EL Tigre The great spotted cat of Brazil’s Mato Grosso
The leopard has always been my favourite of Africa’s dangerous game. Highly respected by Africans, who wear his skin as a badge of honour, ceremony and high station, the East African Swahili name for this cat is chui – an apt name considering his ferocious reputation.
The lion may be king of the wilderness but the leopard is lord of the forest, rocky crags, dry sandy river beds and thickets. He is a master of concealment and a deadly hunter whose huge strength allows him to hoist a prey much larger than himself into a leafy larder high up in the treetops. It is easy to view this splendid cat as being inoffensive but the opposite is true. No animal has the ferocity and courage of a leopard when cornered, protecting its young or wounded. I know, I have been there. I have been chewed by chui as has my son, Derek, and numerous other professional hunters/guides.
What has this to do with the jaguar,or , of the swamps and rainforests of South and Central America? It’s this: the jaguar is the leopard’s big cousin and equally dangerous when injured or with no room for retreat. Considerably larger than a leopard, clad with a beautiful camouflaging coat and a massive head housing powerful jaws, the jaguar can reach 350lb whereas a colossal leopard might weigh 220lb. In other words, a large jaguar is the size of a lioness.
