THE DESERT LYNX 213 



and they leaped from the nest and past me 

 into the open with a quickness that startled me. 

 There was probably a family reunion some- 

 where out in the brush that night, but I never 

 had a chance to know of it, for the mother 

 never led her kittens back to the old den again. 

 One such intrusion was enough for her. 



The young begin eating meat without evil 

 consequences very early, probably within a few 

 weeks after birth. Small animals and birds 

 are brought in, torn to pieces by the mother, 

 and fed to them. Growth under these circum- 

 stances is very rapid, and it is not long before 

 the young cats are able to hunt for themselves. 

 Like the domestic kittens they are very play- 

 ful and when taken soon after birth manifest 

 a great affection for their captor if he is at all 

 kind to them. They will not tolerate strangers, 

 however, and will spit and jump about fero- 

 ciously in the cage and show the greatest of 

 uneasiness. 



Wild cats manifest the greatest antipathy 

 to their domestic cousins; also toward dogs. 

 A man whom I met at the head of Coyote 

 Canon, in Riverside County, California, found 



