THE CAT FAMILY— CHEETAH. 



135 



is frequently passed unnoticed. In this country 

 there is almost an entire lack of the larger forests 

 in which a Beast of Prey could effectually conceal 

 itself, and therefore the only refuge for such an 

 animal is that furnished by reeds, high grass and 

 corn-fields. The Jungle-Cat prowls around both day 

 and night. He boldly comes up to the very out- 

 skirts of villages, and seems even to select orchards 

 in their vicinity as his favorite haunts. 



Captive Jungle-Cats are seldom seen, and when 

 taken old, they are of a fierce and unamiable dis- 

 position, but young animals may, with kindly care, 

 become very affectionate. The Egyptian explorer, 

 Dumichen, recounts the following story of a young 

 Jungle-Cat which he found half-starved in a subter- 

 ranean vault as he was searching the ruin of a tem- 

 ple : " The Jungle-Cat made no attempt at escape 

 when I seized it, but seemed to be meekly resigned 



the Guepard. It serves to bridge over the chasm 

 between the Cat and the Dog. This animal has a 

 perfect right to its scientific name, Cynailurus (Dog- 

 Cat), for he is really half Cat and half Dog. The 

 head and the long tail are Cat-like, but the" rest of 

 the body, and especially the long legs, are much like 

 a Dog's. The paws still show, like the Cat's, a per- 

 fect arrangement for retracting the claws, but the 

 flexor muscles are so weak and ineffectual that the 

 claws nearly always protrude, and therefore are 

 blunted like those of Dogs. The teeth are similar 

 to those of the other Cats, but the canines are 

 pressed together as they are in Dogs. The mental 

 endowments correspond to the physical attributes : 

 The expression of the face is in the main Cat-like, 

 but the disposition of a Dog, in all its good-natured 

 gentleness, speaks to us through the eyes. 



THE FAHHAD, OR AFRICAN CHEETAH. A glance at this picture will show why the naturalist has given these animals a name 



which means Dog-Cat. The limbs are long like those of the Dog, but the long tail, the head and the paws are Cat-like. The African variety, 

 shown in this picture, differs from the Asiatic species principally in the shortness of the mane on the nape of the neck and different markings of 

 the fur. (Cynailurus guttatus.) 



to its fate. It ravenously ate the food I gave it, and 

 allowed itself to be taken up and caressed. Fully 

 appreciating the service I had rendered it, the little 

 animal became my inseparable companion, jumped 

 on my Camel when I set out on a trip, wandered 

 with me through the greater part of Nubia, and 

 when I was copying inscriptions, it would keep near 

 me for hours at a time. It also was on friendly 

 terms with my Dog. The two never quarreled, but 

 often played with each other in the most amiable 

 way." 



THE CHEETAH. 



We now turn to a singular species, the Cheetah or 

 Hunting Leopard, which is sometimes also called 



Character- Our present knowledge is not sufficient 

 isticsof the to enable us to decide whether the Chee- 

 Cheetah. t a ] 1s constitute more than one species. 

 Certain naturalists hold the African and Asiatic ani- 

 mals to be identical ; others count besides the Asi- 

 atic Cheetah, sometimes called the Maned Cheetah 

 (Cynailurus jubatus), and the Fahhad or African 

 Cheetah (Cynailurus guttatus) , the Spotted Cheetah 

 ( Cynailurus soemmeringii), and the Woolly Cheetah 

 (Cynailurus laneus). The Asiatic Cheetah is very 

 slender, and has much longer limbs than the Cats 

 proper. The head is small and elongated in a Dog- 

 like way, instead of being round like that of a Cat ; 

 the ear is wide and low, and the eye has a round 

 pupil ; the fur is long and tangled, especially on the 



