708 



THE TROPICAL WORLD. 



from his troop, he is said to become the provider of the tiger, who, after having satiated 

 himself on the spoil, leaves the remains to his famished scout. 



The tiger, who on the declivities of the Himalaya tears to pieces the swift-footed 

 antelope, lacerates on the desert sand coasts of Java the tardy tortoise, when at night- 

 fall it leaves the sea to lay its eggs in the drift-sand at the foot of the dunes. Hun- 

 dreds of tortoise skeletons lie scattered about the strand, many of them five feet long 

 and three feet broad ; some bleached by time, others still fresh and bleeding. High in 

 the air a number of birds of prey wheel about, scared by the traveler's approach. 

 Here is the place where the turtles are attacked by the wild dogs. In packs of from 

 twenty to fifty, the growling rabble assails the poor sea animal at every accessible 

 point, gnaws and tugs at the feet and at the head, and succeeds by united eff'orts in 

 turning the huge creature upon its back. Then the abdominal scales are torn off, and 

 the ravenous dogs hold a bloody meal on the flesh, intestines, and eggs of their defence- 

 less prey. Semetimes, however, the turtle escapes their rage, and dragging its lacer- 

 ating tormentors along with it, succeeds in regaining the friendly sea. Nor do the 

 dogs always enjoy an undisturbed repast, often during the night, the lord of the wil- 

 derness, the royal tiger, bursts out of the forest, pauses for a moment, casts a glance 

 over the strand, approaches slowly, and then with one bound, accompanied by a ter- 

 rific roar, springs among the dogs, scattering the howling band like chaff before the 

 wind. And now is the tiger's turn to feast ; but even he, though rarely, is sometimes 

 disturbed by man. Thus on this lonely, melancholy coast, wild dogs and tigers wage 

 an unequal war with the inhabitants of the ocean. 



After the tiger and the lion, the Panther and the Leopard are the mightiest felidas 

 of the Old World. Although differently spotted — the ocelli or rounded marks on the 

 panther being larger and more distinctly formed — they are probably only varieties of 

 one and the same species, as many intermediate individuals have been observed. Both 

 animals are widely diffused through the tropical regions of the Old World, being na- 

 tives of Africa, Persia, China, India, and many of the Indian islands ; so that they 

 have a much more extensive range than either the tiger or the lion. The manner in 

 which they seize their prey, lurking near the sides of woods, and darting forward with 

 a sudden spring, resembles that of the tiger, and the chase of the panther is said to 

 be more dangerous than that of the lion, as it easily climbs the trees and pursues its 

 enemy upon the branches. 



The Cheetah, or hunting leopard (Gueparda juhata, guttata), whicb inhabits the 

 greater part of both Asia and Africa, exhibits in its form and habits a mixture of the 

 feline and canine tribes. Resembling the panther by its spotted skin, it is more ele- 

 vated on its legs and less flattened on the fore part of its head. Its brain is more 

 ample, and its claws touch the ground while walking, like those of the dog, which it 

 resembles still further by its mild and docile nature. In India and Persia, where the 

 cheetahs are employed in the chase, they are carried chained and hoodwinked to the 

 field in low cars. When the hunters come within view of a herd of antelopes, the 

 cheetah is liberated, and the game is pointed out to him : he does not, however, im- 

 mediately dash forward in pursuit, but steals along cautiously till he has nearly ap- 

 proached the herd unseen, when with a few rapid and vigorous bounds, he darts on 

 the timid game and strangles it almost instantaneously. Should he, however, fail in 



Jk. 



