VIII 
THE LEOPARD 
293 
high; the neck is long, the head small, the eyes 
large and piercing; the legs are long, and the body 
light. The tail is extremely long, and thick ; this 
appears to assist it when turning sharply at full 
speed. The black spots upon the skin are very 
numerous, and are simply small dots of extreme 
black, without a resemblance of rings. It is 
generally admitted that the hunting leopard is 
the fastest animal in the world, as it can overtake 
upon open ground the well-known black-buck, 
which surpasses in speed the highest bred English 
greyhound. I have never had experience of this 
animal in a wild state; those I have known were as 
gentle as dogs. . It is a common mistake to suppose 
that they invariably approach their game by a 
stealthy stalk, followed by a few tremendous bounds, 
only to slink back if disgraced by defeat. I have 
seen them run a long course in the open, exactly like 
a greyhound, although the pace and action have 
resembled the long swinging gallop of a monkey. 
The nature of this beautiful creature is entirely 
opposed to the cat-like crouching tactics of the 
ordinary leopard: its large and prominent eyes 
embrace a wide field of view; the length of neck 
and legs, combined with the erect attitude of the 
head, denotes the character of the animal, as it in¬ 
cludes a vast distance in its gaze, showing that it 
seeks its game upon a wide expanse of plain, instead 
of surprising the prey by an unexpected and 
treacherous attack. This is the only species that 
is a useful companion to man when engaged in field 
