there are many Jaguars 

 in a district ; and for a term of years, the toil of ridding the country of these fierce 

 marauders was a most arduous one. However, perseverance and indomitable courage 

 gained the day at last, and the Jaguars were forced to retire from the habitations of 

 men, and hide themselves in the thick uncultivated forest land. 



The SERVAL, or " Bosch-katte," /. e. " Bush-cat," as it is appropriately termed by the 

 Dutch colonists of the Cape, is an inhabitant of Southern Africa. It is a very pretty 

 animal both with regard to the color of its fur and the elegant contour of its body. 

 The short, puffy tail, however, rather detracts from the general effect of the living 

 animal. On account of the bold variegations of the Serval's fur, its skin is in great 

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