BLACK TYGER LYNX. 



I5S 



lers, as to render it impossible, from their relations, 

 to form any perfect description of this animal, which 

 constitutes* one of the many desiderata of natural his- 

 tory. Its colours vary, but in general it is tawney, 

 the' face and body marked with stripes and spots of 

 bhick, the breast and insides of the legs white, and 

 spotted with black, and the-tail long and alternately 

 spotted with grey, black and tawney. On the 

 whole, the margay is a most beautiful animal. In 

 some parts it is known by the name of the tyger cat. 



THE BLACK. TYGER 



differs from the last described animal chiefly in its 

 colour, which 'is dusky, and in some of the species 

 spotted with black. The inferior parts of the body 

 are of a palish cast, the upper lip white, and covered 

 with long whiskers. Above each eye it has "very 

 lo'rig hairs, and at the corner of the mouth a black 

 spot. It grows to the size of a heifer of a year old, 

 and has remarkable strength in its limbs. 



M. de la Borde says, that these animals are excel- 

 lent swimmers, and that they frequent the sea shore, 

 and eat the eggs deposited there by the turtles. 

 They likewise destroy alligators, lizards and fish. In 

 order to oalch the alligators, they lie down on their 

 bellies at the edge of the river, and strike the water- 

 to make a noise. The alligator then raises its head 

 above water, in expectation or its prey, but they 

 dart their claws into its eyes, and drug it on shore, 

 where it falls a victim to the animal on which it intend- 

 ed to feast; like wicked men who frequently fall into 

 the snares which they have laid for others, an;l draw 

 upon themselves those calamities which they desigued 

 to inflict. 



The black tyger inhabits Brazil and Guiana, where 

 it is much dreaded by the natives. It is indeed, a. 

 ravenous and ferocious animal, but fortunately tha 

 species is not numerous. 



THE LYNX. 



This name appears to have been given by the an- 

 cients to a creature which existed only in imagination,, 

 ami had no existence in the system of nature. To 

 n 5. 



