THE CAT TRIBE 



53 



OCELOT, which corresponds somewhat to the servals, but is not the least like a lynx, as the 

 servals are. It is entirely a tree-cat, and lives on birds and monkeys. The following detailed 

 description of its coloration appeared in " Life at the Zoo" : 



" Its coat, with the exception perhaps of that of the clouded leopard of Sumatra, marks 

 the highest development of ornament among four-footed animals. The Argus pheasant alone 

 seems to offer a parallel to the beauties of the ocelot's fur, especially in the development of the 

 wonderful ocelli, which, though never reaching in the beast the perfect cup-and-ball ornament 

 seen on the wings of the bird, can be traced in all the early stages of spots and wavy lines, 

 so far as the irregular shell-shaped rim and dot on the feet, sides, and back, just as in the 

 subsidiary ornament of the Argus pheasant's feathers. Most of the ground-tint of the fur is 



Photo bj Ottomar Jnichutx] 



OCELOT FROM CENTRAL AMERICA 



The ocelot can be tamed and almost domesticated if taken young, and is occasionally kept as a pet by theforett Indiant 



[ffirlln 



smoky-pearl colour, on which the spots develop from mere dots on the legs and speckles on 

 the feet and toes to large egg-shaped ocelli on the flanks. There are also two beautiful 

 pearl-coloured spots on the back of each ear, like those which form the common ornaments 

 of the wings of many moths." 



The nose is pink ; the eye large, convex, and translucent. 



A tame ocelot described by Wilson, the American naturalist, was most playful and affec- 

 tionate, but when fed with flesh was less tractable. It jumped on to the back of a horse in the 

 stable, and tried to curl up on its hindquarters. The horse threw the ocelot off and kicked it, 

 curing it of any disposition to ride. On seeing a horse, the ocelot always ran off to its kennel 

 afterwards. When sent to England, it caught hold of and threw down a child of four years 

 old, whom it rolled about with its paws without hurting it. 



