The Leopard 



ground between. In the double line of solid elongated 

 black spots down the middle of the hind half of the 

 back, there is, however, an approximation towards the 

 African type. The long and bushy tail, the terminal 

 third of which is black and white only, is strikingly 

 like that of the snow-leopard. 



It would be of interest to ascertain in what part of 

 India the Persian race is replaced by the Indian, and 

 likewise whether there is a complete gradation between 

 the two. The writer once purchased a leopard-skin 

 in Kashmir which, although evidently nearer to the 

 Persian than to the Indian race, may have indicated a 

 partial transition between the two. A mounted speci- 

 men of the Persian leopard, obtained from Astrabad, 

 in Persia, and presented by Colonel Beresford-Lovett 

 in 1882, is exhibited in the British Museum. In the 

 thick, furry tail, as well as in general colouring, it 

 presents a marked contrast to the crouching specimen 

 of the larger Indian leopard exhibited in the same case. 



THE OUNCE, OR SNOW-LEOPARD 



{Felis undo) 



Native Names. — Ikar^ Zig^ Sachak^ and Sah^ of the 

 Bhotias ; Bharal-he of the Tribes north of 

 Simla ; Thurwagh in Kunawar. 



(Plate viii, fig. 5) 



Although sometimes confounded with the long- 

 haired Persian race of the leopard, the white or snow- 

 leopard is a distinct species. It was formerly regarded' 

 as very rare, but skins may now be frequently seen in 

 the windows of the London furriers, and a few years 

 ago a specimen was exhibited in the Zoological Society's 

 Menagerie. By Anglo-Indian sportsmen the animal 

 is almost invariably designated snow-leopard ; but by 

 the older travellers and naturalists it was commonly 



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