T1IE JAGUAR. 
179 
ties and their eggs. Humboldt says, ‘ We 
were shown many shells of the turtle 
emptied by the jaguars. These animals 
follow the turtles to the beach when the 
laying of the eggs is about to take place. 
They surprise them on the sand, and, in 
order to devour them at their ease, turn 
them in such a manner that the under shell 
is uppermost. In this situation the turtle 
cannot rise; and, as the jaguar turns many 
more than he can eat in one night, the In¬ 
dians often avail themselves of his cunning 
and malignant avidity. When we reflect 
upon the difficulty the naturalist has in 
getting at the body without separating the 
upper and under shells, we cannot enough 
admire the suppleness of the tiger’s paw, 
which empties the double armour of the 
turtle as though the adhering parts had 
been cut by means of a surgical instrument. 
The jaguar pursues the turtle quite into the 
water when not very deep : it digs up the 
eggs, and is one of the most cruel enemies 
of the young turtle when lately hatched. 
It pursues the monkeys to the tops of the 
tallest trees; for it is much more expert in 
climbing than the leopard. The great herds 
