io6 FLESH-EATERS OF THE LAND 



teeth and claws, are particularly adapted for capturing and 

 destroying living animals, and for tearing and devouring 

 flesh. 



Usually the teeth consist of twelve incisors with sharp 

 cutting edges ; behind these on each side, top and bottom, 

 is a strong, curved and pointed canine tooth. The premolars 

 are pointed and much compressed, and the true molars are 

 poorly developed, and in some cases absent altogether. 

 There are really no chewing teeth, for the jaws only work 

 vertically in shear-like fashion. The grip of the canine 

 teeth is terrible, and the animal's prey cannot escape 

 when once it is transfixed by what are little less than ivory 

 skewers. 



The feet are fitted with four or five digits, terminating in 



LION'S CLAW SHEATHED AND UNSHEATHED. 

 (Natural size.) 



strong claws, none of which are ever opposable. Some 

 animals, such as the lion, walk upon the toes, the under- 

 parts of which consist of soft, but tough, leathery pads, 

 which enable the creatures to approach their prey the more 

 stealthily and with an absence of noise. The bear, on the 

 other hand, plants the sole of its foot flat upon the ground, 

 with the consequence that there is less speed and springiness 

 in its gait. Animals which walk like the lion are called 

 Digitigrades (Lat., digitus, a finger), and those with the gait 

 of the bear are called Plantigrades (Lat., planta, the sole of 

 the foot ; gmdus, a step). 



The Carnivora at first glance appear to be of no use alive 

 to man, and only for the sake of their skins when dead. 

 There is, however, no waste in nature, and but for these 

 agile, strong, and cunning destroyers, some of even the 



