Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-02-14
A JAGUAR KID.
The Only Young Jaguar Ever Born
in America in Confinement Now at
the Zoo
Cincinnati Enquirer.


About half-past nine o'clock on
Christmas eve, as Col. Thompson, the
superintendent of the Geological gar
den, satin his library, just off from
the carnivora hall, reading Miss
Catharine'C. Hopley's book on snakes
which, by the by. is the finest ever
written on the subject, he heard a
squeal, sharp, quick, catlike-not a
prolonged howl, such as the hyena
gives when the feeder goes by with a
pan O.. bloody meat, nor grunt such
as the graceful baby hippopotamus
emlts when he comes out of the briny
waves of his marble tank, but a
shriu, sharp squeal. The carnivora
hall was dark; most of the animals
slept the sleep of the just. He hastily
struck match and held it to the ia
guar's cage, for he was expecting an
arrival, and the old mother came
againstthe bars tike a hundred pound
weight, her eyes flashing fire and her
teeth gnashing fury.
That settles it, " he thought to him
self, and, blowing out the light,
quietly retired.
HOW HE KEPT THE SECRET.
It was not until the meeting of the
directors the other day that the Colo
mel told even the directors the secret.
Then after the meeting was over he
let the feline out of the bag. Lester
Taylor jumped four feet. Mr.. Laist
smiled all over; for the young jaguar,
now four weeks old to a day, is the
only one ever born in confinement in
America. The reason of the COlonels
secrecy was that the mother is very
nervous and excitable, and the least
disturbance or noise about her cage
would endanger the life of the little
fellow In other words, she would
eat him up, crush him between her
long and ferocious-looking teeth. It
was most fortunate that the affair oc-
Cured when it did, as there are few
people visiting the Zoo Had it trans
pired in the summer-season, the mean
est, worst dispositioned animal at the
garden would have speedily made
breakfast of her only heir.
HOW He LOOKS.
Yesterday at o'clock the lady la
guar came to the front of the cage
with the little fellow in her mouth,
holding him not as cat does a kitten
by the nape of the neck. but with it's
back between it's teeth. "Hush.
hush," said the Colenel, and not even
whisper was uttered or motion
made by the two ladies and few gen
tlemen who sat opposite the cage.
Proudly she walked around the cage
with the little fellow in her mouth,
and at last laid down with him inside
an old dry goods box that served as
her bed. This the mother had nearly
eaten up, two buckets of fine splin ters
having already been carried out of the
cage. 1t is singular fact that she
will allow nobody near her cage, not
even her keeper, except a small boy,
to whom she takes kindly; but he even
withdraws when the mother shows
the least sign of nervousness. The
food has not been changed, she feed
ing upon raw meat as usual. The ia
guars generally have three at litter,
consequently this solitary has all the
necessary milk food he requires, and
is as fat as a butter-ball, and moves
along sometimes after his mother as
slow as a snail, or Shakespeare's
school-boy in the ''Seven Ages" He
looks something like tired cat, is
about foot long, has the spots and
marks of the mother, though not so
bright.
Of all the animals at the garden the
jaguar is beyond all doubt the most
vicious. He is a sort of overgrown
cat and in his native state does not
know what fear is. AS a general
thing he attacks young deer, sheep,
calves and colts, generally perching
on some vantage ground and spring
ing upon his prey. He will lay over
the water OF quiet stream and pounce
upon a horse which comes to drink,
fasten his sharp claws into his back
and eat out his very entrails. In Chill
he will even attack men. Sometimes
he kills his victims by jumping on
their shoulders and drawing back
their head until their neck is disloca-
ted. He is a swift and dexterous
climber, yet is frequently captured
with the lasso or driven to trees and
then shot. He is a cunning animal
He is found 10 quantities IN Brazil,
and there in the virgin forests he can
be seen silent and immovable on one
of the lower branches Of venerable
tree. A deer comes trotting through
the underbrush to slack his thirst at
the babbling stream. He comes near
the spot where as silent as midnight
turks the deadly foe. The jaguar's
eyes dllate; they shine like red-hot
Goals; his ears are thrown back; he
crouches closer and closer on the sup
porting branch. Nearer comes the
little, confding, graceful deer, and
every limb Of the enemy quivers with
excltement-every muscle is stiffened
preparatory to the final spring. At
last, with a fierce, exultant yell that
causes the timid deer to tremble like
an aspen, he pounces upon his prey,
selzes him by the back of his neck,
breaks the spine at a single blow, so
that he falls dead upon the ground
The laguar then sucks the blood, and
at his leisure proceeds TO drag the car
cass away. He makes terrible havoc
among the horses of the Pampas, and