In order to avoid an erroneous use of names, to prevent doubt, and
to banish ambiguity, it may be necessary to remark that, in Asia and
Africa, there are, beside the tiger, whose history we have just given,
three other animals of the same genus, but which not only differ
from him, but also from each other. These are the Panther, Ounce and
Leopard, which have been confounded together by naturalists, and also
with a species of the same kind peculiar to America; but to prevent
confusion, we shall, in the present instance, confine ourselves solely
to those of the old continent.
_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
[Illustration: FIG. 107. _Panther_]
[Illustration: FIG. 108. _Caracal_]
The first of these species is the Panther, (_fig. 107._) which the
Greeks distinguished by the name of Pardalis, the Latins by that of
Panthera, and Pardus, and the more modern Latins by Leopardus. The body
of this animal, when it has attained its full growth, is five or six
feet long, from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail, which
is above two feet long. Its colour is of a yellow hue, more or less
dark on the back and sides, and whitish under the belly; it is marked
with black spots which are circular, or in the form of a ring, and in
which rings there are generally lesser spots in the centre of the same
colour; some of these are oval, others, circular, and are frequently
above three inches in diameter; on the face and legs the black spots
are single, and on the tail and belly they are irregular.
The second is the Little Panther of Oppian, which the ancients have
distinguished by no particular name, but which modern travellers have
called Ounce, corrupted from the name of lynx or lunx. To this animal
we shall preserve the name of Ounce, because, in fact, it seems to have
some affinity to the lynx. It is much less than the panther, its body
being only about three feet and a half long, which is nearly the size
of the lynx; its hair is longer than that of the panther, as is also
its tail, which sometimes measures three feet, although its body is
one-third less than that of the panther, whose tail never exceeds two
feet and an half. The colour of the ounce is whitish grey upon the back
and sides, and still more white under the belly; the back and sides
of the panther are always yellow, but the spots are nearly of the same
size and form in them both.
The third species was unknown to the ancients, being peculiar to
Senegal, Guinea, and other southern countries which they had not
discovered; and which we, following the example of travellers, shall
call Leopard a name which has been improperly applied to the panther.
The Leopard is larger than the ounce, though considerably smaller than
the panther, being only four feet in length, the tail measures from two
to two feet and a half. On the back and sides the hair is of a yellow
colour, under the belly it is whitish; it has black annular spots like
those of the panther and ounce, but smaller and less regularly disposed.
Each of these animals, therefore, forms a different species. Our
furriers call the skins of the first species panther skins; those of
the second, which we call ounce, African tiger skins; and those of the
third, or leopard, very improperly tiger skins.
Oppian knew the panther and ounce, and was the first who observed there
were two species of the former, the one large and the other small.
Though alike in the form of their bodies and the disposition of the
spots, yet they differed in the length of their tails, which in the
small species was longer than in the large ones. The Arabians have
named the large panther Nemer, and the small one Phet or Phed; which
last seems to be a corruption of Faadh, the present name of this animal
in Barbary. "The Faadh," says Dr. Shaw, in his Travels, "resembles the
leopard, (he should have expressed it panther) in having similar spots,
in other respects they however differ, for the skin of the faadh is
more dark and coarse, and its disposition is also less fierce." Besides
we learn from a passage of Albert, commented on by Gesner, that the
phet, or phed of the Arabs, is called in the Italian, and some other
European languages Leuaza, or Lonza. It is beyond a doubt then, that
the little panther of Oppian, the phet or phed of the Arabians, the
faadh of Barbary, and the onza, or ounce of the Europeans, is the same
animal; and probably also is the Pard or Pardus of the ancients, and
the Panthera of Pliny; since he mentions its hair is white, whereas, as
we have observed, that of the great Panther is yellow. It is, besides,
highly probable that the little panther was simply called pard or
pardus, and that, in process of time, the large panther obtained the
name of leopard, or leopardus, from a notion that it was a mongrel
species, which had aggrandized itself by an intermixture with that
of the lion. As this could only be an unfounded prejudice, I have
preferred the primitive name of panther to the modern compound one of
leopard, which last I have applied to another animal that has hitherto
been mentioned by equivocal names only. The ounce therefore differs
from the panther, in being smaller, having a longer tail, also longer
hair, of a whitish grey colour; while the leopard differs from them
both, by having a coat of a brilliant yellow, more or less deep, and by
the smallness of his spots, which are generally disposed in groups, as
if each were formed by three or four united.
Pliny, and several after him, have said, that the coat of the female
panther was whiter than that of the male. This may be true of the
ounce, but no such difference have we ever observed in the panthers
belonging to the menagerie of Versailles, which were designed from
life; and if there be any difference between the colour of the male and
female it can be neither very permanent nor sensible; in some of the
skins we have, indeed, perceived different shades, but which we rather
ascribed to the difference of age or climate than of sex.
