i 3 2 FLESH-EATERS OF THE LAND 



is an exceedingly clean animal. Though the cat is the 

 most familiar of our domestic creatures it does not attach 

 itself to persons nearly so much as to houses. Thanks to 

 its inherent hunting habits it is extremely useful as a 

 vermin-killer. Notwithstanding that by descent it is a true 

 carnivore, the Domestic Cat will eat vegetable food. 



LYNX (Felis lynx). 

 Coloured Plate VI. Fig. 3. 



Some naturalists consider that the several species of Lynx 

 ought to form a distinct genus in themselves. They are 

 decidedly less cat-like than any of the members of the 

 family already described, especially in their longer legs, 

 shorter tail, and pointed and tufted ears. The Lynx is a 

 thickset, square-headed animal, three to four feet long, 

 exclusive of the tail, with very strong paws and forearms. 



The Common, or European, Lynx is found right across 

 the northern regions of Europe and Asia, extending as far 

 south as the Alps, Carpathians, Caucasus, and Persia. 

 Owing to its great range and its ability to live in either very 

 hot or very cold countries, there is considerable variation in 

 colour. The Common Lynx has soft, thick fur, greyish 

 or reddish in tint, and usually marked with black spots. 

 The Southern, or Spanish, Lynx (Felis pardina) is of a 

 redder shade, while the animal of Central Asia is paler and 

 more uniform. 



It is mainly a nocturnal forest-dweller, hunting small 

 mammals and birds, following them even up to the tops of 

 trees. It is the most destructive of the carnivores now left 

 to plague Europe. To sheep and goats it is a relentless 

 enemy, killing an animal instantly, devouring but a small 

 portion of the body and leaving the rest. A single Lynx has 

 been known to slay forty sheep in the space of a few weeks. 



Being seldom seen, the animal is but little hunted unless 

 it makes forays on the live stock of settled districts. In 

 Norway the Lynx is now rather rare, but it has a worse 

 character than the wolf, and in the Balkan Peninsula it 

 works considerable mischief among the flocks. 



