"A young jaguar had wounded a child while playing with him. I have verified the facts on the spot; it should interest those who study animal behaviour. Two Indian children, a boy and a girl of about eight and nine years old, were sitting on the grass near the village when a jaguar came out of the jungle and ran round the children, jumping and hiding in the high grass, like our cats. The little boy sensed danger only when the jaguar struck him with its paw until blood began to flow. The little girl chased it off with branches from a tree....What did this playfulness mean in the jaguar?" (von Humboldt, Personal Narrative of a Journey)