Volume 1

The scrap-book of literary varieties ... / Embellished with seventy-three engravings by M.U. Sears. (N.S., Vol. I).

Date:
1831
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The scrap-book of literary varieties ... / Embellished with seventy-three engravings by M.U. Sears. (N.S., Vol. I). Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    No. 2.—NATURAL HISTORY.—The Leopard. The English name of the long tailed Felis; a beast of prey, with the spots on the back and sides round, the lower ones variegated ; it is a very nimble as well as fierce animal, so that scarcely any thing escapes it. Authors call the male Pardus and the female Panthera. This creature, when carefully examined is found to be very like a cat, particularly its head, teeth, tongue, feet, and claws; its actions also are all like a cats, it boxes with its fore feet as a cat does her kittens ; leaps at its prey as the cat does ; and will spit much in the same manner. All the Leopard kind, as they walk, keep the claws of their fore feet turned up from the ground and sheathed as it were in the skin of their toes, whereby they preserve them sharp for seizing their prey. Notwithstanding the natural fierceness of the Leopard, numbers of them are bred up tame, and kept for] the Great Cham of Tartary’s use for the hunting of deer and other beasts. They are most numerous in Africa. The Leopard of BufFon, has its hair of a lively yellow colour; is marked on the back and sides with small spots, disposed ki circles and pretty close, the face and legs are marked with single spots, the breast and belly are covered with longer hairs than the rest of the body, of a whitish colour; the spots on the tail are large and oblong. The length of this species, from nose to tail is somewhere about four feet and that of the tail itself about two feet and a half. This animal inhabits Senegal and Guinea, and spares neither man nor beast. The Panther destroys numbers of them : the negro women make collars of their teeth, to which they ascribe certain virtues. These animals are taken by the negroes in it falls, covered at the top with slight urdles, on which they place a bait of flesh. The flesh is white and well tasted and eaten by them. The skins are valu¬ able and brought to Europe. The hunting Leopard of India has a small head, with the tip of the nose black ; and from each corner of the mouth to that of the eye, a dusky line ; the ears are short and tawny, and marked with a brown line, or bar-; the face, chin, and throat, are of a pale yellowish brown ; the body of a light tawny brown, marked with many small round black spots ; the hair on the top of the neck is longer than the rest, that on the belly white and very long, the tail is longer than the body, of a reddish brown colour marked with large black spots. This animal is of the size of the Grey¬ hound, of a long make, narrow chest, and very long legs. It is tamed and trained for the chase of Antelopes which it over¬ takes by its rapidity. w. e. c.
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