When he has made choice of his victim, he springs upon the
neck, and placing one paw upon the back of the head, while he seizes
the muzzle with the other twists the head round with a sudden jerk
which dislocates the spine, and deprives it instantaneously of life:
sometimes, especially when satiated with food, he is indolent and
cowardly, skulking in the gloomiest depths of the forest, and scared
by the most trifling causes, but when urged by the cravings of hunger,
the largest quadrupeds, and man himself, are attacked with fury and
success.
Mr. Darwin has given an interesting account of the habits of the
jaguar: the wooded banks of the great South American rivers appear to
be their favorite haunt, but south of the Plata they frequent the
reeds bordering the lakes; wherever they are they seem to require
water. They are particularly abundant on the isles of the Payana,
their common prey being the carpincho, so that it is generally said,
that where carpinchos are plentiful, there is little fear of the
jaguar; possibly, however, a jaguar which has tasted human flesh, may
afterwards become dainty, and like the lions of South Africa, and the
tigers of India, acquire the dreadful character of maneaters, from
preferring that food to all others.
It is not many years ago since a very large jaguar found his way into
a church in Santa Fe; soon afterward a very corpulent padre entering,
was at once killed by him: His equally stout coadjutor, wondering what
had detained the padre, went to look after him, and also fell a victim
to the jaguar; a third priest, marveling greatly at the unaccountable
absence of the others, sought them, and the jaguar having by this time
acquired a strong clerical taste, made at him also, but he, being
fortunately of the slender order, dodged the animal from pillar to
post, and happily made his escape; the beast was destroyed by being
shot from a corner of the building, which was unroofed, and thus paid
the penalty of his sacrilegious propensities.
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