48 FLESH-EATERS 



At first glance the Ocelot, or Tiger-Cat, 1 seems to be a 

 small leopard with a pale-yellow body-color. Its legs are 

 spotted, but instead of having spots on its body, its back 

 and sides are marked with irregular stripes and bands of 

 black which run lengthwise. It may be instantly recognized 

 by its horizontal stripes, for the like are not possessed by any 

 other animal. But no two Ocelots are ever marked exactly 

 alike. 



This animal is the size of a cocker spaniel, and, being a 

 good climber, when in its native forests it spends much of 

 its time on the lower branches of trees, watching for prey. 

 It feeds chiefly upon small quadrupeds and birds. The fol- 

 lowing are the dimensions of an average specimen: Height, 

 13 inches; head and body, 30 inches; tail, 15 inches; weight, 

 36 pounds. It is frequently taken in southern Texas — its 

 northern limit — and its range is about the same as that of 

 the jaguar. In the New York Zoological Park it has been 

 kept outdoors all winter, and has bred and reared young 

 very successfully. Like most small yellow cats, Ocelots are 

 usually bad-tempered. The value of a living specimen is 

 about $30. 



The Lynxes of North America form a very distinct group 

 of short-tailed, heavily furred, tree-climbing cats, the mem- 

 bers of which are spread throughout nearly all portions of 

 the continent north of Mexico which are yet sufficiently 

 wild to shelter them from man. They inhabit with equal 

 facility forests, mountains, canyons, sage-brush plains, and 

 even deserts. They prey chiefly upon rabbits and hares, 



1 Fe'lis pard-a'lis. See page 111. 



