FLESH-EATING MAMMALS n 



selves that if the first rush should fail they are often able to run 

 down their prey. Cheetahs, indeed, are the greyhounds among 

 the Cats, if such an expression is permissible, and it has been 

 asserted that they hold the record among Mammals for short- 

 distance running. 



Most members of the Cat Family subsist chiefly or entirely 

 upon land animals. It is, however, a matter of common know- 



Fig. 308. Cheetah or Hunting Leopard (Cyncelurus jubatits) 



ledge that domesticated grimalkins are particularly fond of fish, 

 and have even been known to acquire the habit of catching these 

 for themselves. And the large spotted Fishing Cat (Felts viver- 

 rina) of India and South China largely depends upon this kind 

 of food. 



CIVET-CAT FAMILY 



The Viverrine or Civet-like Carnivores get their living much 

 in the same way as the Cats proper, but, being smaller, attack 

 prey of corresponding size. For this pursuit their long slender 

 bodies, with comparatively short legs and narrow snouts, are well 

 adapted. Viverrines include a large number of widely differing 

 forms, all of which, however, are less specialized than the Felidae, 

 as seen more particularly in the fact that their teeth are more 

 numerous and less formidable, while their claws are in most cases 



