File:The game animals of Africa (1908) (14568754608).jpg

Identifier: gameanimalsofafr00lyde (find matches)
Title: The game animals of Africa
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Lydekker, Richard, 1849-1915
Subjects: Game and game-birds Hunting Big game animals
Publisher: London, R. Ward, limited
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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Mr. F. Vaughan Kirby in 1899 :— Leopards are distributed throughout the greater part of Africawherever the country is suitable to their habits—rough hill-countryintersected by deep kloofs, grassy plains, thin forest, or thickly mattedjungle or river-banks ; in all such places, if there is sufficient smallgame to provide them with food, leopards may be found. They areperhaps more strictly nocturnal in their habits than lions, seldomleaving their lairs before it is quite dark, and returning before dawn.Occasionally, however, they may be seen sunning themselves high upon a rocky kopje or on some mountain-spur. Their lairs are oftenmade at a considerable distance from water ; and as they do not seemto evince partiality for any particular surroundings, they turn up attimes and in places where least expected. When disturbed, they creepaway so stealthily that it is difficult to obtain a shot at them ; and theyare far more silent than lions. Occasionally they utter low moaning LEOPARD 43
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. 92.—Skin of a Small-spotted African Leopartl. 432 CAT TRIBE grunts, but their ordinary cry, repeated three or four times in the samekey, is extremely harsh. Although leopards, like lions, are quitecontent to eat carrion sometimes, they have undoubtedly a greatercraving for warm blood. In hill-country bushbuck, duikers, monkeys,hyraxes, etc., form their principal prey, but in the low country largeranimals are overpowered. Leopards cover great distances at night in search of prey ; andwhen quartered near native villages exact a heavy toll of calves, goats,and dogs, while, when among a flock of sheep or goats, they will strikedown their victims right and left, as if impelled by sheer love ofslaughter. They display great cunning and boldness in abstractingdogs—to the flesh of which they are very partial—from a village orcamp ; but I have never met with a man-eating leopard in Africa.Their mode of attack is very similar to that of a lion. Either theylie in wait in the jungle on

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