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428 On some Characters of the Hunting Leopard. 
opinion with-regard to the feet of As’nonya when he described 
them as more generalized than those of Felis ; but, since the 
only character he was acquainted with was the imperfect. 
withdrawal of the claws, his remark applied solely to that 
point. I believe, on the contrary, that that character, as well 
as the others in which the feet depart from the feline type, 
have been secondarily acquired in adaptation to this animal’s 
Fig. 5. 
A. Lateral view of right fore paw of ocelot (Felis pardalis), showing the 
plane of the digital pads and tips of the claws protruding from 
the integumental sheaths. (The paws of F. pardalis are very 
similar to those of Panthera pardus.) 
B. The same of Acinonyx jubatus, showing the uptilting of the digital 
pads, the slightly less elevated claws, and the complete absence 
of protective integumental sheaths. 
These figures (nat. size) are taken from specimens with the 
hairs of the paws cut short. 
peculiar method of hunting. As is well known, the cheetah 
does not, at all events as arule, adopt the true cat’s method of 
pouncing on its prey from a point of vantage at comparatively 
close quarters, but runs down antelope in the open by sheer 
speed of foot. Allits moreobvious external features—its small 
light head, narrow chest and body, long, thin, sinewy legs, 
and powerful hind quarters—are obviously adapted to that 
