478 



RECORDS OF BIG GAME 



PUMA (Felis concolor). 



With the exception of the much smaller and longer-tailed 

 yaguarondi, the puma (pronounced pooma) is the only uniformly 

 coloured cat found in America, where its range extends from British 

 Columbia and Maine in the north to the Strait of Magellan in the 

 south. The size is inferior to that of the jaguar, the height at the 

 shoulder being about 2 feet, and the weight 150 Ibs. The general 

 colour of the fur is tawny, tending, like that of the Virginian deer, to 

 reddish in summer, and to grayish in winter, with the middle of the 

 back darker, and a whitish patch on the back of the otherwise black ears. 

 But with such an enormous geographical range, it is inevitable there 

 should be much local variation ; and a number of races are now recog- 

 nised, most of which are distinguished by size or the redder or grayer 

 tint of the fur. A Patagonian race has pale ears. 



Length in 

 the field. 



ft. in. 



-8 6 



Weight. 



Ibs. 

 about 150 



-7 

 -7 

 -7 

 -7 



Locality. 



Brazil 



Gallegos River, Patagonia . 

 Fraser River, British Columbia . 

 Wyoming ..... 



Owner. 



A. Pendarves Vivian. 

 Count Henry Coudenhove. 

 W. Moncreiffe. 

 J. Fannin. 

 J. L. Scarlett. 



LYNXES (Felis lynx, etc.). 



The lynxes form a well-marked group connected with the more 

 typical members of the cat tribe by the jungle-cat (F. chaus], and 

 distinguished by the tuft of long hairs at the summit of the ears, and 

 the absence of the first upper cheek-tooth. From the others the caracal 

 (F. caracal}, of Africa and India, is broadly distinguished by its long 

 tail and uniform rufous colour. The short-tailed lynxes are, however, 

 a group in which it is very difficult to determine whether the variations 

 indicate distinct species or local races. In the typical European lynx 

 (F. lynx] the tail is very short, the throat has a ruff of long hair, and 

 the coat is spotted with dark brown ; the Tibet lynx (F. lynx isabellind) 

 is a pale variety, and the Canadian lynx (F. lynx canadensis), which 

 ranges as far south as California, is another race. The red lynx 

 (F. rufa), which is also widely extended in America, and has numerous 

 local races, is a second species. From differences in the form of the 

 skull, the Spanish lynx (F. pardina), which is a fully spotted animal, 

 is also classed as a distinct species. It ranges over a large portion 

 of Southern Europe, including Turkey, Greece, Sicily, Sardinia, and 



