He is essentially a predatory animal, always on the outlook for a meal;
round the villages, nestling amid their sal forests, he is continually
on the prowl, looking out for a goat, a calf, or unwary dog. His
appearance and habits are well known; he generally selects for his
lair, a retired spot surrounded by dense jungle. The one we were after
now had his home in a matted jungle, growing out of a pool of water,
which had collected in a long hollow, forming the receptacle of the
surface drainage from the adjacent slopes. This hollow stretched for
miles towards the creek which we had been beating up; and the locality
having moisture and other concurring elements in its favour, the
vegetation had attained a luxuriance rarely seen in the dry uplands,
where the west winds lick up the moisture, and the soil is arid and
unpromising. The matted intertwining branches of the creepers had
formed an almost impervious screen, and on the basis thus formed, amid
the branches and creepers, the leopards had formed their lair. Beneath,
was a still stagnant pool; above, was the leafy foliage. The tracks led
down to a well-worn path.

Climbing like a cat, as the leopards can do, they found no difficulty
in gaining a footing on the mass of vegetation. They generally select
some retired spot like this, and are very seldom seen in the daytime.
With the approach of night, however, they begin their wandering in
quest of prey. In a beat such as we were having 'all is fish that comes
to the net,' and leopards, if they are in the jungle, have to yield to
the advance of the beaters, like the other denizens of the forest.

Experience tells you that the leopard is daring and ferocious. Old
experienced hands warn you, that unless you can make sure of your shot,
it is unwise to fire at a leopard approaching. It is better to wait
till he has got past you, or at all events is 'broadside on.' If you