14 MAMMALIAN GALLERY. 



Ounce or Snow-Leopard (Felis undo), a beautiful, soft-furred, 

 long-tailed species, which inhabits the snowy regions of the Hima- 

 layas and Central Asia, at elevations varying, according to the 

 season, from 9000 to 18,000 feet above the sea, never ranging 

 very far below the snow-line. Once only it has been brought alive 

 to Europe. 



The upper part of Cases 11 and 12 contains specimens of 

 the Leopard (Felis pardus), one of the largest of the spotted Cats, 

 whose range extends over all Africa and Southern Asia as far 

 north as Persia and Tibet. In India it is extremely destructive 

 to cattle and other domestic animals^ and aged individuals 

 frequently become " man-eaters." 



[Cases The Tiger (Fells tigris), Cases 13 and 14, is the largest and 

 J most dangerous of the Felida?, exceeding the Lion slightly in size, 

 and far surpassing him in destructiveness. It is the only Cat 

 ornamented with cross stripes on the body, a type of coloration 

 which is very scarce among Mammals ; these cross stripes help 

 to render the animal inconspicuous among the reeds in which it 

 commonly hides itself, and where it would be comparatively easily 

 seen if marked with spots or longitudinal bands. It inhabits 

 nearly the whole of Asia, from Persia, across Siberia, to For- 

 mosa, and southwards throughout India and Burma to Sumatra, 

 Java, and Bali, while it is not found in either Ceylon or Borneo. 

 Specimens are exhibited of the smaller, softer-furred variety of 

 Persia, and of the very large, short-haired Bengal form. 



The remainder of the true Cats are placed above the Tigers in 

 [Cases Cases 13 and 14, and in the lower parts of Cases 15 and 16. Of 

 15 & 16.] these the most noteworthy are the series of the Central and South- 

 American Ocelots, and the Clouded Tiger of Assam. The fine col- 

 lection of Norwegian, Canadian, and other Lynxes is also placed 

 here. The Lynxes differ from the ordinary Cats by their short 

 tails, tufted ears, and by certain differences in their skulls and 

 dentition, and are confined to the North Temperate and Arctic 

 zones of both the Old and New Worlds. 



The most aberrant member of the Felidae is the Cheetah or 

 Hunting Leopard (Case 16), characterized by its small round head, 

 its light and slender form, semi-retractile claws, and various other 

 peculiarities, osteological and external. It is a native of the whole 



