THE JAGUAR
Inhabits America. It is larger and more
powerful than the leopard, which it
resembles in color, but has a black streak
across the chest, and a black spot in the
center of the rosettes. It is fond of
climbing trees, and finds little difficulty in
ascending, even when the trunk is smooth
and destitute of branches. It chases
monkeys successfully, and is said to
watch for turtles on the beach, and to
scoop out their flesh by turning them on
their backs and inserting its paws between
the shells.
Nor does it confine its attention to the
turtles themselves, for it watches them lay
their eggs, and then scoops them out of
the sand with its claws. It often makes
fearful havoc among the sheepfolds, and is
said to depart so far from the usual habits
of the Felidoe as to enter the water after
fish, and to capture them in the shallows
by striking them out of the water with a
blow of its paw. There have been
instances of the domestic cat acting in the
same manner.
When it captures one of the larger animals,
it destroys it by leaping upon its back, and
twisting the head of its prey round, until
the neck is dislocated.
