first Plate can, I believe, always be recognized by its long, broad head, dewlap, and large heavy body. I t is lighter in
colour than the ordinary Leopard, is usually received from Morocco or India, inhabits the open country, and is met with
but rarely in forests. Jerdon gives the colour of this animal (which he states is believed to be a distinct race by Indian
sportsmen) as pale fulvous yellow, the belly white; but some are more tawny in hue, and others have no white beneath.
He further says that at Mhow he has had ponies killed close to his tent by Panthers ; and in the Bhagulpore district he
has known many instances of human beings having been killed by them, old women being the chief victims, some of whom
were even taken out of their huts. I t is the form usually found in Bengal, and apparently extends its range through
Western Asia as far as the Caucasus, and is common in the mountainous districts of Afghanistan. Sir Walter Elliot says
that the “ fur of the Honiga (by which name this animal is known) is shorter and closer than that of the small variety.
The most strongly marked difference of character that I observed was in the skulls, that of the Honiga being larger and
more pointed, with a ridge running along the occiput and much developed for the attachment of the muscles of the neck.
If this character is permanent, it will afford a good ground of distinction.”
In reference to this I find that the differences in the skull mentioned above do not exist in all the crania observed, at
least in an equal degree; for some have the crest much less developed than others, caused perhaps by age or sex ; and
therefore, although two races are recognizable in adult animals of these Leopards, as I have already pointed out, yet I do
not consider that there axe two species, since there really does not seem to exist any tangible constant character upon
which to found a specific difference.
Sir Walter Elhot gives the following as the dimensions of the large animal: Length of head and body 41 to 5 feet,
tail 21 to 3 feet. A fine male killed near Mhow in 1854 measured 4 feet 9 inches to root of tail, which-was 3 feet 2 inches
long, making a total of 7 feet 11 inches. In 1873 there was a large Leopard from Algeria living in the menagerie of the
Jardin des Plantes, Paris, presented by Marshal MacMahon. It was remarkable for its colour, which was a chestnut-
brown covered with exceedingly small black spots. I t was apparently quite old, and possessed the large bony head, dewlap,
and heavy body characteristic of the large form. . The tail was long and darker than the body, with the markings closer
together.
This beautiful and graceful creature is generally distributed at the present day in Africa, India, and Asia, as well as in the
islands of Sumatra and Java. I t varies somewhat in the colour of its fur, and also in size, while individuals from northern
climes, like the Tigers from the same high latitudes, possess a long hairy coat, quite different from the short smooth fur of
their southern brethren. Like all the Cat tribe, the Leopard has great patience and perseverance whilst seeking its prey,
which it seizes by suddenly springing upon it from some ambush, and tearing it to the ground by the powerful claws. It
preys upon*almost any animal that it can overcome, such as sheep, goats, deer, monkeys, peafowl, and dogs: for the
last-named it seems to have a special liking, having heen known to enter a house and seize a bull-dog that was chained to
its master s bed; and Jerdon states that at Manantoddy, in the Wynaad, every dog in the station was carried off, many in
broad daylight. The Leopard is cruel in disposition, and to gratify its blood-thirsty propensity will kill many more victims
than it can possibly devour at once. In winter it becomes very bold, probably incited by hunger, and comes out into the
roads in some of the hill-stations in India and seizes the dogs. This creature is very quick in its movements, and climbs
trees with facility, frequently taking refuge in the branches when closely pursued. It is asserted that it dislikes water, and
will not readily swim, and therefore is not often found on small islands. I t is very fearless; there are many recorded
instances of its attacking man; and its great activity, strong teeth, and claws render it at all times a very formidable
antagonist. I t dwells chiefly in forests, though at times coming upon open ground. Sometimes a Leopard becomes a
“ man-eater and then he is said to be a far more terrible scourge than the Tiger. Captain Forsyth states that in 1858 a
man-killing Leopard devastated the northern part of the Seoni district, killing nearly one hundred persons before he was
shot. He never ate the bodies, but merely lapped the blood from the throa t; and his plan was either to steal into a house
at night and strangle some sleeper in his bed, or to climb into the platforms from which watchers guard their fields from
deer, and drag his victim from them.
This species is the possessor of many synonyms, as names have been given by different authors to specimens varying in
colour, size, or a pattern of spots slightly changed from what may have been considered the typical style. Thus, in
1856, M. Valenciennes described a faded skin of this animal as F. peecilura. This is now in the Paris Museum; and
I am indebted to Prof. A. Milne-Edwards for the opportunity of examining the type. I do not regard it as a distinct
species; and it does not appear to me that any one of the varieties which has been procured of the Leopard is entitled to
a separate ran k ; they are all only such forms as naturally would occur among individuals of any species of Cats possessed
of a spotted coat.
