VIEW OF THE ANIMAL CREATION AT THE CAPE. 121 



belly, and interior parts of the legs, a white ground, with 

 large black circular spots ; upper part of the tail fulvous, 

 with oblong black spots ; under part barred across with alter- 

 nate black and white bands ; vibrissas or strong bristles about 

 the mouth, silvery white ; a black line along the fore part of 

 the shoulders to the chest ; length from the nose to the end 

 of the tail seven feet four inches ; length of the tail two feet 

 ten inches. The description answers very nearly to that of 

 the leopard, of which I believe it to be a variety only. The 

 tiger of the plains is evidently of the same species, the only 

 difference being in the size, which is a little larger than that 

 of the former ; and in the colour of the ground, which is a 

 little lighter, both of which probably may arise from local 

 circumstances. To another species of the feline tribe they 

 give the name of leopard. It is not so long, but thicker, 

 taller and much stronger than those described above; the 

 colour is cinereous, with small black spots ; the neck and 

 temples covered with long crisp hair, like that of the mane of 

 the lion ; tail two feet, flat, vertical, spotted half way from 

 the root, and the other half annulated ; a thick black line 

 from the interior angle of the eye extends to the opening of 

 the mouth. Of this species we procured a young one ; it be- 

 came instantly tame, and as playful as the domestic kitten. 

 Most beasts of prey, if taken young, may almost instantly be 

 rendered tame. The fierce lion or the tiger is sooner recon- 

 ciled to a state of domestication than the timid antelope ; and 

 the cadaverous crocuta, the wild dog, has lately been domes- 

 ticated in the Sneuwberg, where it is now considered as one 

 of the best hunters after game, and as faithful and diligent as 

 any of the common sort of domestic dogs, yet in a state of 

 nature there cannot possibly be a more savage animal. 



" Birds, as well as beasts of prey, are attracted to all such 

 places as abound with game. In the vicinity of the Sea- Cow 

 River, vultures were more numerous than they had hitherto 

 been seen in any part of the country. Of these we distin- 

 guished three sorts, — the large black condor, the percno- 

 pterus, or Egyptian sacred vulture, and a third species, that 

 seemed to differ from the second only in size, being no more 

 than two feet long. The female also of this bird, as well as 

 that of the percnopterus, is distinguished from the whitish- 

 coloured male by its plumage of dusky brown. This small 

 species is called by the peasantry the White Crow. The Sa- 

 cred Scavenger of Egypt meets not here with that protection 

 which was afforded it on the banks of the Nile, where, accord- 

 ing to Herodotus, to destroy it was a capital crime. The 

 percnopterus is a gregarious bird, and is usually seen in flocks 



