THE OH A US. 



165 



imminent danger of her fur and wliiskers. Yet there is nothing which so utterly terrifies the 

 wild felidse as the blaze of a glowing fire. Surrounded by a fiery circle the traveller sleeps 

 secure, the waving flames being a stronger barrier between himself and the fierce hungry beasts 

 than would be afforded by stone or wood of ten times the height. 



RETURNING once more to the savage tribe of animals, we come to a small, but clearly- 

 marked group of Cats, which are distinguishable from their feline relations by the sharply 

 pointed erect ears, decorated with a tuft of hair of varying dimensions. These animals are 

 popularly known by the title of Lynxes. In all the species the tail is rather short, and in t 

 some, such as the Peeshoo, or Canada Lynx, it is extremely abbreviated. 



The CHAXTS, our first example of the Lyncine group, is not unlike the lion in the general 

 tawny hue of its fur, but is extremely variable both in the depth of tint and in certain indis- 

 tinct markings which prevail upon the body, limbs, and tail. The fur, however, is always 

 more grizzled than that of the lion, and there seem to be in almost every individual certain 

 faint stripes upon the legs and tail, 

 together with a few obscure stripes 

 or dashes of a darker color upon the 

 body. 



Along the back, the hue is deeper 

 than on the sides, and on the under 

 parts of the body the fur is of a very 

 pale tint. The extremity of the tail 

 is black. The markings which are 

 found on this animal are caused 

 by the black extremities of some of 

 the hairs. When these black-tipped 

 hairs are scattered, they produce the 

 grizzly aspect which has been men- 

 tioned as belonging to this animal, 

 but when they occur in close prox- 

 imity to each other, they produce 

 either spots, streaks, or dashes, ac- 

 cording to their number and arrange- 

 ment. On the tail, however, they always seem to gather into rings, and on the legs into stripes. 

 The cheeks are white, and below each eye is generally a white spot. There is an under coating 

 of soft woolly hair, which is set next to the skin, and through this woolly coating the larger hairs 

 protrude. It is this double set of hair which gives to the fur of the Chaus its rough fullness. 



The Chaus, although it has been distinguished by the specific title Lybicus, is an Asiatic 

 as well as an African animal, inhabiting the south of Africa, the shores of the Caspian Sea, 

 Persia, and many parts of India. The localities where this creature is known to frequent are 

 generally those spots where it finds marshy, boggy ground, and plenty of thick brushwood. 

 It does not appear to care for wooded districts, where trees grow, for it is but a poor climber, 

 and seeks its prey only on the ground. Its food consists chiefly of the smaller quadrupeds 

 and birds, and it is also fond of fish, which it captures in the shallow waters by watching 

 quietly for their approach, and then adroitly scooping them from their native element by a 

 quick sweep of its paw. River banks, especially those where the vegetation grows dense and 

 low, are favorite resorts of the Chaus, w y hich can in those favored localities find its two chief 

 requisites : a place of concealment, from whence to pounce upon any devoted bird or quad- 

 ruped that may chance to come within reach of the deadly spring, and a convenient fishing 

 place wherein to indulge its piscatorial propensities. 



ANOTHER species of the genus Chaus, is the animal which is generally known by the name 

 of the Caffre Cat, but which properly belongs to the Lyncine group. In color it is rather 

 variable, some individuals being mucli paler than others, the general tint of the fur being a 



THE CHAUS. CtMus lybicui. 



