CHAPTER FIFTEEN 



THE WILDCAT 



Call it what you will — wildcat, lynx, bob-cat, cata- 

 mount, bay lynx — the animal under consideration has 

 an appearance that is unique among the w r ild 

 mammals. Once very common in all of the thickly wooded 

 sections of the state, wildcats have been so persecuted by 

 man that they are to be found today in the thinly settled 

 districts only. 



The Louisiana lynx, "bob cat, 



wild cat, or whatever you choose to call it, is a 

 beautiful animal. 



The bay lynx, as it should be called, is a heavily-furred, 

 short-bodied, longlegged, bobtailed animal of a reddish 

 brown color, the under surface of the body and the inner 

 sides of the legs are white, spotted, or barred with black. 

 The ears carry a "pencil" or tuft of black hairs. Its long 

 side-whiskers grow about the jaws so as to give the animal 

 the appearance of wearing an old-fashioned ruff. 



