LEGENDS ABOUT LEOPARDS 



leopards are said to be most common in damp and hot 

 localities, such as the steaming forests of the Malay 

 peninsula. Even then the leopard does not entirely 

 change its spots, for in the proper light the spots can 

 be recognized by their pattern, just as the pattern of 

 a white damask tablecloth can be recognized in spite 

 of the absence of differentiation of colour. The 

 ancients held that the leopard had a fragrant breath, 

 which is unexpected in so carnivorous a creature. 

 The idea not only crops up in Pliny, whose works are 

 a heap of confusion, where anything in the nature of 

 legend may be shot and subsequently utilized, but in 

 an Anglo-Saxon poem. Even Dryden was not above 

 the naturalists of antiquity in this belief. " The 

 pantere like unto the smaragdyne " seems to be an 

 equally inept description of this cat, unless indeed 

 the eyes alone are referred to. 



THE SNOW LEOPARD OR OUNCE 



It is only rarely that this beautiful feline has been 

 on view at the Zoo. In fact until very recently it was 

 quite unknown in that collection. Since then, how- 

 ever, there have been several examples. The ounce 

 is not, as it might be thought to be, simply a pale and 

 rather woolly variety of the common leopard. It is 

 a perfectly distinct form, and is limited to Thibet and 

 the highlands of Central Asia, like the kiang. It is 

 certainly of a furry aspect, as is also the kiang, and as 

 befits an inhabitant of a cold climate. The skin has 

 a paler ground colour than in the leopard, and is 

 sprinkled over with spots, which are rather less denned. 

 The tail is particularly thick and long, and this indeed 

 is the most obvious character of the beast. The tail 

 is so long that it is actually longer than the head and 

 body together in some, though not in all, specimens 

 that have been carefully measured. 



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