THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



smell, others of the sense of hearing, others again of 

 the sight ; and in some the sense of touch plays an 

 important part. As a rule two of the senses are very 

 acute, being usually those of smell and hearing ; 

 more rarely hearing and sight. 



The mental faculties are in harmony with the 

 physical structure. We find animals of wonderful 

 sagacity among the Carnivora and, therefore, it is 

 but natural that they should be adepts in all the arts 

 of cunning and dissimulation, for their destructive 

 and thievish natures call for this. Consciousness of 

 their strength also gives them a courage and bold- 

 ness such as other animals never attain. But these 

 very qualities have others behind them, which do 

 not show these animals in such favorable light. The 

 Carnivora are accustomed to conquest, and their 

 imperiousness often degenerates into cruelty and an 

 unquenchable thirst for blood. 



How Carnivora Differing mental and physical qualities 

 Live and in an animal indicate a certain mode of 

 Hunt. uf e ; n a given locality. But Carnivora 

 live and govern everywhere : on the level ground, in 

 the tree-tops, in the water, in the mountains and on 

 the plains. In this order of* animals are included 

 some of perfectly diurnal and others of nocturnal 

 habits ; some looking for food at dusk, some in the 

 sunshine, and others in the dark of night. 



Many live gregariously, others live singly ; some 

 attack their prey openly, but the majority stealthily 

 creep up and surprise it, no matter how strong they 

 may be, nor how weak their victim. All carnivo- 

 rous animals habitually secrete themselves in order 

 not to frighten away their destined prey, and few 

 are in haste to flee at the first signs of danger. The 

 more they like daylight, the livelier, the more socia- 

 ble and more cheerful they are ; the more nocturnal 

 their habits, the more they show themselves dis- 

 trustful, shy and sulky. 



All Beasts of Prey are flesh-eaters ; and very few 

 of them eat fruit, grain or other vegetable food. 

 They are sometimes divided into flesh-eaters and 

 omnivorous animals, but these divisions do not bear 

 close scrutiny, for those classed as omnivorous pre- 

 fer a juicy piece of meat to anything else, just as do 



the largest and most ferocious of the flesh-eaters. 

 All members of this order are downright murderers, 

 whether they kill large or small animals, and even 

 those that are fond of vegetable food quickly rise to 

 the occasion when murder is in view and animal 

 food is at stake. There is naturally as much differ- 

 ence in the methods pursued by carnivorous mam- 

 mals in their selection of food, or rather prey, as 

 there is in their bodily structure, the character of 

 their native country or their modes of life. Few 

 animals are secure from their attacks. The largest 

 and strongest Carnivora give mammals the prefer- 

 ence, although not disdaining other animals. Even 

 the Lion does not feed exclusively on mammals, 

 and the other Felidae are still less fastidious. The 

 Dogs, which originally were genuine flesh-eaters, ex- 

 tend their hunting still farther ; and among the 

 Civets and Weasels there are some which confine 

 themselves to fish and similar food. The Bears are 

 the real omnivorous animals, devouring vegetable 

 food with as much enjoyment as flesh. 



Sexes and Some of the Carnivora are supposed to 

 Young of maintain perfect marital relations ; but 

 Carnwora. none of them unite for life. Among 

 some Felidae and Weasels, both sexes live in close 

 companionship, and may mutually assist in feeding 

 and protecting their young ones; with the majority, 

 however, the father considers his children his lawful 

 prey and has to be driven away by the mother when 

 he discovers their lair. Under such circumstances 

 the rearing of the young devolves solely upon the 

 mother. The number of young at a birth varies 

 greatly, but is rarely as low as one. They are nearly 

 all born blind and very helpless, but develop rapidly. 

 The mother carefully instructs them in their craft, 

 and accompanies them in their forays until they are 

 able to shift for themselves. In a few species the 

 mothers carry their young upon their backs or in 

 their arms in times of danger; the remainder take 

 them away in their mouths. 



Man wages open war upon nearly all Carnivora. 

 He has tried to tame and domesticate very few of 

 them, though one genus, the Dog, has come into 

 friendlier relations with him than any other animal. 



XTbe Cat jfamfl?. 



FIRST FAMILY: Felidae. 



If asked to whom the place of honor among the 

 Beasts of Prey belongs, no Man would be long in 

 doubt as to the family he should name. The Lion 

 was crowned king of the beasts at a remote period 

 of time, and so we first turn to his tribe, which is 

 that of the Cats, or Felidae. 



The Cats are the must perfect and typical mem- 

 bers of the family of Carnivora. No other group 

 presents the same symmetry of limb and body and 

 the same regularity of structure. Every part of the 

 body is lithe and graceful and this is why these ani- 

 mals are so pleasing to our aesthetic sense. We may 

 safely regard our domestic Cat as representative of 

 the entire family. 



Physical We may assume the structure of the 

 Features of body to be known; the strong, yet 

 the Cat Family, graceful body, the round head set 

 on a stout neck, the limbs of moderate length, the 

 long tail, and the soft fur corresponding in color to 

 the surrounding objects, are features with which 

 everybody is familiar. The weapons with which the 

 Felidae are endowed are perfect. The teeth are 

 formidable, the canines being large, strong, very lit- 

 tle curved and so perfectly adapted to life-destroy- 

 ing action that the small incisors are hardly notice- 

 able beside them. The tongue is thick and muscu- 

 lar, and is supplied with fine, horny thorns, whose 

 points lie towards the throat. The teeth are not the 



