382 



MAMMALIA 



The cheeta or hunting leopard of Africa and India belongs to the 

 genus {Cynaelurus) intermediate between the cat and the dog. It 

 has been trained to capture game for its master in India. 



The cojnmon house cat has descended from the single wild species 

 {Felis maniciilatd) of Northeastern Africa. Egyptians prepared 



Fig. 214. Canada lynx. (Photo by courtesy of Canadian National Railways.) 



mummies of cats which indicates that they regarded them as beloved 

 companions. A tablet in the Berlin Museum dating from 1800 

 B.C. is inscribed with the word, " mau," meaning cat. 



The Egyptian wild cat of today {Felis libyca) is about the size 

 of the domestic cat, generally yellowish in color with faint pale 

 stripes which become darker on the limbs. There are today about 



