Some animals seem impossible to classify at a glance. One of these is the caiman. A traveller, finding one near a stream in a Brazilian forest, might scream, “A crocodile!” and flee. The caiman is not a crocodile, although it belongs to the order Crocodilia. It also belongs to the sub-family Alligator- mae. Crocodiles are found in Asia, Africa, Australia, and tropical America; one species of alligators lives in the United States and one in China; caimans live in Central and South America.
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THE puma is a carnivorous mammal, a member of the cat family which includes such magnificent animals as the jaguar, the lion, the tiger, and the leopard. Other names for the puma are cougar, mountain lion, and catamount. It is only found in North, Central and South America.
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The birds of the order Strigiformes are owls of all kinds: barn owls, screech owls, horned owls. Owls have been used as symbols of wisdom; they have been considered also as birds of ill omen. This superstitious fear is probably due to their silent flight, to the disconcerting stare of their big round eyes, to their nocturnal habits, to their mournful cry, to their hooked beak, and to the almost human expressions which they sometimes have. In the literature of fantasy, every witch’s den must have an owl as part of its equipment, and the same is true for haunted castles, where owls always watch from the battlements.
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The harpy eagle may be named for the Harpies of ancient Greek mythology. The Harpies were creatures with the heads of women and the bodies of birds of prey. These legendary Harpies were sent to punish people by carrying off their food. However, this superb bird of Central and South America does not really resemble the Harpies of mythology.
Their strange name may come from the Greek “harpazein” which means “to seize.” The Greeks called falcons and kites “harpe.” The Roman naturalist Pliny calls the vulture “harpe” as well. The harpy eagle, like these other birds, is a bird of prey. It is about three feet long, and its body is covered with magnificent plumage. The head and neck are soft grey;
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Each tribe of South American Indians has given the jaguar a different name. Also this jungle cat is commonly called the onca in Brazil and el tigre in Spanish. The Brazilians describe a dangerous acquaintance as “a friend of the onca (amigo cia onca)’ The cat’s most common name, though, is the jaguar. This name seems to come from the Guarani dialect and to mean “body of a dog.” Indeed it is a “dog” of most unusual dimensions, measuring five to seven feet from the muzzle to the root of the tail! Even if it is conceded that the jaguar’s body is like a dog’s, that is its only resemblance to man’s favourite animal companion.
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