CHAPTER VI 



WILD ANIMALS WHICH ARE TRAINED 

 BY MAN TO HUNT 



THE custom of training wild animals to hunt 

 other creatures can be traced back to a very 

 early date, and although many of the practices 

 which found favour in the past are no longer 

 indulged in to the same extent as they used to be, 

 yet in some parts of the world both beasts and birds 

 are still utilised for coursing game. 



Amongst the wild mammals which are trained 

 for the chase of other animals, by far the largest 

 and most imposing is the hunting-leopard, or 

 cheetah, as it is often called, the latter term, 

 however, being one which is liable to give rise to 

 some confusion inasmuch as the name is derived 

 from the Indian word ' chita,' meaning ' spotted/ 

 and is applied also in that country to the ordinary 

 leopard. Although the hunting-leopard is classified 

 in zoological nomenclature amongst the cat tribe, 

 yet it differs from the true felines in several par- 

 ticulars, the most important of which is that the 

 animal has only the power to retract its claws to a 



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