THE CAT 21 



captivity, and you feel that if you could but get 

 to understand one another_, you would be good 

 friends. Those who have had to deal with lions and 

 other wild animals in confinement will tell you that 

 the lion is more tamable than any of the other big 

 cats. If you can catch him looking towards a strong 

 light you will see that the pupil of his eye does not 

 contract in a long slit, as the cat^s does, but that in 

 closing it keeps its circular form as your pupil does. 

 Unlike the rest of the cat tribe, the lion cannot 

 climb. Hidden within that tuft of hair at the end 

 of his tail is a horny claw, the use of which is 

 doubtful, but it is possible that with this weapon he 

 may lash himself to fury, as we have been told he 

 does sometimes. From Bible and other stories we 

 know that lions must have lived in Palestine and 

 Greece, but they are not found there in the present 

 day. 



Tjger. 



Asia is the home of tigers. They inhabit every 

 country of this continent, penetratiDg as far north 

 as Siberia. The fur is thicker than that of the lion. 

 The ground colour of the coat varies from brownish- 

 yellow to reddish-brown, and this is marked with 

 vertical stripes of black. The haunts of the tiger 

 are the swampy jungles. Here the ground colour 

 resembles that of the decaying leaves, and the 

 stripes resemble the shadows of the broken reeds 

 and branches. With stealthy cat-like tread and 

 body almost invisible the tiger is upon its prey 



