18 ANIMAL SKETCHES. CHA*. 



longer. The pupil of the eye, too, is round, and does not 

 in the half light contract to a narrow slit like that of our 

 harmless necessary pet. The teeth hardly differ at all 

 from those of the cat, except in size. They bite up and 

 down, and the lower jaw cannot be rolled from side to side 

 like ours, and that of all animals who have to grind their 

 food. Like the cat too he walks upon his toes, the heel 

 and wrist being raised well above the ground ; and as in 

 the puss, so too in the lion, the paws are provided with 



LION'S CLAWS. 



thick pads or cushions. And he who has seen a cat 

 stealing stealthily towards a poor innocent bird, with head 

 held low and body almost touching the ground, has a very 

 good idea of how the lion approaches his prey before making 

 the final and generally fatal spring. As in the cat, once 

 more the great sharp claws are retractile, or can be drawn, 

 by the beautiful mechanism of a self-acting elastic band, 

 into sheathes or pouches which protect them from being 

 worn as the creature walks. 



The cats " sharpen their claws," or more probably tear 

 otf any ragged points, by scratching at the bark of trees. 

 In South America Darwin noticed trees which had been 



