230 



COATI, PANDA. FAMILY PHOCID^E. 



Fro. 115. AILURUS OR PANDA. 



It lives more among trees, however, than upon the ground ; and 

 preys especially upon birds, the nests also of which it rifles 



for the eggs and 

 unfledged young. 

 It is more active 

 than the Raccoon 

 in confinement, 

 not spending so 

 much of the day 

 in sleep ; its snout 

 seems to be in 

 perpetual motion, 

 when the animal 



is examining the objects around it, These genera are repre- 

 sented in the Old World by the Ailurus or Panda (Fig. 115), 

 which is an inhabitant of the Himalayan ridge ; it is evidently 

 adapted to a cold climate by its thick covering of fur, which 

 consists of a woolly undercoat, with long soft hair overlying it. 



201. The animals of the family PHOCID^E, or Seal tribe, are, 

 of all four-limbed Mammalia, those which display the most 

 complete adaptation to residence in the water. We have seen 

 an approach to this in the Otters, especially in the marine species 

 ( 194) ; but it is carried much further in the Seals. The body 

 is elongated and conical, tapering from the chest to the tail, 

 the pelvis being so narrow as not to interrupt the gradual 



FIG. 116 SEAL. 



decrease. The spine is provided with strong muscles, which 

 bend it with considerable force ; and this movement is of great 



