SNOW-LEOPARD. 



393 



never been witliin a niilo of his position. . . . Tliere is very little sport affonJeil l)^- 

 this stealthy animal, and it is almost useless to organise a special hunt, as it is 

 impossible to form any correct opinion respecting its localitj^ after it lias killed an 

 animal. It may either be asleep in some distant ravine, or among the giant 

 branches of some old tree, or beneath the rocks of some adjacent hill, or retired 

 ■within a cave, Ijut it has no special character or custom that would guiile the 

 hunter in arranging a beat according to the usual rules in the case of tigers." 



Leopards are, however, much less suspicious of traps than are tigers, and still 

 more so than lions, and, accordingh', a large number are thus caught. In India 

 they are frequently taken alive in the cage-traji, to which we have already referred 

 under the head of the tiger ; such ti'aps being generally baited with a dog, goat, or 

 calf, which attracts the leopai'd by its cries. In Africa a trap like a large fox-trap 

 is, liowever, generally employed ; and so bold iu some parts are leopards that Mr. 

 Hunter states that once during dinner-time he caught one in a trap which was 

 set within fifteen vards' distance of the table at which lie was sittint;". 



'hM 





THE SNOW-LEOPARD {^ Dat. size). 



The Sxow-Leopaed, or Ouxce {Fdis uncia). 



The snow-leopard, or ounce, has been known to .science for more than a century, 

 but its habitat was long a mystery. This splendid animal is nearly allied to the 

 leopard, from which it differs in the more arched form of the .skull, as well as in 

 coloration and its much longer fur. The long fur is tliick, and almost of a woolly 

 nature ; the ground-colour of the upper-parts being a pale whitish-grey, occasionally 

 with a faint yellow tinge, passing into pure white beneath. The black spots are 

 much larger than those of the leopard, and over the greater part of the skin form 



