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| Waiting to pounce |
The Jaguar takes the place of the tiger in the South American tropics. In habits, however, it is more like the Eastern leopard. It is not as large as the tiger, but it is much heavier and more powerful than the panther.
There are many instances on record where jaguars have been tamed. A captain in the British navy had a two-year-old jaguar that would eat from his hand, and was allowed to roam the ship at large. In spite of its size, it was as playful as a kitten, and was never better pleased than to find someone with whom to have a game of romps As time wore on, the romps became rather dangerous, owing to the jaguar not understanding what a frail playfellow a man was. This animal afterward lived many years in England.
The jaguar roams through the jungles from Paraguay to the Equator, and nothing seems too large or too powerful for it to attack. It will kill anything from a horse down to a lizard.
Jaguars swim well, and are very fond of fish. They lie on a branch over-hanging a stream, and watch till a luckless fish swims within reach of their deadly paws. The favorite food of the jaguar is the flesh of the monkeys that swarm in the forests. The easiest time to catch monkeys is at night. The jaguar climbs into the trees and stealthily prowls among the branches. Suddenly, the stillness of the night is broken by the fierce roar of the jaguar and the terrified yells of the monkeys, showing that it has found a sleeping colony. When the jaguar attacks a large animal, such as a deer, it springs upon its back and grasping the head with its powerful paw, dislocates its neck with a single wrench.
When the jaguar wishes to cross a river it resorts to a very clever trick to get the alligators out of its way. It takes up a position on the bank and begins to howl. The alligators hearing the noise come swimming up to listen. When the jaguar sees that they have arrived, he sneaks off and swims the river lower down in safety. This trick is played over and over again and yet the alligators never seem to understand it.
The jaguar is a very suspicious and cautious animal, and will never make an open attack on man or beast. Should a party of hunters travel through the forest, it will follow their steps for days together, in the hopes of picking up a straggler.
In the early days of settling countries inhabited by the jaguar, it was found almost impossible to keep anything alive in the way of stock. Since then the jaguar has been forced back into the dense, trackless forest by man.
There are many instances on record where jaguars have been tamed. A captain in the British navy had a two-year-old jaguar that would eat from his hand, and was allowed to roam the ship at large. In spite of its size, it was as playful as a kitten, and was never better pleased than to find someone with whom to have a game of romps As time wore on, the romps became rather dangerous, owing to the jaguar not understanding what a frail playfellow a man was. This animal afterward lived many years in England.
The jaguar roams through the jungles from Paraguay to the Equator, and nothing seems too large or too powerful for it to attack. It will kill anything from a horse down to a lizard.
Jaguars swim well, and are very fond of fish. They lie on a branch over-hanging a stream, and watch till a luckless fish swims within reach of their deadly paws. The favorite food of the jaguar is the flesh of the monkeys that swarm in the forests. The easiest time to catch monkeys is at night. The jaguar climbs into the trees and stealthily prowls among the branches. Suddenly, the stillness of the night is broken by the fierce roar of the jaguar and the terrified yells of the monkeys, showing that it has found a sleeping colony. When the jaguar attacks a large animal, such as a deer, it springs upon its back and grasping the head with its powerful paw, dislocates its neck with a single wrench.
When the jaguar wishes to cross a river it resorts to a very clever trick to get the alligators out of its way. It takes up a position on the bank and begins to howl. The alligators hearing the noise come swimming up to listen. When the jaguar sees that they have arrived, he sneaks off and swims the river lower down in safety. This trick is played over and over again and yet the alligators never seem to understand it.
The jaguar is a very suspicious and cautious animal, and will never make an open attack on man or beast. Should a party of hunters travel through the forest, it will follow their steps for days together, in the hopes of picking up a straggler.
In the early days of settling countries inhabited by the jaguar, it was found almost impossible to keep anything alive in the way of stock. Since then the jaguar has been forced back into the dense, trackless forest by man.
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