136 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



back, where it forms a short, though distinct mane. 

 It is of a very light yellowish gray, closely spotted 

 with black or brown, and at the extremity of the tail 

 the spots unite to form a few small rings. The length 

 of the Cheetah's body is about fifty-five inches ; the 

 tail measures thirty inches, and the height at the 

 shoulder is from thirty to thirty-three inches. In the 

 Fahhad, or African Cheetah, the mane on the nape 

 of the neck is nearly absent, and the ground color of 

 the fur is orange, except the under portion, which is 

 white and unspotted ; the spots on the back are dif- 

 ferent from those of the Asiatic species, and the tip 

 of the tail is white instead of black. 



The Asiatic Cheetah is indigenous to the whole of 

 southwestern Asia, and if we count the Spotted Chee- 

 tah as belonging to the same species, also in north- 

 eastern Africa. He is a genuine animal of the plains, 

 who has to gain his livelihood by agility more than 

 by strength. 



The Cheetah's His principal prey are the small and 

 Habits in a medium-sized ruminants which live 

 Wild State. j n the regions he inhabits, and he is 

 very skillful in their capture. His favorite game are 

 Antelopes, and he is most frequently found in the 

 vicinity of the localities preferred by these animals, 

 generally taking up his abode among the rocks of 

 low hills. Experts agree in saying that for short 

 distances the Cheetah is the fastest runner among 

 mammals. Still he also uses cunning to subdue his 

 prey. Whenever he perceives a flock of Antelopes 

 or Deer, he crouches down and creeps forward, 

 stealthy and quick as a Cat. He adapts his move- 

 ments to the peculiarities of his game, always keep- 

 ing to leeward of it and lying quite still when the 

 leader of the herd lifts its head to reconnoitre. In 

 this way he approaches as near as possible to the 

 most conveniently situated animal ; then he makes 

 a rush at it, pursues it when it flees with wind-like 

 rapidity, fells it to the ground with blows aimed at 

 the feet and then seizes it by the throat. When he 

 is within a rifle shot's range of his prey he does not 

 hesitate to enter into the pursuit of the fleetest-footed 

 game, confiding in his own quickness. 



The Cheetah Such innate cunning and such abil- 

 as a Hunting ity for the chase naturally attracted 

 Animal. the notice of the observing natives 



of his country and incited them to an endeavor to 

 profit by this animal's hunting ability. A simple 

 training suffices to make the Cheetah an excellent 

 sporting animal, scarcely inferior to the Falcon in 

 its way. All over East India he is considered a very 

 valuable assistant in the chase. The Shah of Persia 

 imports Cheetahs from Arabia and keeps them in 

 a house of their own. In 1474 Joseph Barbara saw 

 a hundred Cheetahs belonging to the Prince of Ar- 

 menia. In Europe the Cheetah has also been used 

 in the chase. 



It is said that packs of these Cat-Dogs are still 

 kept by a few native Indian princes at no small cost. 

 Their training is confided to specialists, and their 

 use in the chase presupposes the direction of expert 

 huntsmen, occupying a position like that formerly 

 held by falconers; so we may imagine that this sport 

 is not of the cheapest. 



In India, when such a chase is in progress, the 

 Cheetah, his head covered with a hood, is set on 

 one of the light, two-wheeled carts peculiar to that 

 country. With this vehicle the hunters approach 

 a herd of grazing game as closely as possible, for 

 as is the case with wild herds everywhere else, even 

 the shyest Asiatic animals will permit a carriage to 



approach much nearer than people afoot. When 

 the hunters are within two hundred or three hundred 

 paces of the game the hood is removed from the 

 Cheetah's head and the keepers point the game out 

 to him with expressive gestures. All the animal's 

 latent passion for the chase, together with his nat- 

 ural craftiness, are brought into play. Softly but 

 swiftly he slips from the cart, and unseen and un- 

 heard he creeps up to the game. When he succeeds 

 in catching his prey, he seizes it by the neck, and 

 then the trainer hurries to it and cuts its throat. 

 The flowing blood is caught in a dish and given the 

 Cheetah to drink, after which his head is again cov- 

 ered with the hood. 



It is very surprising that we know so little of the 

 life in the wild state of this animal which is so often 

 domesticated. I have questioned even the African 

 nomads in vain ; these people who know the animal 

 so well could only tell me that it is caught in traps 

 and tamed in a very short time in spite of its native 

 fierceness. 

 The Cheetah That domestication cannot be difficult 

 in is a fact clear to everybody who has 



Captivity. seen a captive Cheetah. I do not be- 

 lieve that I exaggerate when I say that there is no 

 better-natured animal in the whole Cat family, and 

 I doubt if any other wild Cat becomes so thor- 

 oughly tame. Good-nature is the essential trait of 

 the Cheetah's character. A Cheetah, when tied, will 

 never think of biting through the slender cord which 

 holds him. A tame Cheetah never attempts to 

 harm anybody and it is perfectly safe to walk boldly 

 up to him and pet him. He accepts caresses with 

 indifference, or at best only acknowledges them by 

 purring a little louder than usual ; for when he is 

 awake, he purrs all the time, just like a Cat, except 

 that the tone is louder and deeper. Frequently he 

 will stand for hours dreamily gazing in one direc- 

 tion, complacently purring, and at such periods 

 Chickens, Pigeons, Sparrows, Goats and Sheep may 

 pass him unmolested, for he will not even deign to 

 look at them. It is only other carnivorous animals 

 that can disturb his reverie and upset his good- 

 humor. A passing Dog immediately excites him ; 

 he ceases purring and turns a keen glance upon the 

 intruder, who usually looks somewhat sheepish at 

 such a moment, and the Cheetah pricks up his ears 

 and sometimes tries to overtake the Dog in a few 

 bounds. 



I had a Cheetah which was so tame that I could 

 lead him through the town by a string. So long as 

 we only encountered people, he walked quietly by 

 my side, but whenever he saw Dogs he became so 

 excited that once I thought I would make a trial of 

 what he would do if he had less restricted liberty; 

 so I tied him to a rope fifteen or twenty yards long, 

 wound it around my arm and set out with him. 

 Two large, lazy curs crossed our path. Jack (that 

 was my Cheetah's name) ceased his comfortable 

 purr, looked at them sharply and grew impatient. 

 I quickly unwound the rope so as to let him have 

 free play. Instantly he crouched down and crept 

 toward the Dogs, which looked at the singular crea- 

 ture with a puzzled expression. The nearer he 

 came to the Dogs, the more excited and the more 

 cautious he became. Like a Snake he glided along 

 on the ground until at last he thought himself near 

 enough ; then with three or four gigantic bounds he 

 reached one of the now fleeing Dogs and threw it 

 down. This the Cheetah did in a quite peculiar 

 manner; not trying to bury his claws in the Dog's 



