100 



MAMMALS. 



Felis CoNCOLOii. (Map 16.) I notice the Puma here on account of its size, although it is, 

 perhaps, more nearly related to the Lynx than to the Lion, Tiger, or Leopard, and forms the 

 passage between the large cats and lynxes. It is confined to the New World, but its range there is 

 extensive, reaching from the Straits of Magellan to about 50° or 60° north latitude, especially in 

 the line of the mountains.* 



It has been recorded as also extending into Tierra del Fuego.f But although there seems 

 no reason why it should not, I can find no trustworthy record of its having been actuallj' found there. 

 Most of the larger Cats swim across rivers, or arms of the sea, with ease. The Jaguar crosses the 

 Amazon ; the Leopard takes readily to the water ; and Tigers have often been taken by the 

 fishermen at Singapore, entangled in their nets while swimming across diu'ing the night. 



Felis JUiiATA. The Chetah, or Cheetah, is found in Syria, Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, South 

 Siberia, West and South India. It is a moot question whether the Cheetah is found in Ceylon or 

 not. KelaartJ and Sir E. Tennent§ say no; the Panther is there known by that name, but they 

 distinctly state that the Cheetah is not found in any part of Ceylon. Baker, again, [| speaks of 



* " United States General Report on the Zoology in 

 the Explorations for a Railroad Route from the Llissis- 

 sippi to the Pacific," vol. viii. p. 84. 1857. 



t Captain Fitzroy, in his "Voyage of the Beagle," re- 

 fers to the following passage from Byron's " Loss of the 

 Wager,'' as proving that the Pnma inhabits Tierra del 

 Fuego : 



" In one of my walks, seeing a very large bird of prey 

 upon an eminence, I endeavoured to come upon it unpcr- 

 ceived with my gun, by means of the woods which lay at 

 the back of that eminence : but when I had proceeded so 

 far in the wood as to think I was in a line with it, I heard 

 a growling close by me, which made mo think it advisable 

 to retire as soon as possible. The woods were so gloomy 

 I could see nothing ; but as I retired this noise followed 

 me close till I had got out of them. Some of our men did 

 assure me that they had seen a very large beast in the 

 woods ; but their description of it was too imiierfect to 

 be relied on." 



" As this tent was not large enough to contain us all, 

 I proposed to four of the people to go to the end of the 

 bay, about two miles distant from the bell-tent, to occupy 

 the skeleton of an old Indian wigwam which I had dis- 

 covex-ed in a walk that way upon our first landing. This 

 we covered to windward with sea-weed ; and, lighting a 

 fire, laid ourselves down in hopes of finding a remedy for 

 our hunger in sleep : but we had not long composed our- 

 selves before, one of our company was disturbed by the 

 blowing of some animal at his face, and upon opening his 

 eyes was not a little astonished to see, by the glimmering 

 of the fire, a large beast standing over him. 



" He had presence of mind enough to snatch a brand 

 from the fire, which was now very low, and thrust it at 

 the nose of the animal, who thereupon made ofl' . . . . 

 In the morning we were not a little anxious to know how 



our companion had fared, and this anxiety was increased 

 upon our tracing the footsteps of the beast in the sand in 

 a direction towards the bell-tent. The impression was 

 deep and plain of a large round foot, well furnished 

 xoith daws. Upon acquainting the people in the tent 

 with the circumstances of our story, we found that they 

 too had been visited by the same unwelcome guest, which 

 they had driven away by much the same expedient." — 

 ByrovUs Narrative of the Loss of the Wager. 



This reference, however, gives no support to the notion 

 of the animal alluded to having been a Puma. In fact, 

 the description of its footprints, which I have italicized, 

 clearly shows that the animal could not have been a Puma. 

 None of the Cat tribe leave any trace of a claw in their 

 footprints. The claws being retractile, are furled back out 

 of all risk of being blunted when the animal walks, and 

 are only extended when used as weapons of offence. The 

 Dogs, on the other hand, leave a very well-defined claw- 

 mark. The Hyoenas, which partake of the characters of 

 both Dogs and Cats, and are transitional between them, 

 leave a very faint trace. Dr. Kirk, by whose great experi- 

 ence in Africa I have desired to fortify my abstract 

 opinion, tells me that "it is well known to old hunters 

 that the only distinction between the spoor of a Lion and 

 Hyoina is to be found in the mark of claws. The two are 

 of the same size (nearly) ; but the Hytena shows to the 

 skilled eye the imprint of a claw, which the Lion never 

 docs." 



Commodore Byron and his party, therefore, had suf- 

 fered a false alarm. The creature which had disturbed 

 them was, doubtless, one of the harmless domestic dogs of 

 the natives. 



X Kelaart, " Prodromus Fauna; Zcylanicpe," 1852. 



§ Teknent, Sir J. E., " Ceylon." 



II Baker, "Eight Years' 'Wanderings in Ceylon," 1855. 



