276 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA VS 
CHAP. 
In India there are several varieties, and the 
largest is generally distinguished as a panther. 
There is no animal more commonly distributed in 
the world than the leopard, and no tropical country 
is free from this universal pest, unless an island 
formation has excluded its unwelcome presence. 
It is difficult to determine the limit in the grada¬ 
tion of size at which this animal merges from the 
leopard into the wild cat. The varieties of cats are 
so numerous that I do not pretend to describe 
them; some are of sufficient importance to be 
classed among the smaller leopards, while others are 
no larger than the ordinary domestic cat. These 
vary through every shade of feline colouring, from 
spots to stripes, or to a fulvous brown similar to the 
tawny coat of a lioness ; but, notwithstanding the 
difference in shades and spots, in cats and in the 
true leopard or panther the character is the same. 
They are all cunning, ferocious, and destructive, and 
I believe that far more cattle and goats are killed 
by leopards throughout the Indian Empire than by 
the usually accredited malefactor, the tiger. 
The largest and most beautifully marked of the 
leopards is the jaguar of South America. This is 
the size of a small tigress, and is more heavily 
framed than any of the leopards; the head is 
especially large, and the animal might almost be 
termed a spotted tiger. The rings are peculiarly 
marked, and waved instead of being circular. 
The cheetah or hunting leopard is a distinct 
species, and although classed among the leopards. 
