426 QUADRUPEDS. 



terror and agony, and saw, at a little distance, a wild bull, upon whose neck was 

 crouched a leopard. Vainly the poor beast tossed, ran, stopped, reared, and yelled. 

 In its blind terror, it even rushed against a tree, and nearly tumbled over with the 

 recoil. But once more anguish lent it strength, and it set out on another race. The 

 exciting spectacle lasted but a minute ; the bull was lost to my sight, and presently 

 his roars ceased. Probably the leopard had sucked away his life, and was now feast- 

 ing on the carcase. ' Du CHAILLU. 



The Lynx (Fats Lynx), or the Mountain Cat, is remarkable for the brush of hair 

 that tips the ears. It is about two feet and a half long to the origin of the tail ; its 

 coat is red, spotted with brownish red. It is indigenous to temperate Europe, but 

 has almost entirely disappeared from populous countries. It is still met with in the 

 Pyrenees, in the mountains of Naples, and in Africa. It climbs the highest trees of 

 the forest, and there lies concealed among the branches, to watch the weasel, ermine, 

 squirrel, &c. It commits great havoc among flocks, and destroys a great number of 

 hares and game. Its sight is so piercing that the ancients attributed to it the faculty 

 of seeing through stone walls ; it may, however, be asserted with truth that it distin- 

 guishes its prey at a greater distance than any other carnivorous quadruped. 



The Common or Domestic Cat (Fclis Catus) is originally from the forests of 

 Europe. In its wild state it is greyish brown, with transverse undulating stripes of a 

 deeper colour above, and pale below, the inside of the thighs and the fore paws yel- 

 lowish, and the tail annulated with black. \Vhen domesticated it varies in the colour,, 

 fineness, and length of its hair, as everybody knows. 



AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 



The Amphibious Carnivora constitute the third and last 

 group of flesh-eating Mammalia. Their feet are so short, and so 

 much enveloped in the skin, that they are of very little use on dry 



^ 



FIG. 473. FOOT OF THE SEAL, a, SKELETON OF THE 



land ; but as the intervals between the toes are strongly webbed, 

 they form admirable oars. These animals, therefore, pass the 

 greater part of their life in the sea, and seldom come on shore, 

 except to bask in the sun and suckle their little ones. Their 

 elongated bodies, the flexibility of their spine, their hair, smooth, 

 and tightened, as it were, against the skin, are properties which, 

 combined together, make them excellent swimmers. They are 

 divided into two groups, the Seals and the Morses. 



The Seals (Phoca] have their canine teeth of ordinary size, five toes on all 

 their feet, those of the fore feet decreasing gradually from the thumb or great 



