ZOOLOGICAL POSITION 9 



these large examples as a distinct species, which 

 they call the panther. Black leopards are not 

 uncommon, in which the spots show faintly in 

 certain lights, outlined in different degrees of 

 black j these are only what is called melanistic 

 individuals, and make their appearance in the 

 same litter as cubs of ordinary color. Leopards 

 are from five to eight feet long, and are small 

 enough to climb trees without difficulty. 



4. The OUNCE (F. undo) is peculiar in that it 

 is rarely found below the snow-line in the 

 Himalayas of India, which it inhabits up to an 

 altitude of eighteen thousand feet; it is also 

 found in central Asia, always at great eleva- 

 tions. It is about the size of the leopard ; but 

 as with most inhabitants of cold climates, the 

 fur is long and dense, and the tail is much more 

 bushy than in any other cat, though tigers from 

 Siberia often exhibit these characters as well. 

 The ounce is pale yellowish gray, spotted all 

 over, though the spots show less tendency to 

 form rings or rosettes than in the leopard. The 

 only specimen of this animal which has been 

 brought alive out of its native country was ex- 

 hibited in the Zoological Gardens at London 



