THE CHETAH, OR HUNTING LEOPARD. 63. 
of their extreme power and sharpness, organs of offence 
if possible more deadly and more destructive than the 
teeth, will teach us that the modification which has just 
been described in so important a part of their organi- 
zation, must of necessity be accompanied by a corres- 
ponding change in manners and habits; and_ that 
convenience alone, and the want of analogous structure 
in any other animal, could justify us in continuing to 
class the Chetah among the cats, from whom he differs 
in so essential a particular. 
In outward form, however, notwithstanding his more 
slender make, the difference between them is by no 
means great. His head, although more elevated and 
prominent in front, exhibits the same broad lateral ex- 
pansion, caused by the thick mass of muscle which acts 
so powerfully upon the short and dilated jaws of the 
cats, and imparts to them that tremendous force and 
effect for which they are so remarkable. His legs, not- 
withstanding their increased length and slender propor- 
tions, retain all the elastic springiness, by means of 
which the Leopard or the Tiger are enabled to bound 
with so much vigour and velocity upon their unsuspect- 
ing prey. His air and manners, too, are unquestionably 
those of the cats; and his mode of colouring, which we 
shall next proceed to describe, although exhibiting very 
peculiar and marked distinctions, offers so close an 
analogy to that of the Jaguar and the Leopard, that, 
were we to regard this character alone, it would be 
impossible to arrange him in a different group from that 
which comprehends those beautifully spotted, but fero- 
cious, beasts. His fur, however, it must be remarked, 
has little of the sleekness which characterizes those 
