234 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. XXII. 



Eagerness (Fig. 5. Plate B. — Eagerness). 



"When Felis pardus feels intensely eager as when it is stealthily 

 creeping towards its prey or crouching low with the intention of 

 springing on it, the attitude and expression again become charac- 

 teristic. It is not reasonable to infer that under these conditions 

 pure eagerness is alone manifest. It would be a matter of great 

 difficulty to conclude that, when an animal is about to seize 

 another for food and is probably anticipating a battle before that 

 food is obtained, no other emotion, such as hatred of, or anger 

 towards, the prey or subdued excitement at the prospect of an 

 expected struggle or fear as to the conseqiiences of that struggle is 

 not at the same moment influencing the mind of the animal and 

 converting what at first sight appears a simple emotion into one of 

 extreme complexity. Intense eagerness, however, must be a very 

 strong, if not the prevailing emotion under these conditions. If 

 the other emotions of fear, anger, hatred or excitement were 

 expressed in their unadulterated state, the sudden muscular move- 

 ments and alterations in countenance associated with them would 

 be in direct antagonism to the stealthy motion of the animal and 

 fatal to the success of the object in view. We may conclude that 

 if they are present, and no one can say that they are not present, 

 they must be kept in a state of suppression or subdual by a higher 

 and more powerful nervo^TS control. 



When intensely eager Felis pardus lowers its body completely to 

 the ground. The hind limbs are flexed beneath the trunk ready to 

 be instantaneously extended when the animal springs. The fore 

 limbs are stretched forwards and the head which is lowered on to 

 them is so fixed that the jaws rest on the dorsal surface of the feet 

 and the chin is firmly pressed on the ground between them. By 

 this depression of the head the apparent bulk of the animal is 

 diminished and this gives him a greater opportunity of reaching his 

 prey. The tail is curled, the ears are tilted forwards and the aural 

 aperture enlarged to catch the slightest sound. The eyes are fixed 

 and staring to note the gentlest movement. The mouth is tightly 

 shut so that the teeth are completely covered. There is no twitch- 

 ing of the muscles or alterations in the countenance. . The hair is 

 occasionally erected but not often. No vocal sounds are emitted. 

 The nostrils are slightly dilated and the whole body is absolutely 

 motionless and in a state of rigid muscular tension, while the face 

 expresses that earnest determination which at times must be so 

 necessary for the svTCcessful accomplishment of the animal's desires. 



Intense eagerness is also expressed when the animal is in motion 

 as when it is endeavouring to discover the whereabouts of its food ^ 

 or is creeping with stealth towards another animal. The general 

 attitude is precisely similar to that of an animal about to spring, but 

 the head and body are lowered less completely to the ground and 



