50 THE TOWER MENAGERIE. 
involves, as a necessary consequence, either the complete 
extinction, or, at least, the gradual diminution and 
dispersion to more secure and sheltered habitations, of 
all the more savage and obnoxious beasts. For his title 
of the American Lion he was, in a great degree, indebted 
to an absurd notion on the part of the early colonists, 
which was even shared by many naturalisis, that he 
was, in reality, neither more nor less than a degenerate 
variety of that far more noble animal. This opinion 
has, however, long since given way before the prevalence 
of sounder views; and he is now universally recognised 
as forming a species clearly distinguishable from every 
other, by a combination of characters which it is impos- 
sible to mistake. 
Almost the only striking point of resemblance between 
him and the Lion consists in the uniform sameness of 
his colour, which on the upper parts of his body is of a 
bright silvery fawn, the tawny hairs being terminated by 
whitish tips: beneath and on the inside of the limbs he 
is nearly white, and more completely so on the throat, 
chin, and upper lip. The head has an irregular mixture 
of black and gray; the outside of the ears, especially at 
the base, the sides of the muzzle from which the whiskers 
take their origin, and the extremity of the tail, are black. 
The latter is not terminated, as in the Lion, by a brush 
of hair; neither has the Puma any vestige of a mane. 
His length from the tip of the nose to the root of the 
tail is commonly about four feet, and his tail measures 
above half as much more, being just sufficiently long to 
suffer its extremity to trail upon the ground. His head 
is remarkably small and rounded, with a broad and 
somewhat obtuse muzzle; and his body is proportion- 
ably more slender and less elevated than that of the 
