Game Animals of India, etc. 



termed the Ounce or Onza^ — names said by Buffon to 

 be corrupted from Lynx or Lunx^ of which the present 

 species was supposed to be a relative. The same name 

 occurs again in the scientific title of the jaguar, Felis 

 onca. The name Bharal-he^ given to the snow-leopard 

 by the hill-tribes to the north of Simla refers to its 

 partiality for the blue sheep or bharal. 



The snow-leopard is specially characterised by the 

 length and thickness of the fur, which attains its 

 maximum development on the tail. The ground- 

 colour is white, and the black spots, except on the 

 head, are larger and more ill -defined than in the 

 leopard, forming interrupted and somewhat irregular 

 rosettes, with the light areas inside rather darker 

 than the general ground-colour. On the head and 

 limbs, as well as in the terminal third of the tail 

 (where they form rings), the spots are solid, that is to 

 say, without light centres ; and on the under surface 

 of the body there are comparatively few, and these 

 somewhat ill-defined. A dark longitudinal streak runs 

 from near the middle of the back to the root of the 

 tail ; and the black external surface of the ear is 

 marked by a large yellowish spot. 



The snow- leopard stands about 24 inches at the 

 shoulder ; and, although precise dimensions are difficult 

 to obtain, its total length would appear to range 

 between 6 and 7 feet, or rather more. In a specimen 

 of which the length was 6 feet minus half an inch, the 

 tail measured 36 inches ; but this appendage had also 

 a similar length in an example of which the entire 

 length was 6 feet 4 inches. The skull, which measures 

 from 6 to 7 inches in length, may be distinguished 

 from that of the leopard by the more swollen palate, 

 and the shorter nasal bones, approximating in the 

 latter respect to that of the lion. 



The snow-leopard, as its name implies, is essentially 

 an inhabitant of high mountains, and is found on all 

 the elevated ranges of Central Asia, occurring not 



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