MAMMALIA— PANTHER. 189 



It must be observed, that it is very doubtful whether the panther has ever 

 yet been truly represented in any drawing. Temminck is of opinion that all 

 the nominal representations of panthers are really those of leopards. 



Major Denham, in his travels in Africa, furnishes us with the following 

 description : " During the latter part of the night, while riding on in front 

 with Maramy, the sheikh's negro, who had accompanied me from Kouka, 

 and who appeared to attach himself more closely to me as we approached 

 danger, we had started several animals of the leopard species, who ran from 

 us so swiftly, twisting their long tails in the air, as to prevent our getting 

 near them. We, however, now started one of a larger kind, which Maramy 

 assured me was so satiated with the blood of a negro, whose carcass we 

 found lying in the wood, that he would be easily killed. I rode up to the 

 spot just as a Shouaa had planted the first spear in him, which passed 

 through the neck, a little above the shoulder, and came down between the 

 animal's legs ; he rolled over, broke the spear, and bounded off with the 

 lower half in his body. Another Shouaa galloped up within two arms' 

 length, and thrust a second spear through his loins ; and the savage animal, 

 with a woful howl, was in the act of springing on his pursuer, when an 

 Arab shot him through the head with a ball, which killed him on the spot. 



"It was a male panther, (zazerma,) of a very large size, and measured, 

 from the point of the tail to the nose, eight feet two inches ; the skin was 

 yellow, and beautifully marked with orbicular spots on the upper part of 

 the body, while underneath, and at the thioat, the spots were oblong and 

 irregular, intermixed with white. These animals are found in great num- 

 bers in the woods bordering on Mandara ; there are also leopards, the skins 

 of which I saw, but not in great numbers. The panthers are as insidious 

 as they are cruel ; they will not attack any thing that is likely to make 

 resistance, but have been known to watch a child for hours, while near the 

 protection of huts or people. It will often spring on a grown person, male 

 or female, while carrying a burthen, but always from behind : the flesh of a 

 child or of a young kid it will sometimes devour ; but when any full groAvn 

 animal falls a prey to its ferocity, it sucks the blood alone." 



The following narrative of an encounter with a panther, which is copied 

 from the Library of Entertaining Knowledge, will abundantly prove the 

 formidable nature of the panther, even when the animal is not of its 

 largest size. 



"I was at Jaffna, at the northern extremity of the island of Ceylon, in the 

 beginning of the year 1819," says the writer, "when, one morning, my ser- 

 vant called me an hour or two before my usual time, with, 'Master, master! 

 people sent for master's dogs — tiger in the town !' Now, my dogs chanced 

 to be some very degenerate specimens of a fine species, called the Poligar 

 dog, which I should designate as a sort of wiry-haired greyhound, without 

 scent. I kept them to hunt jackals ; but tigers are very different things 

 By the way, there are no real tigers in Ceylon ; but leopards and panthers 



