132 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



a second time on his prey, but in the north, where 

 game is scarce, he does this habitually and to such 

 an extent that he total ly gives up the search for other 

 prey and remains near the carcass of his victim until 

 it is all eaten. In the Alps he makes his presence 

 felt in quite another and more emphatic way. Ac- 

 cording to Schinz, he preys upon Badgers, Hares, 

 Rabbits and Mice, pursues the Roes and Chamois, 

 and makes raids upon herds of Sheep, Goats and 

 Calves. Bechstein says that a Lynx can kill thirty 

 Sheep in one night; Schinz's experience makes the 

 number from thirty to forty and Tschudi tells of a 

 Lynx who in a short time killed more than one hun- 

 dred and sixty Sheep and Goats. 



A Tamed Lynx Captive Lynxes may unconditionally 

 an Attractive be counted among the most attract- 

 Ammal. j ve f Q^As. If they have not re- 



ceived careful training in youth, they do not always 

 show themselves in their most amiable light, but 

 the)' never fail to attract very marked attention. 



her great excitement she always had enough reason- 

 ing power to gauge the distance and to approximate 

 the difference between the Hare's speed and her 

 own. She would obey only my brother's or my own 

 summons, and showed no respect toward any other 

 person. When we were both away for a whole day, 

 nobody could control her and then woe be unto the 

 careless Chicken or the thoughtless Goose! During 

 our absence she would, as soon as it became dusk, 

 climb on the roof, lean against the chimney, and go 

 to sleep. As soon as our carriage came into the 

 yard, late at night, she sprang to the stairs in a few 

 bounds. If I then called her name she would come 

 to me quickly, put her strong fore-paws on my 

 shoulders, and purring and rubbing herself against 

 me like a Cat, she would follow me into the room 

 and prepare to pass the night on the bed or the 

 lounge. 



"Once my brother and I were obliged to stay away 

 from home for a whole week. The Lynx in the 



THE PARDINE LYNX. Although one of the smallest members of his family, the Pardine Lynx of southern Europe is as agile and 



fierce as the largest. The principal characteristics of this Lynx, the short and distinctly spotted fur, the long whiskers and ear-tufts are shown 

 in this picture, which represents him watching for prey from a secure hiding place in a tree. [Lynx pardinus.) 



We are indebted to Loewis for an excellent report 

 of a female Lynx that he kept. He says: "A few 

 months sufficed to teach my young Lynx her name, 

 ' Lucy.' When, during a hunting expedition, I would 

 call out this name, together with those of numerous 

 Dogs, she would always respond to her own name, 

 but to no other. Her training had been very easy 

 and had reached such a point that when she was en- 

 gaged in a passionate but forbidden chase of Hares, 

 Sheep or poultry, and I called her, she would stop 

 instantaneously and come back like a guilty Dog, 

 crouching low on the ground and pleading for 

 mercy. When she was too far away to hear our 

 voices, the report of a gun was sufficient to call her 

 hack to us in breathless haste. 



"Lucy took part in all my autumnal hunting expe- 

 ditions. When she caught sight of a poor Hare, she 

 immediately engaged in a hot pursuit, and in spite of 



meantime grew to be afraid of Men, made piteous 

 cries while she searched the place for us, and on the 

 second day emigrated to a birch forest near by, u ith- 

 out receiving any supplies from the kitchen. Only 

 at night would she go back to her old place on the 

 roof near the chimney. When we at last returned 

 her joy knew no bounds. With lightning speed she 

 came down from the roof, and nearly choked my 

 brother and myself in the embrace she gave us. 

 From that time she was reinstated in our house, and 

 every evening, when my mother would read aloud to 

 us, she would resume her place on the lounge, purring, 

 yawning or snoring, and presenting an interesting 

 spectacle. She displayed highly developed sensibil- 

 ity, an illustration of which was furnished by a scene 

 that I once observed from my window. Our great 

 pond was frozen, but a hole had been cut in the ice 

 for the benefit of the Geese. When the Lynx saw 



