CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 5. CARNIVORA, 



IT: 



found in Guiana, Brazil and Peru, which has the local name of Cuchumoi. Its body is lone, the legs 

 short, the feet plantigrade, the tail prehensile, the fur thick, woolly, and of a grayish or ru>~ I 

 brown. It is gentle in disposition, and does not lack intelligence. The ancient inhabitants oi 

 New Granada reduced it to a state of domesticity. It lives in the deep forests, and. rolled into 

 ;i hall, sleeps profoundly during the day. As night advances, it opens its eyes, ami by degrees 

 awakes to activity, and then goes forth in quest of its food, which consists of small quadrupeds 

 and birds, insects and fruits. It climbs trees, and runs along the branches in search of birds' 

 nests : it is also a skillful bee-hunter, and, taking advantage of the dormant state of the insects 

 during the night, it breaks the honey-comb with one of its paws, and licks up the precious 

 treasure with its long tongue. This habit led the early missionaries to call it the Honey-Bear. 

 In the menageries of Europe it has been found an exceedingly docile ami gentle creature, feeding 

 readily on fruit, cakes, biscuit, honey, or milk. When angry, its voice resembles the barking ot 



i small dog. 



THE WAH, OE PAXDA. 



Genus PANDA : Ailurus. — Of this there is but the Wha, Wah, or Panda, A.fulgens, distin- 



lished by the elegance of its fur, which is very thick and of a lively russet, passing into brown 

 ong the limbs. The tail is very thick at the base, and is marked with rings oi black. The 

 limal is somewhat smaller than a cat; its haunts are about rivers and mountain-torrents, where 

 lives much on trees, ami feeds on birds and the smaller quadrupeds. It frequently utters a loud 

 y of " Wha .' wha .'" whence one of its names. This sound also betrays it to the hunters. 

 is found in the hills of the Himalayab chain, between Nepaul and the Snowy Mountains. It is 

 lied Chitwa by the natives. 



Genus RACCOOX : Proeyon. — Of this genus there are two species, the Common Raccoon. 

 . lotor, of the United States, and the Crab-eating Raccoon, P. cancrioorus, of tropical America. 

 ie former is spread over Xorth America from Hudson's Bay to Louisiana, excepting only in the more 

 i'klv settled regions, where, it has been exterminated. In many parts, it is a common object oi 

 rsuit with the spoilsman; in the Southwestern States, it is so abundant as to be a nuisance. 

 1 — even those who- never see it in its native haunts — are familiar with it in menageries, in the 

 fends of hunters, and in the sleigh-robes garnished with its skins. Many a song of the Coon 

 lights the village dilettanti ; and who has not heard the story of Captain J.ohn Scott, the . 

 fester whose rifle never missed, and the Coon — which runs to this effect : 

 " Coon on the tree, loquitur. — Who are you, stranger' 



• Hunter. — My name is Scott. 



• f'oon.— Captain Scott ? 



• Hunter. — Yes. ' 



