HUNTING LEOPARD 67 



crest. The head is blunt in shape, and the ears short 

 and rounded. The tail is long, with the tip bushy. A 

 fine mounted example in the Transvaal Museum, which 

 lived for a long time in the Zoo, measures : Length, 

 3i feet exclusive of the tail, which is another 'Ih feet ; 

 height, 28 inches. The Hunting Leopard or Cheetah 



Fig. 17.— Cheetah Cub. 



stands higher on its legs than a true Leopard, being 

 more dog-like in build. Its geographical range resembles 

 that of the Caracal, but in South Africa it is now seldom 

 seen, bemg commonest in Bechuanaland and the Sabi 

 Game Reserves of the Eastern Transvaal. The Zoo 

 has now a lovely example captured in the Waterberg 

 district of the Transvaal, and presented by Mr. and Mrs. 

 Bateman : "Billy," as he was named by his former 

 mistress, is — like most Cheetahs — of a friendly and 

 amiable disposition, and answers fairly readily to his 

 name, purring loudly when called and spoken to, and 

 usually coming up to the bars of his cage for a caress. 



