190 ■ Wild Beasts 



Some travellers describe it as a deep, hoarse, rapid repeti- 

 tion of the syllables pa-pa; and Brown, referring to the 

 calls of two jaguars he heard on the Berbice River, thought 

 their "low, deep tones," which "made the air quiver and 

 vibrate, . . . had a grand sound, with a true, noble ring 

 in it." The writer never detected anything like a " ring " 

 in it ; on the contrary, the ordinary intonation is markedly 

 flat, like that of the panther's and tiger's ordinary cry. A 

 jaguar can roar, however, and often does so with violence : 

 under all modulations his tones convey the impression of 

 great power. 



The question how far jaguars hunt by scent, and how 

 far by sight, could not probably be answered, both senses 

 being constantly employed. T. P. Bigg-Withers relates 

 that one of them trailed him " all day waiting for a favor- 

 able opportunity " to attack, and that a Botocudo Indian 

 was finally seized, but escaped with some comparatively 

 trifling injuries. This pursuit was carried on no doubt 

 chiefly by scent, although the animal had been seen 

 more than once. Major Leveson ("Sport in Many 

 Lands ") makes a statement in connection with shooting 

 from machans to the effect that elevated positions are 

 favorable to the sportsman because wild beasts "never 

 look up." He excepts leopards, it is true, but the fact is 

 that all Felidee, leaving out lions and tigers, which are too 

 heavy and large to climb, use their eyes in every direction, 

 and in prowling for food through forests, scrutinize the 

 trees where their prey is often found, as closely as they do 

 surrounding jungle and open spaces. Those natives who 

 live among tigers on this continent do not at all events 