The animals described and dissected by the Academy of Sciences, under
the name of Tigers, and that described by Caius, in Gesner, under
the name of Uncia, are of the same species as our leopard; and of
this there cannot remain a doubt, after comparing the figure, and the
description which we have given, with those of Caius and M. Perrault.
The latter, indeed, says, that the animals so dissected and described
by the gentlemen of the Academy, under the name of tigers, were not the
ounce of Caius; but the only reasons he assigns are, that the ounce is
smaller, and has not white on the under part of its body. It may also
be observed, that Caius, who does not give the exact dimensions, says,
generally it was bigger than the shepherd's dog, and as thick as the
bull-dog, though shorter in its legs; how, therefore, Perrault should
assert the ounce of Caius to be smaller than the tigers dissected by
the gentlemen of the Academy I am at a loss to conceive, for those
animals measured only four feet from the nose to the tail, which is
the exact length of the leopard we are now describing. On the whole,
then, it appears, that the tigers of the Academy, the ounce of Caius,
and our leopard, are the same animal; and not less true do I conceive
it that our panther is the same with the panther of the ancients,
notwithstanding the distinctions which have been attempted to be made
by Linnæus, Brisson, and other nomenclators, as they perfectly resemble
each other in every respect but size, and that may safely be ascribed
to confinement and want of exercise. This difference of size at first
perplexed me, but after a scrupulous examination of the large skins
sold by the furriers with that of our own, I had not the smallest doubt
of their being the same animals. The panther I have described, and two
other animals of the same species kept at Versailles, were brought from
Barbary. The two first were presented to the French King by the Regency
of Algiers, and the third was purchased for his Majesty of an Algerine
Jew.
It is particularly necessary to observe, that neither of the animals
we are now describing can be classed with the pardus of Linnæus, or
the leopardus of Brisson, as they are described with having long spots
on the belly, which is a characteristic that belongs neither to the
panther, ounce, or leopard, and yet the panther of the ancients has it,
as well as the pardus of Gesner, and the panthera of Alpinus; but from
the researches I have made I am convinced that these three animals,
and perhaps a fourth, which we shall treat of hereafter, and which have
not these long spots on the belly, are the only species of this kind to
be found in Asia and Africa, and therefore we must hold this character
of our nomenclators as fictitious, especially when we recollect,
that if any animals have these long spots, either in the old or new
continent, they are always upon the neck or back, and never on the
belly. We shall merely observe further, that in reading the ancients we
must not confound the _panther_ with the _panthera_, the latter is the
animal we have described, but the panther of the scholiasts of Homer
and other authors, is a kind of timid wolf, perhaps the jackall, as I
shall explain when I come to the history of that animal.
After having dissipated the cloud under which our nomenclators seem to
have obscured Nature, and removed every ambiguity, by giving the exact
description of the three animals under consideration, we shall now
proceed to the peculiarities which relate to them respectively.
Of the panther, which I had an opportunity of examining alive, his
appearance was fierce, he had a restless eye, a cruel countenance,
precipitate motions, and a cry similar to that of an enraged dog,
but more strong and harsh; his tongue was red and exceedingly rough,
his teeth were strong and pointed; his claws sharp and hard; his skin
was beautiful, of a yellow hue, interspersed with black spots of an
annular form, and his hair short; the upper part of his tail was marked
with large black spots, and with black and white ringlets towards the
extremity; his size and make was similar to that of a vigorous mastiff,
but his legs were not so large.
_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
[Illustration: FIG. 103. _Leopard_]
[Illustration: FIG. 104. _Ounce_]
All our travellers confirm the testimonies of the ancients as to the
large and small panther, that is, our panther and ounce. It appears
that there now exist, as in the days of Oppian, in that part of Africa
which extends along the Mediterranean, and in the parts of Asia which
were known to the ancients, two species of panthers, the largest of
which has been called panther or leopard, and the smaller ounce, by the
generality of travellers. By them it is universally allowed that the
ounce is easily tamed, that he is trained to the chace and employed for
this purpose in Persia, and in several other provinces of Asia; that
some ounces are so small as to be carried by a horseman on the crupper,
and so mild as to allow themselves to be handled and caressed.[F] The
Panther appears to be of a more fierce and stubborn nature; when in
the power of man, and in his gentlest moments, he seems rather to be
subdued than tamed. Never does he entirely lose the ferocity of his
disposition; and in order to train him to the chace, much care and
precaution are necessary. When thus employed, he is shut up in a cage
and carried in one of the little vehicles of the country; as soon
as the game appears, the door is opened, and he springs towards his
prey, generally overtaking it in three or four bounds, drags it to the
ground and strangles it; but if disappointed of his aim he becomes
furious, and will even attack his master, who to prevent this dangerous
consequence usually carries with him some pieces of flesh or live
animals, as lambs or kids, one of which he puts in his way to appease
the fury arising from his disappointment.
