114 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



The Long- The Long-tailed Panther (Fells z>arie- 

 Tailed gafa), inhabiting Sumatra and Java, is 

 Panther. believed to be an entirely distinct spe- 

 cies. He has a small oblong head, a long neck, a 

 tail the length of which equals that of the body, 

 and short, strong limbs endowed with powerful paws. 

 His spots are small and dark and are grouped very 

 close together. They give the skin a black-blue lus- 

 tre, perceived when one looks at the fur from the 

 side. The ground color is a- dark clay yellow, and 

 the spots are brownish yellow. 



The The Black Panther (Fells melas) differs 

 Black from his kindred only in color; and ac- 

 Panther. cording to Rosenberg every inhabitant of 

 Java knows that he is found in the same litter with 

 the yellow animals. Sanderson believes them to 

 inhabit only thick, extensive forests, and nc* to be 

 found everywhere like their yellow kinsmen. Nearly 



THE LEOPARD. This fierce but beautifully formed and marked feline animal is here depicted with great 



accuracy. The large, rounded head, the stout limbs of medium length ending in a Cat-like paw, the fur with spots that 

 are small on the head, larger on the breast and limbs and very large on the sides and back, the muscular development, 

 and even the undulating, stealthy, yet rapid motion of the animal can all be accurately discerned. {Felts pardus.) 



every zoological garden now has Black Leopards, 

 and in some they are systematically bred. 



Leopards and Hunters, merchants, etc., readily dis- 

 Panthers criminate between the smaller, bulk- 

 one Family. j er Leopard and the larger, more 

 slenderly-built Panther, but in zoology they both 

 belong to one group. The Panther and Leopard are 

 both Fells pardus. In West Africa they are called 

 " Ngo," in Persia " Palang," in India " Tschita," 

 " Adnara," " Honiga " and " Kerkal," and on the 

 Malay Peninsula they are termed " Harimau-bin- 

 tang." The size, the shape of the head, the slender 

 or bulky frame, the length of the tail, the ground 

 color and spots of the skin are subject to the great- 

 est variation. Some are yellow or reddish, others 

 light or dark brown; and black ones, whose spots 

 show only under a certain light, are known; and 

 even white specimens have come to light. The dif- 

 ference in the size is probably due to the difference 

 in age, locality and food. 



Traits of It is as customary to speak of the 

 Leopards and Panther and Leopard as it is to speak 

 Panthers. f t h e Panther or Leopard. We will 

 call the African animal, Leopard; the Asiatic, Pan- 

 ther. In their character and mode of life they agree 

 as much as is consistent with their varying strength 

 and size. The former is content with smaller game 

 and smaller domestic animals; the latter enters the 

 ranks against larger game and Cattle of all kinds, 

 as well as human beings. It comes next to the 

 Tiger in point of rapacity, and in India is often con- 

 sidered more dangerous. We will probably hear 

 similar reports from Africa when that continent has 

 been more thoroughly explored. There is no doubt 

 but that there the size and other features vary much. 

 The Fells pardus is distributed over the whole of 

 Africa and all southern Asia. In the west he pen- 

 etrates much farther north than the Tiger, but in 



the east he is confined 

 much more closely to 

 the south. The Panther 

 extends from Persia, 

 Asia Minor and Arme- 

 nia to the Caucasus. In 

 southern Daghestan his 

 numbers are much re- 

 duced, yet he is still a 

 permanent feature 

 there. At the western 

 inclination of the Cau- 

 casus to the Black Sea, 

 he is said to range still 

 farther north, but it has 

 not been established 

 how far. In central Asia 

 the middle and lower 

 Oxus are his northern 

 boundaries. Blanford 

 says he is not found in 

 the Punjab nor in some 

 parts of Sinde. 



These animals might 

 be called taciturn, for 

 their voice is not loud 

 and is seldom heard. 

 In captivity they have 

 been heard to make 

 plaintive sounds, re- 

 minding one of a Cat's 

 cry. Sometimes one 

 hears a hoarse cry from 



them in the wilderness, repeated three or four times. 

 Pechuel-Loesche represents it by the spelling "Hura- 

 ak." When frightened, or when attacking they utter 

 the same coughing sound, sometimes blended with 

 the indescribable growl of a ferocious Dog. 



Symmetry of The Leopard or Panther is the most 

 Leopards beautiful of all the Cats. We look 



and Panthers. upon the Lion as the King of Beasts. 

 The Tiger is considered the most dangerous of this 

 cruel family; the Ocelot's skin shows a greater vari- 

 ety of color; but they are all much inferior to the 

 Leopard in symmetry of bodily structure, in beauty 

 of coloring, in agility, vigor and gracefulness of 

 movement. He unites all the advantages which 

 other Cats possess singly. His velvet paw vies in 

 softness with our Pussy's, but hides a claw that com- 

 pares with the strongest. His teeth are proportion- 

 ately much stronger than those of his kingly kins- 

 man. He is an ideal Beast of Prey, combining beauty 

 with agility and vigor, and intrepidity with cunning. 



