Chap. 2. 



QUADRUPEDS OF VERMONT. 



THE BAY LYNX. 



THE CATAMOUNT. 



THE BAY LYNX. 



Fclis riifa. — Guildensted. 



Description. — Color yellowish, or red- 

 dish brown. Inferior parts of the throat 

 white, or whitish. Eyes encircled with 

 a whitish band. Front and portions about 

 the upper lip striped with darkish; irides 

 yellow. Ears short, tufted with black 

 hair springing from the back of the ear, 

 near the tip. Inside of the legs spotted 

 with brown. Tail short, terminated with 

 dark brown, and obscurely banded. — 

 Fringe of hair longer than in other parts 

 near the base of the jaw. Ears surround- 

 ed posteriorly with a black border, within 

 which is a triangular patch of yellowish 

 white. Length of the head and body, 2 

 ft. 3 inches ; tail, 4 inches ; height, IG 

 inches. 



History. — This animal has been fre- 

 quently met with in our woods, and has 

 perhaps been most generally known by 

 the name of Ulld Cat. It is, however, to 

 be distinguished from the smaller wild 

 cats with long tails, which arc met with, 

 and which have probably sprung from the 

 domestic cat. In its habits it resembles 

 the preceding species, preying upon squir- 

 rels, birds, and other small animals. This 

 animal is now very rare, being only occa- 

 sionally seen, in the most unsettled parts 

 of the State. 



THE CATAMOUNT. 



Fclis concolor. — Linnaeus. 

 Description. — General color, brown- 

 ish red on the back, reddish gray on the 

 sides, and whitish or light ash on the bel- 

 ly ; tail, the same color as the back, ex- 

 cepting the extremity, which is brown- 

 ish black, not tufted; chin, upper lip, 

 and inside of the ears, yellowish white; 

 the hairs on the back are short, thick, 

 brownish, and tipped with red; on the 



sides and belly, longer, looser, lighter, 

 and tipped with white; hairs of the face 

 like tiie back, with whitish hairs inter- 

 mingled, giving it a reddish gray tinge ; 

 body long, head roundj jaws strong ; 

 teeth strong; canines conical ; claws 

 strong, retractile, and of a pearly white 

 color. Dimensions of the specimen from 

 wliich the above description is drawn — 

 length from the nose to the tail, 4 ft. 8 

 indies; tail, 2 ft. 6 inches; from the top 

 of the head to the point of the nose, 10 

 inches; width across the forehead, 8 in- 

 ches; length of the fore leos, 1 ft. 2 in- 

 ches; the hind legs, 1 ft. 4 inches. 



History. — This ferocious American an- 

 imal has been known in different places 

 under a great variety of different names. 

 In the southern and western parts of the 

 United States it is called the Cougar, 

 Painter, or American Lion ; in New Eng- 

 land it is known by the name of Cata- 

 mount, or Panther ; while in Europe it 

 has more commonly borne the name of 

 Puma. This is the largest and most for- 

 midable animal of the cat kind found in 

 America. In form it bears considerable 

 resemblance to the domestic cat, but 

 when fully grown is about two-1 birds the 

 size of a lion. It, however, differs from 

 the lion in not having the tail tufted, and 

 the male being without a mane. These 

 animals, though scattered over all the 

 temperate and warmer parts of the conti- 

 nent, do not appear to have been any 

 where very numerous. They were for- 

 merly much more common in Vermont 

 than at the present day, and have at times 

 done much injury by destroying sheep 

 and young cattle. They usually take 

 their prey, like the common cat, by creep- 

 ing softly within proper distance, and then 

 leaping upon it and seizing it by the 

 throat. If the victim be a large animal, 

 like a calf, sheep, or deer, they swing it 

 upon their back, and dash off with great 

 ease and celeritj', into some retired place, 

 where it is devoured at leisure. Some 

 years ago one of these animals took a 

 large calf out of a pen in Bennington, 

 where the fence was four feet high, and 

 carried it off on his back. With this load, 

 he ascended a ledge of recks, where one 

 of the leaps was 15 feet in height." Dur- 

 ing the day the Catamount usually lies 

 concealed, but in the night prowls for his 

 prey, and in early times his peculiar cry 

 has often sent a thrill of horror through a 

 whole neighborhood. When the country 

 was new, much precaution was consider- 

 ed necessary, when travelling in the 

 woods in this state, in order to he secure 

 from the attacks of this ferocious beast. 



* Williams' History, Vol. 1, p. 104. 



