CHAPTER I 

 THE FOOD OF ANIMALS FLESH-EATING MAMMALS 



(CARNIVORA) WHALES (CETACEA) 



So well marked are the flesh-eating propensities of a large 

 and familiar order of Mammals that they have been christened, 

 par excellence, the " Carnivora ". Here are included a number 

 of important sub-groups, familiarly exemplified by the Cat, Dog, 

 Bear, and Seal. In many of these forms, however, the diet is 

 not exclusively of animal nature, and some of them take a con- 

 siderable quantity of vegetable food. Polar Bears in the Zoo 

 are regularly supplied with green meat as an alterative to theii 

 fish diet, w r hile loaves of bread are served out to Brown Bears, 

 and every child knows that these ordinary Bruins are particularly 

 fond of honey. 



CAT FAMILY 



The " harmless necessary cat " is about as typical a Carni- 

 vore as can readily be found, and anyone who has observed the 

 stealthy way in which one of these animals approaches small 

 birds, taking advantage of the smallest cover and closing pro- 

 ceedings with a sudden spring, has a very good idea of the way 

 in which Lions, Tigers, and Leopards hunt down their prey. 

 One would expect a Lion, the symbol of British dignity, to adopt 

 tactics of a more open kind, but, as a matter of fact, this does 

 not appear to be the case. As one w r ould anticipate, the muscular 

 system of a Carnivore is exceedingly well developed, the Tiger 

 in particular being very well endowed in this respect, and able 

 to drag along an animal far exceeding him in weight. 



The feet and teeth of a Cat will repay close examination, 

 since they are specially modified in accordance with the preda- 

 ceous habit. To begin with, the animal does not walk on the 

 soles of its feet as we do, but progresses noiselessly on tiptoe, 



