THE COLOCOLO.[32]
This is another Central American Tiger-Cat, of equal ferocity with the last, but far less beautiful. The fur is rougher; the ground-colour is tawny; the spots are smaller than in the Ocelot,and not so exquisitely arranged. The whole body is some forty-one inches long, of which the tail takes up about fourteen.
The Colocolo is an extremely ferocious animal, and does great harm in the forests in which it lives, where, amongst other things, it feeds largely on Monkeys. “On the banks of a river in Guiana, an officer, having killed one of these Cats, stuffed it, and placed it to dry in the hinder part of the boat in which he was travelling. One day they passed under some great trees, the branches of which, hanging into the water, formed a resting-place for innumerable Monkeys, which approached the boat with great curiosity, and seemed to take pleasure in following it as far as the trees would permit. On this particular voyage, the Monkeys ran towards the boat as usual, but the sight of the stuffed fur inspired them with such terror that they precipitately took flight, uttering cries of rage and terror. This observation shows clearly enough that Monkeys look upon the Colocolo as one of their most terrible enemies.”[33]
MARGAY.
MARGAY.