The Parana Is Full Of Islands,
Which Undergo A Constant Round Of Decay And Renovation.
In The Memory Of The Master Several Large Ones Had Disappeared,
And Others Again Had Been Formed And Protected
By Vegetation.
They are composed of muddy sand, without
even the smallest pebble, and were then about four feet
above the level of the river; but during the periodical floods
they are inundated.
They all present one character; numerous
willows and a few other trees are bound together by a
great variety of creeping plants, thus forming a thick jungle.
These thickets afford a retreat for capybaras and jaguars.
The fear of the latter animal quite destroyed all pleasure
in scrambling through the woods. This evening I had not
proceeded a hundred yards, before finding indubitable signs
of the recent presence of the tiger, I was obliged to come
back. On every island there were tracks; and as on the
former excursion "el rastro de los Indios" had been the
subject of conversation, so in this was "el rastro del tigre."
The wooded banks of the great rivers appear to be the
favourite haunts of the jaguar; but south of the Plata, I
was told that they frequented the reeds bordering lakes:
wherever they are, they seem to require water. Their common
prey is the capybara, so that it is generally said, where
capybaras are numerous there is little danger from the
jaguar. Falconer states that near the southern side of the
mouth of the Plata there are many jaguars, and that they
chiefly live on fish; this account I have heard repeated.
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