M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards has given in his work (‘ Recherches pour servir a l’histoire naturelle des Mammi-
fferes I a minute account of the skins of the specimens described by him as Felis fontanieri, contained in the Paris
Museum, and also figures of the animal and of the skull. The chief characteristic relied upon in the siring
to separate the examples specifically from Felis pardus is, that in one of the specimens, considered adult,
the greater number of the black spots which form the rosettes, instead of being separated as in the usual style of
Leopards, are confluent, and form complete rings like a Jaguar’s, and also that the fulvous ground-colour thus
enclosed does not present, as in the last, the black central spot; upon the thighs, however, these black spots no longer form
rings. In a younger individual, of which a figure is also given, the above peculiarity is less distinct, and the rosettes are
mixed up with a great number of irregular black spots. The skull is remarked upon chiefly on account of its curved upper
outline from the end of the nasal bones to the foramen magnum. I examined carefully these specimens described by
M. Milne-Edwards, and was enabled also, by the kindness of Prof. Gervais, to inspect the skull. The fur of all the
animals is, as I have already stated, very long; and therefore the markings are rather indistinct, except on the back and
hindquarters of the oldest individual, the rest presenting rather a confused appearance. In this respect the figures given
by the artist of M. Milne-Edwards do not accurately represent the animal; for, from his plate, it might naturally be
supposed that it was a short-furred, smooth-coated creature-—which is quite the reverse of the fact. Now, in the longhaired
specimens of Felis tigris from Siberia, the markings are as different in their style from those of Indian wnimnls
of this species as axe these Leopards from southern specimens. This, I conceive, results simply from the
extraordinary length of the fur, which permits the hair to be much ruffled, and some of the markings in M. Milne-
Edwards’s specimens thereby run into one another (for a ll. the black spots are not confluent, but some are divided by
yellowish hairs, as in other Leopards); and thus they present a very different appearance from their smooth-coated relatives. I
therefore could not see any thing in the skins (mindful of the similar coats of northern Tigers) which would lead me to look
upon them as other than those of animals of the ordinary Felis pardus clothed in a warmer coat than usually seen, to
enable them to live amid the snow and resist the severe climate of the far northern region in which they dwell. The
younger specimen is very different in appearance from the more adult one. The hair is equally long; the spots are'blackish
brown instead of brown, not confluent, and so broken up and confused that they seem all mingled together in an
inextricable mass, and give no idea of any pattern. It is only on the hindquarters and legs that the spots are distinctly
visible, those on the first being generally separate around a buff centre, as in ordinary Leopards, and those on the legs
black, without any light central spot. The tails of the two specimens are very different:—that of the adult being whitish,
or yellowish white, partly ringed with black towards the tip, but spotted like the body near the ro o t; that of the younger
being buff at the root, dirty white towards the tip, spotted with reddish brown, the spots near the root having light centres,
the rest being blotches or incomplete rings. I t will thus be seen that the styles of marking of even these two animals
are very different; and it may fairly be supposed that most specimens from the same locality would also present other
variations in the arrangement as well as colour of the spots or rosettes.
The outline of the skull is more round than perhaps is usually seen in those of Leopards generally; but it must be borne
in mind that the skulls of all the Felidae vary one from another in a remarkable degree, caused by age, sex, and individual
peculiarities; so that it is almost impossible to obtain two, even of the same species, exactly alike; and therefore I do not
attach that immense importance to their characteristics which some do, believing that, in the matter of determining the
specific value of any individual, they are often as apt to mislead as they are to furnish material for a correct opinion to be
formed. Mr. Busk made comparisons between the skulls of the northern and southern Leopards brought to England by
Mr. Swinhoe, and found that there was no appreciable difference between them—certainly none sufficient to create
specific distinctness. In a Table of measurements (given in the same paper) of skulls of the so-called F. fontanieri, and some
of Leopards from Northern and Southern China as well as from India, the differences exhibited were frequently greater
between the Indian examples than between the F. fontanieri and the other specimens from North China. I have examined
carefully the skulls of M. Milne-Edwards’s specimens. One is that of quite a young animal, and imperfect; the other belongs
to a more adult individual. The characters pointed out as of sufficient importance to create a specific rank I do not find