THE SNOW-LEOPARD, OR OUNCE 397 



return home from a fruitless vigil, under the impression that the animal had never 

 been within a mile of his position. . . . There is very little sport afforded by 

 this stealthy animal, and it is almost useless to organize a special hunt, as it is im- 

 possible form to any correct opinion respecting its locality after it has killed an 

 animal. It may either be asleep in some distant ravine, or among the giant 

 branches of some old tree, or beneath the rocks of some adjacent hill, or retired, 

 within a cave, but it has no special characteristic or custom that would guide the 

 hunter in arranging a beat according to the usual rules in the case of tigers." 



Leopards are, however, much less suspicious of traps than are tigers, and still 

 more so than lions, and, accordingly, a large number are thus caught. In India 

 they are frequently taken alive in the cage trap, to which we have already referred 

 under the head of the tiger ; such traps being generally baited with a dog, goat, or 

 calf, which attracts the leopard by its cries. In Africa a trap like a large fox trap 

 is, however, generally employed ; and so bold in some parts are leopards that Mr. 

 Hunter states that once during dinner-time he caught one in a trap which was set 

 within fifteen yards' distance of the table at which he was sitting. 



THE SNOW- LEOPARD, OR OUNCE (Felis undo) 



The snow-leopard, or ounce, has been known to science for more than a cen- 

 tury, but its habitat was long a mystery. This splendid animal is nearly allied to 

 the leopard, from which it differs in the more arched form of the skull, as well as in 

 coloration and its much longer fur. The long fur is thick, and almost of a woolly 

 nature; the ground color of the upper parts being a pale, whitish gray, occasionally 

 with a faint yellow tinge, passing into pure white beneath. The black spots are 

 much larger than those of the leopard, and over the greater part of the skin form 

 irregular rosettes, with the central area of each generally rather darker than the 

 ground color of the fur. As in the leopard, the spots on the head, the lower por- 

 tions of the limbs, and the extremity of the tail have no light-colored centres. A 

 black streak extends from near the middle of the back to the root of the tail. The 

 tail itself is remarkable for the length of its fur, scarcely diminishing in diameter 

 from root to tip. The length of a specimen noticed by Mr. Blanford was seven 

 feet four inches, of which three feet were occupied by the tail. 



The snow-leopard inhabits the elevated regions of Central Asia. In Ladak it 

 does not descend below the level of some nine thousand feet above the sea level in 

 winter, while in summer it ranges to a height of eighteen thousand feet and up- 

 wards ; in the Gilgit district of the Northwest Himalayas it is reported, however, 

 by Dr. Scully to descend as low as six thousand feet in winter. The long and 

 thick fur is specially adapted to protect the animal against the severe winter cold 

 of the regions it inhabits. The beauty of the fur of a snow-leopard killed during 

 the winter is unrivaled. 



The northern range of the snow-leopard extends to the Altai mountains and 

 some distance beyond, while to the northeast it embraces Amurland and the island 

 of Saghalien. The animal is probably found all over Tibet, but how far to the 

 westward of Gilgit it extends is at present unknown. It has, indeed, been reported 



