39C THE JAGUAR. 



parts of the body with streaks and regular oblong spots of 

 black ; while the other is of a general black hue, and is con- 

 sidered the more savage of the two. It reaches a size which 

 may vie with the tigers of India, though it is often not much 

 larger than a wolf. It is frequently called the tiger or pan- 

 ther of the New World. The tail is not so long as the body. 

 In outward appearance it closely resembles the leopard, espe- 

 cially in its arborial habits, as by means of its powerful claws 

 it can with case spring up the trunk of a tree, and make its 

 way along the branches, ready to pounce down upon a foe. 

 Nearly every creature of the forests and arid plains over which 

 it roams, and many which frequent the margins of the rivers 

 and lakes, have to dread its voracious jaws. It will spring 

 from the bough, along which it lies crouching, on the back of 

 the thick-skinned tapir, which, with those powerful claws 

 clinging to its hide, dashes terror - stricken through the 

 thickets, endeavouring to shake off its foe. It will even fear- 

 lessly attack the alligator, in spite of the latter's enormous 

 jaws, — avoiding which, by its agility, it will tear open the 

 reptile's side, and devour it before life is extinct. It lies 

 watching from a projecting trunk for the huge manatee 

 swimming by, and grappling it with its claws, holds it fast 

 in the struggle for life and death, by degrees dragging the 

 vast body out of the water, and never letting go its grasp till 

 it has succeeded in capturing its prey. Turtles become its 

 easy victims. Watching for them as the)- crawl up the sandy 

 banks, it turns them helplessly over with its paws. The 

 capybara, or water-hog, seems born for the especial purpose of 

 serving it as food, enormous numbers of that big rodent 

 being devoured by it. Even active monkeys cannot escape 

 it. It will climb the trees and surprise them when sleeping; 



