CHAP, vin THE LEOPARD 159 



fur when killed daring winter ; the black spots are exceedingly 

 large, and are formed in rings. A skin in my possession measures 

 7 ft. 9 in. in length ; the tail is full, and the fur long ; this is 

 unusually beautiful, and it must have inhabited some lofty altitude 

 where the temperature was generally moderate. 



In Africa the leopards have almost invariably solid black spots, 

 very close together upon the back, and becoming less crowded 

 towards the belly and flanks. In Ceylon there are two distinct 

 varieties the large panther, generally about 7 ft. 6 in. in length, 

 and a smaller leopard, which inhabits the mountains ; in that 

 island of misnomers they are both included in the name cheetah. 



In India there are several varieties, and the largest is generally 

 distinguished as a panther. There is no animal more commonly 

 distributed in the world than the leopard, and no tropical country 

 is free from this universal pest, unless an island formation has 

 excluded its unwelcome presence. 



It is difficult to determine the limit in the gradation of size at 

 which this animal merges from the leopard into the wild cat. The 

 varieties of cats are so numerous that I do not pretend to describe 

 them ; some are of sufficient importance to be classed among the 

 smaller leopards, while others are no larger than the ordinary 

 domestic cat. These vary through every shade of feline colouring, 

 from spots to stripes, or to a fulvous brown similar to the tawny 

 coat of a lioness ; but, notwithstanding the difference in shades 

 and spots, in cats and in the true leopard or panther the character 

 is the same. They are all cunning, ferocious, and destructive, 

 and I believe that far more cattle and goats are killed by leopards 

 throughout the Indian Empire than by the usually accredited 

 malefactor, the tiger. 



The largest and most beautifully marked of the leopards is the 

 jaguar of South America. This is the size of a small tigress, and 

 is more heavily framed than any of the leopards ; the head is 

 especially large, and the animal might almost be termed a spotted 

 tiger. The rings are peculiarly marked, and waved instead of 

 being circular. 



The cheetah or hunting leopard is a distinct species, and 

 although classed among the leopards, it is altogether different, 

 both in habits and appearance ; the claws, although rather long, 

 are not retractile, neither are they curved to the same extent as 

 all others of the genus Felis, but they resemble somewhat the toe- 

 nails of the dog. I shall accordingly separate this animal from 

 the ordinary class of leopards, and give it a separate existence as 

 an object of natural history. 



