204 CARNIVORA. 



but may be distinguished from that animal by the greater fulness and 

 roughness of its fur, as well as by some variations in the markings with 

 which it is decorated. From the thickness of its furry garment it is sup- 

 posed to be an inhabitant of more mountainous and colder districts than 

 the leopard. The rosette-like spots which appear on its body are not so 

 sharply defined as those of the leopard ; there is a large black spot behind 

 the ears. The spots exhibit a certain tendency to form stripes, and the 

 tail is exceedingly bushy when compared with that of a leopard of equal 

 size. The general color of the body is rather paler than that of the 

 leopard, being a grayish-white, in which a slight yellow tin.ge is per- 

 ceptible, and, as is usual with most animals, the upper parts of the body 

 are darker than the lower. In size it is intermediate between the leopard 

 and the panther. 



The ounce is an inhabitant of some parts of Asia, and specimens of 

 this fine animal have been brought from the shores of the Persian Gulf. 

 Its home, however, seems to be the central plateau of Thibet, and it 

 occurs not rarely in West Siberia and the Altai range, but is very un- 

 common in the region of Lake Baikal. The ounce has seldom been seen 

 in captivity. Two living ones were in the Zoological Gardens of Mos- 

 cow in 1 87 1, but like the other animals in that establishment, they died 

 from neglect. 



