676 MAMMALIA [CH. 



Lion, F. leo, the Tiger, F. tigris, the Leopard or Panther, F. pardus, 

 the Lynx, F. lynx, and the Puma, F. concolor (frequently called a 

 " Panther" in America, where it is found from Canada to Patagonia), 

 are all Cats. The differences in the colour of the skin which help to 

 distinguish them are in all probability due to the fact that the 

 colours are protective, enabling the animals when in their natural 

 surroundings to escape the notice of their prey. Thus Lions, which 

 as a rule live in dry and rather open places, are of dun colour ; 

 the stripes of the Tiger's skin deceptively resemble the alternating 

 shadows and sunlit strips of ground found amongst the reeds in 

 which it lives ; the spots of the Leopard are undiscoverable amidst 

 the alternating patches of light and shade caused by the sunlight 

 struggling through the interstices of the foliage of a forest. 



The Bears, UESIDAB, represent a third type of Carnivora. They 

 are plantigrade, placing the whole sole of the foot on the ground ; 

 the molars are blunter than those of the Cats and Dogs and very 

 broad, the carnassials are broad and the premolars very small and 

 often fall out ; the upper carnassial is a comparatively small tooth 

 and the heel of the lower carnassial is larger than the blade ; these 

 peculiarities are connected with the fact that the Bears are not 

 merely flesh feeders but can live partly on a vegetable diet. The 

 Brown Bear of Europe, Ursus arctos, which used to be abundant in 

 Britain, is so nearly allied to the Grizzly Bear, U. horribilis, of 

 the Rocky Mountains, that the latter is by some authorities placed 

 in the former species. In Eastern Canada, especially in the Province 

 of Quebec, the Black Bear, Ursus americanus, is very abundant and 

 is trapped for its fur. It is usually an inoffensive animal, feeding 

 on berries and bark, but occasionally, especially when it has cubs, 

 it will attack man. The remains of fossil Carnivora demonstrate 

 that the Ursidae were derived from primitive types of Canidae in the 

 Miocene period. 



The Stoats, Weasels, Martens, Minks, Polecats, Otters, Badgers 

 and Skunks, forming the family MUSTELIDAE, are sometimes supposed 

 to be allied to the Bears, but are really very distinct. They have very 

 long necks, slender, flexible bodies and short limbs, and their habits 

 are exceedingly bloodthirsty and ferocious. The chief resemblances 

 to Bears are found in the skull and teeth, but the contrast in general 

 build and in gait (the Mustelidae are digitigrade) is very striking. 

 Six species of Mustelidae are found in Great Britain : (1) The Otter, 

 Lutra vulgaris, an animal which has webbed toes and a long, some- 

 what flattened tail. It lives on fish, passing much of its time in the 