[Footnote F: A particular account of this practice is related in
Tavernier's Travels; Chardin's Travels in Persia; Gesner's Hist. Quad.
Pros. Alp. Hist. Egypt. Bernier dans le Mosul, &c.]
The species of the ounce (_fig. 104._) seems to be more numerous, and
more diffused than that of the panther; it is very common in Arabia,
Barbary, and the southern parts of Asia, Egypt, perhaps, excepted.[G]
They are even known in China, where they are distinguished by the
name of _hinen-pao_.[H] The ounce is employed for the chace, in the
hot climates of Asia, because dogs are very rarely to be found unless
transported thither, and then they very soon lose not only their voice
but their instinct.[I] Besides the panther, ounce, and leopard, have
such an antipathy to dogs, that they attack them in preference to all
other animals.[J] In Europe our sporting dogs have no enemy but the
wolf; but in countries full of tigers, lions, panthers, leopards, and
ounces, which are all more strong and cruel than the wolf, to attempt
to keep dogs would be in vain. As the scent of the ounce is inferior to
that of the dog, he hunts solely by the eye; with such vigour does he
bound, that a ditch, or a wall of several feet high, is no impediment
to his career; he often climbs trees to watch for his prey, and when
near, will suddenly dart upon them; and this method is also adopted by
the panther and leopard.
[Footnote G: Maserier affirms that there are neither lions, tigers, nor
leopards in Egypt. _Descrip. Egypt, Tom. II._]
[Footnote H: A kind of leopard or panther found in the province of
Pekin; it is not so ferocious as the ordinary tigers. _Thevenot._]
[Footnote I: Vide Voyage de Jean Ovington, _Tom. I. p. 278_.]
[Footnote J: The leopards, says le Maire, are deadly enemies to dogs,
and devour all of them they meet.]
The Leopard, (_fig. 103._) has the same manners and disposition as
the panther; but in no part does he appear to have been tamed like
the ounce; nor do the Negroes of Senegal and Guinea, where he greatly
abounds, ever make use of him in the chace. He is generally larger than
the ounce, but smaller than the panther; and his tail, though shorter
than that of the ounce, is from two to two feet and a half in length.
This leopard of Senegal and Guinea, to which we have particularly
appropriated the name of _leopard_, is probably the animal which at
Congo is called the _Engoi_; and perhaps also the _Antamba_[K] of
Madagascar. I quote these names, from a persuasion that an acquaintance
with the denominations applied to them in the countries which they
inhabit would increase our knowledge of animals.
[Footnote K: The antamba is a beast as large as a dog; it has a round
head, and, in the opinion of the Negroes, resembles the leopard; it
devours both men and cattle, and is only to be found in the most
unfrequented parts of the island. _Flacourt's Voyage._]
The species of the leopard seems to be subject to more varieties than
that of the panther and the ounce. I have examined many leopards' skins
which differed from each other, not only in the ground colour, but in
the shade of the spots which last are always smaller than those of the
panther or the ounce. In all leopards' skins, the spots are nearly of
the same size and the same figure, and their chief difference consists
in their colour being deeper in some than in others; in being also more
or less yellow, consists also the difference in the hair itself; but as
all these skins are nearly of the same size, both in the body and tail,
it is highly probable they belong to the same species of animals.
The panther, ounce, and leopard, are only found in Africa, and the
hottest climates of Asia; they have never been diffused over the
northern, nor even the temperate regions. Aristotle speaks of the
panther as an animal of Asia and Africa, and expressly says, it does
not exist in Europe. It is impossible, therefore, that these animals,
which are confined to the torrid zone of the old continent, could
ever have passed to the new world by any northern lands; and it will
be found, by the description we shall give of the American animals
of this kind, that they are a different species, and ought not to be
confounded with those of Africa and Asia, as they have been by most of
our nomenclators.
These animals, in general, delight in the thickest forests, and
often frequent the borders of rivers, and the environs of solitary
habitations, where they surprise their prey, and seize equally the tame
and wild animals that come there to drink. Men they seldom attack, even
though provoked. They easily climb trees in pursuit of wild cats and
other animals, which cannot escape them. Though they live solely by
prey, and are usually meagre, travellers pretend that their flesh is
not unpalatable; the Indians and negroes eat it, but they prefer that
of the dog. With respect to their skins, they are all valuable, and
make excellent furs. The most beautiful and most costly is that of the
leopard, which, when the colours are bright, not unfrequently sells for
eight or nine guineas.