Volume 4, Plate XI / Mammalia (Mammals)

Jaguar, or American Panther

Felis onca

The Jaguar of warmer South America rivals the Old World cats in beauty and exceeds them in strength, its thick compact limbs and rosette markings, often centred with small spots, set on a rich yellowish ground. Inhabiting forests, it seizes horses, cattle, and sheep, pursues monkeys through the trees, takes to water freely, and even turns turtles to empty their shells; powerful enough to drag off a horse, it seldom attacks man unprovoked.