40 THE TOWER MENAGERIE. 
the bars, and to the height of six or eight feet from the 
floor. The animals, who are on the alert for their dinner, 
immediately leap towards the bars, and, darting out their 
paws with incredible swiftness, almost uniformly succeed 
in seizing it before it falls to the eround. If, as it some- 
times happens, the meat is thrown up at too great a 
distance, so as not to be fairly within reach, they remain 
perfectly stationary and make no attempt to spring upon 
it, but watch it with anxious avidity, apparently calcu- 
lating and comparing the distance of the object and the 
extent of their own grasp. When they have, in this 
way, secured their meal, instead of ravenously falling to, 
like the other carnivorous animals in the collection, they 
stand growling over it for some minutes, leering upon 
each other with the most frightful contortions. This 
growling attitude of mistrust in feeding was constantly 
maintained by the female, even before she had a com- 
panion in her captivity, and when consequently there 
existed no immediate object for the excitement of her 
selfish or envious feelings. 
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