62 THE WONDERS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



says Dr. Shaw, has a great resemblance to the leopard (he should have said the panther), as they 

 resemble each other in their spots, but in other respects they are somewhat dissimilar, the skin being 

 of a darker fulvous colour, and of a coarser texture ; nor in their nature are they so ferocious. 



We further find in a passage of Albert, and which has been commented upon by Gesner, that the 

 Phet or Fhed of the Arabians, is called, in Italian, and some other European languages, Leanza or 

 Lonza. No doubt therefore can exist that the lesser panther of Oppian, the Phet or Fhed of the 

 Arabians ; the Faadh of the natives of Barbary, and the ounce of the Europeans, is the same animal. 

 There is also a great probability that it is also the Pard or Pardus of the ancients, and the Panthera 

 of Pliny ; and that subsequently the larger panther was called leopardus, because it was supposed to be 

 a mongrel production which had arisen by a fortuitous intercourse with the lion. 



Another striking difference between the ounce and the panther is the rotundity of its form — the 

 former is generally plump, sleek, and fat ; whilst the latter is bony, meagre, and the texture of the 

 hair is coarse and stiff. The colour of the skin also differs a little in the two animals ; but in this 

 respect, the distinction between the leopard is more striking ; the colour of the latter animal is much 

 brighter, the spots are not so deep nor so large, and they are in general so disposed in groupes, as if 

 each of the spots were formed by a union of four others. 



Pliny and many other subsequent writers have affirmed that, in the panther species, the skin of the 

 female is whiter than that of the male ; and this may indeed be true in regard to the ounce, but this 

 difference has not been perceptible in the different panthers which have come under our own obser- 

 vation ; and even if there were some difference between the colour of the skin of the male and female 

 panther, as observed by Pliny, it does not follow that such difference is universal, or that it can be 

 considered as an invariable characteristic of the two animals. It must be admitted that darker and 

 lighter shades in the skins of these animals have been frequently observed; but we believe that this 

 difference results more from the age of the animal, and the peculiar nature of the climate, than from 

 any distinction of the sexes. 



The black leopard resembles the common one in all the habits of life. It lurks in ambush amongst 

 bushes or verdure on the borders of the forest, and springs with a sudden and tremendous leap on 

 such animals as pass by. So prompt, so rapid, and so well timed are his movements, that few escape. 

 In vain may the wretched victim seek refuge in the trees ; the leopard, notwithstanding the size and 

 weight of his body, still pursues with an agility which seems almost incredible, and then despatched 

 his victim. His thirst for blood is insatiable, and his ferocity is such, that even when subjugated, and 

 in the power of man, he seems rather to be subdued than tamed. 



The mode adopted to destroy the leopard is usually as follows : A bait, consisting of a piece of flesh, 

 is suspended on a tree, in the immediate neighbourhood of which the hunter has previously erected a 

 hut for his own concealment. The smell of the flesh attracts the animal to the spot, and whilst he is 

 in the act of seizing it, the hunter shoots him with an aim so correct as almost always to wound him 

 mortally. On the following day, and not before, he ventures to issue from his hiding place, and by 

 means of a dog trained for the purpose, tracks the animal to his retreat. If he be still alive, the dog 

 inevitably falls a sacrifice to his rage, and his cries give warning to the hunter to retreat from similar 

 danger ; but if he be dead, which most commonly is the case, the man seizes upon his prize unmolested. 

 In Asia the leopard is found in the mountains of Caucasus, from Persia to India, and also in 

 China, where it is called poupe. The Buckharian traders, who often bring their skins to Russia, call 

 them bars. 



In regard to the black leopard, as an individual species, it may be generally said to differ from the 

 common species only in its colour, and even when the dusky hair of the animal now under our consi- 

 deration is turned aside, the hair beneath appears to have a tinge of the fulvous colour of the common 

 leopard. 



