St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-05-29
syndicate. and of this committee he is a
THE JAGUAR.
He Is King in the Great Forests
of South America.

He Is King in the Great Forests
of South America.
st. Nicholas.
We measured the iaguar-an old male
before taking off the skin; five feet
and seven inches from nose to root of
tail; the tail added would bring the
total length to nearly eight feet. This
was a good deal above the average.
though | have skins quite six feet long,
not including the tail. The body
weighed, l suppose, not less than 800
pounds. This was the variety or species
called cangussu by the hunters of the
Matto Crosse; on the Amazon is the
uriauars. or dog-jaguar. All over.
South America three kinds OF
jaguars are distinguished; natural
lists regard them se varieties; butt con-
TESS l am inclined to side with the hunt
ers, who laugh at the idea that these
three are the same. The cangussu-the
kind Bert had SHOTS confined to the
higher lands, never straying over the
great swamps of the Amazon and Para
quay. The ground color is pale, taWny,,
almost white at times. and is lrregulauy
covered with small black spots, when
tend to run in stripes along the BACK.
Besides having longer legs and tail, IL
is altogether a more slender animal
than the onca pintada. called by the
Amazon Indians yOuarete-pacora-soro
roca, or "iaguar Of the wild plantain,
because it frequents SWampy places
where that plant grows.
This is the common jaguar OF the
great river plains, though also seen oc-
casionally On the highlands. 1t has
deep, tawny coat, with large black spots
so arranged that they form little circles
or ''roses" on the side, but sometimes
run into stripes on the back. The onca
pintada often attacks alligat0rs and tur-
ties. and it lives largely on fish. There
is curious story about the Jaguar'S
fishing, which many travellers have told,
though most diScredit it. l have heard
it from reliable wOodsmen, who say they
have watched the whole performance;
and, for myself, can see nothing IN
credible in it. The jaguar. it is said,
lies CD projecting log and strikes the
water gently with its tail; certain fruit
eating fish, as pacu, come to the sound.
imagining that fruit has dropped into
the water, and the jaguar scoops them
out with his paw. That these fish follow
sound ] know. for l have often caught
pacus with palm-nut bait, dropping it
gently on the surface of the water two
or three times; the fish, attracted by the
noise, soon appear. and even leap after
the fruit as trout leap to a fly. This is
the common method Of pacu-fiShing on
the Paraguay, and very good sport 1t is.
The oncas pintadas swim well, as
can attest, | have seen one swimming
across the River Cuyaba where 1t is
quarter of mile broad. 1t is said that
they cross even the Paraguay and
AmaZonS.
The third variety of the species is the
black "tiger," very rare on the Matte
Crosse highlands, but common in the
Amazonian and Orinoo forests. This is
the largest and tierceSt of all. At first
sight the skin appears quite black. but
on closer inspection still darker spots,
similar TO those of the onca pintada, can
be distinguished.
L may add here that the puma-our
North American species-is also fonnd
all over South America, and in many
places is very common. 1t is pest to
the cattlemen, from its propensity for
carrying off young calves; but otherwise
it is little feared. and for size and
ferceness will bear no comparison to
the jaguars. South America has also a
number of small species, ranging from
the spotted aguartirica, nearly as large
as puma, down to the little gray and
striped kinds, hardly bigger than do
nestle cat.