68 WILD ANIMALS. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE JAGUAE AND THE PUMA. 



Both these animals are inliabitants of the New World. The 

 JAGTTAE (Felis on(^a), frequently called tlie American tiger, and 

 by some the American panther, is one of the largest animals of 

 the feline group, and is by far the biggest, most powerful, and 

 dangerous representative of the purely carnivorous animals in 

 America : in fact, if it were not for the grizzly bear, it would 

 reign there without a peer and without a rival. It is larger 

 than the leopard, to which it bears a physical resemblance that is 

 very striking, being hardly inferior in size to the smaller varieties 

 of the tiger. Humboldt -^ met one in his travels that surpassed in 

 size any Bengal tiger he had ever seen in the museums of Europe. 

 It is a rather clumsily^built cat, lacking some of that grace and 

 suppleness which is so characteristic of the Felid^. It has a . 

 large but short head, with a somewhat prominent forehead, thick 

 massive body, and short robust limbs; while the tail does not 

 taper to the point, but is of equal thickness throughout, and 

 hardly long enough to touch the ground when the animal is 

 standing erect on its four feet. Jaguars vary in size and colour 

 considerably. Generally a full-grown animal will measure be- 

 tween four and five feet from the nose to the root of the tail, 

 but a very large specimen measured in total length six feet nine 

 inches, the tail being two feet two inches long. 



Mr. Bennet, in " The Tower Menagerie," says : " On the whole 

 upper surface of the body of the jaguar the fur, which is short, 

 close, and smooth, is of a bright yellowish-fawn, passing on the 

 throat, belly, and inside of the legs into a pure white. On this 



' "Voyage aux Eegions Equinoxiales du Nouveau Continent fait en 1799 — 1804," 

 par Baron F. H. A. von Humboldt. 



