Friday, October 16, 2009

Jaguar - Family Pet

A jaguar was shot in about 1936–7 by Ralf Snyder, a missionary, or a colleague of [Herbert's], leaving two defenceless cubs. One cub was offered to Herb, which he accepted with alacrity and named Manitsi, the Indian jungle name for jaguar. When the jaguar was nearly a year old, and had grown in size and strength, Herb sought a better and safer home for it. London Zoo readily agreed to take the big cat, but on board the steamer Lobos the cat escaped from its caged environment. This story made front-page headline news in England:


JAGUAR PROWLS SHIP: HOLDS CREW AT BAY FOR 4 DAYS

Slinking behind bulkheads, lifeboats and deck housings for four days and nights, a Peruvian jaguar stalked the crew of the British steamer Lobos racing for Liverpool. By night the flash of the great cat’s green eyes as it prowled the decks and companion ways kept the crew in a constant state of alarm. During the day the jaguar hid away in the after part of the ship, snarling savagely when anybody approached its lair. During those four nights nobody aboard the Lobos slept. Engineers crammed on all steam to reach Liverpool before the jaguar should be driven by hunger to make a sortie by daylight against the crew. On Monday night as the ship drew near the English coast a stoker, exhausted, fell asleep on his bunk. A few moments later the snarling of the jaguar awakened him. Looking over the side of the bunk he found himself staring into two wicked eyes. Roaring a warning he leaped out and dashed on the deck. The jaguar, apparently scared, made off and took refuge on the poop. Its cage was brought as close as possible, and the animal, after being cornered, was forced into it. The beast trapped in the Andes Mountains, Peru, for the London Zoo, was caged and brought abroad the Lobos, a Pacific Steam Navigation Company’s motor-vessel, at Callao. At Liverpool yesterday he was transferred to a new cage and entrained for Regent’s Park Zoo.


Herbert laughed when he heard of the jaguar’s escapade for, as he said, you only had to call ‘pussy, pussy’ and it would come obediently to you!
Extract from White Gujaratis, Bramwell Cook

No comments: