THE LEOPARD 



round on the branch and vanished from sight. On 

 another occasion, when studying birds in their 

 native haunts, I came face to face with another 

 leopard which was also lying stretched full length 

 along a branch about ten feet from the ground. 

 When its eyes and mine met I stood immovable, 

 as, having no weapon other than a stout stick, I 

 reckoned it to be a safer plan than to retreat, as I 

 felt if my earthly career was about to end I might 

 as well have a whack with my cudgel at my slayer. 

 Although within a few paces of the leopard it made 

 no attempt to retreat. I could not detect the 

 slightest movement, not even the wihking of an 

 eye. Those great yellow eyes staring down into 

 mine were rather disconcerting. Under such cir- 

 cumstances it is impossible to reckon time, for every 

 second seems an age. Suddenly I flourished my 

 stick and shouted, whereupon the leopard, as on 

 the previous occasion, wheeled round like a pivot 

 on the branch, ran to the root of it, sprang lightly 

 to the ground, and bounded off into the scrub. 



The leopard's mission in life is to check many 

 species of animals and birds from overbreeding and 

 upsetting the balance of Nature. We are far too 

 apt to condemn carnivorous animals as cunning, 

 low, bloodthirsty creatures to be killed at sight, 

 and congratulate ourselyes on having done an ex- 

 cellent deed. True, the larger carnivora cannot 

 be permitted to exist in the proximity of man, for 

 the reason that they become a pest to him ; but 



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