CHAPTER I. 



THE CARNIVORA OR FLESH-EATERS — GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORDER — ITS FUNCTION 

 IN THE ECONOMY OF NATURE — ITS GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION — ITS DIVISION INTO 

 FAMILIES. 



NO division of the Animal Kingdom presents such a variety of 

 forms as the order at which we have now arrived ; it embraces 

 the lordly lion and the stealthy weasel, the domestic cat and 

 the faithful dog, the ponderous bear and the unwieldly walrus. Yet 

 these creatures that seem to differ so widely, some of which are fitted to 

 live on the ground, some on trees, some in the waters, are most closely 

 akin. 



The title Carnivora is derived from two Latin words, caro, cariiis, 

 "flesh," and voro, "to devour," and indicates the most striking char- 

 acteristic of the order. Strictly speaking, no doubt the epithet is appli- 

 cable to many of the animals which we have described in preceding 

 chapters ; but the diet of the bats and shrews is confined to small ani- 

 mals, such as worms and insects, while the Carnivora not only possess 

 the appetite for blood, but the strength to gratify it in larger victims. 

 The Carnivorous Quadrupeds are distinguished by the possession of four 

 large and long canine teeth, which can seize and hold fast their struggling 

 prey, and the cheek teeth are either entirely constructed for tearing and 

 cutting or have their crowns more or less blunted ; behind the false 

 molars is a large tooth denominated the " laccrator," and it may be 

 remarked that those genera which have the fewest false molars have the 

 shortest, and consequently the most vise-like jaw. 



With the exception of the human race and a few of our domestic 

 pets, no animal in a state of nature arrives at old age ; that is, at such 

 age as permits decline and feebleness to take the place of strength and 

 vigor. Throughout the whole creation violent death awaits alike all 



