The Dickinson press., 1910-11-05
THE UCLYLEOPARD
He Is a Cattle Thief and Even a
Human Being Thief.
WORSE THAN LION OR TIGER.

0 0~
cilnss With 10 Claws Until Il
Breaks the Spine Of lts Victim Or
9transIss Il.
Less In size. but Y moro ferocious,
the leopard has a worse character than
the tiger or lion. Living mainly in
trees and very nocturnal. this fierce
and dangerous beast 10 less often secn
than far rarer animals. 1t Is widely
spread over the world from the Cape
Of Good Hope to the Atlas mountains
and from southern China to the Black
sea, where It Is sometimes met with In
the Caucasus.
Any one who has freQuented the zoo
for any time must have noticed the
difference In size and color between
leopards from different parts Of the
world. On some the ground color Is
almost white. In others a clear nut
brown. Others are Jet black.
Wherever they live leopards are cat.
tie thieves. sheep thieves. dog thieves
and human being thieves. Though not
formidable In appearance, they are i'm
mense.y strong. and 1t is not unusual
for them to turn man eater. Both in
India and in Africa they have been
known to set up in this line as DELHI
erately as any tiger. They have four
or FIVE young at a birth. The cubs can
be kept tame for some time and are
amusing pets, but it is extremely dan.
gerous to have them about.
In Hongkong an Englishman had a
tame leopard. 1t was brought into tho
dining room by a coolie to be exhibit
ed to the owners guests. Excited by
the smell of food. the leopard refused
to go out when one of the women. who
did not like his looks, asked that 1t be
removed. The coolie took hold of its
collar and began to haul It out. 1t
seized him by the neck, bit 1t through
and in a minute the coolie was dying.
covered with blood. on the dining
room floor.
The Chinese leopard ranges as far
north as the Siberian tiger and. like
the latter, seems to grow larger the
farther north it is found. The color
Of these northern leopards is very pale.
the spots are large and the fur is very
long.
The natives Of all countries are unan.
imous in declaring that the leopard Ia
more dangerous than the lion or tiger.
They have no fear of the lion, provided
they are not hunting for 1t. for 1t will
not attack unless provoked. hut n
leopard is never to be trusted.
In Africa a number of natives were
firing the reeds along Il stream. One &!
them. a boy. being thirsty and hot.
stopped down to drink. He was immc
diately seized by a leopard. The boys
brother. with IN admirable aim, hurled
his spear at the leopard while the boy
was in his jaws. The point separated
the vertebrae Of the neck, and the
leopard fell stone dead. But the boy
could not ecover. The leopard's fangs
had torn open his chest and injured tho
lungs. The latter we're exposed to
view through the cavity Of the ribs
He died during the night.
Leopards are essentially tree living
and nocturnal animals. Sleeping In
trees or by day, they are seldom
disturbed. They do an incredible
amount Of mischief among cattle.
calves, sheep and dogs, being. especial
~ fond of killing and eating the latter
They seize their prey by the throat
and cling with their claws until they
succeed in breaking the spine OF in
strangling the victim. They have a
habit of feeding on putrid flesh. This
makes wounds inflicted by their teeth
or claws liable to blood poisoning
Nothing in the way Of prey comes
amiss to them. from a COW In the pas
ture to a fowl up at roost.
In the great mountain ranges of cen
trail Asia the beautiful snow leopard is
found. 1t Is a large creature. with
thick. woolly coat and a long tail like
a fur boa. The color is white. cloudt'd
with beautiful gray. like that Of an
Angora cat. The edges Of the cloud,
ings and spots are marked with black
or darker gray. The eyes are very
large. blush gray or smoke colored.
1t lives on the wild sheep, ibex and
other mountain animals. In captivity
1t is far the tamest and gentlest Of the
large carnivora, not excepting the pu.
me-. Unlike the latter. 1t is a sleepy.
quiet animal. like q domestic.
The West African leopard skin 10
more handsome than the Asiatic. the
spots being very distinct and clear. He
and she-they usually 60 in couples
are fond of hunting cantonments and
around native towns, where they pick
up a goat and now and then a baby.
One night l was camped in a native
town and after l had retired the ia.
dves, az vas their custom, were sitting
about q great fire asking my caravan
all sorts Of questions. for the African
savage is the greatest gossip In the
world. Suddenly a child's cry rang
out, followed BY a great clamor. Rush
ing out to discover the cause Of alarm.
] was Informed that a leopard had
stolen from the darkness and quick as