CHAPTER III 

 ORDER OF FLESH-EATING MAMMALS 



FERAE, OR CARNIVORA 



NORTH AMERICA contains a fine array of animals be- 

 longing to the Order Fe'rae, 1 numbering about one 

 hundred and forty-seven species north of Panama, not count- 

 ing subspecies. They are divided into the following groups: 



Order Ferae 



APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF FULL 

 SPECIES IN NORTH AMERICA 

 FAMILIES NORTH OF PANAMA (1905) 



The Cats Fe'li-dae 14 Species. 



The Dogs Ca'ni-dae 37 " 



The Martens, etc Mus-te'li-dae 71 



The Bears Ur'si-dae 16 " 



The Raccoons, etc Pro-cy-on'i-dae 9 



THE CAT FAMILY 



Felidae 



In the order of their size, the five largest catlike animals 

 of North America are the following: Jaguar, Puma, Canada 

 Lynx, Red Lynx, and Ocelot. 



Of the Cat Family, the Jaguar 2 (pronounced Jag'you-ar) 

 is not only the largest, but also the handsomest species in 



1 From Latin fe-rus, meaning a wild beast. This is a much older name than 

 Carnivora, which heretofore has been generally applied to this group. 



2 Fe'lis on'ca. 



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