FELIDE 521 
particularly at their base, and a patch on each side of the muzzle 
black ; the end of the tail dusky. The young are, when born, 
spotted with dusky brown and the tail ringed ; these markings 
gradually fading, and quite disappearing before the animal becomes 
full-grown. 
The Puma has an exceedingly wide range of geographical 
distribution, extending over a hundred degrees of latitude, from 
Canada in the north to Patagonia in the south, and was formerly 
pretty generally diffused in suitable localities from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific Ocean, but the advances of civilisation have in recent 
years considerably curtailed the extent of the districts which it 
inhabits. In Central America it is still common in the dense forests 
which clothe the mountain ranges as high as 8000 or 9000 feet 
above the sea-level, where the hideous sound of its howling is 
said to be almost continuously heard at night during the breeding 
season. Though an expert climber, it is by no means confined to 
wooded districts, being frequently found in scrub and reeds along 
the banks of rivers, and even in the open pampas and prairies. Its 
habits much resemble those of the rest of the group to which it 
belongs; and, like the Leopard, when it happens to come within 
reach of an abundant and easy prey, as the sheep or calves of an 
outlying farming station, it kills far more than it can eat, either 
for the sake of the blood only or to gratify its propensity for 
destruction. It rarely attacks man, and, when pursued, escapes if 
possible by ascending lofty trees. Several instances have occurred 
of Pumas becoming tame in captivity. Edmund Kean, the cele- 
brated actor, had one which followed him about like a dog. When 
caressed they express their pleasure by purring like a domestic 
cat. ; 
F. onca, the Jaguar, is a larger and more powerful animal than 
the last, and more resembles the Leopard in its colours. It also is 
found in both North and South America, but with less extensive 
range, reaching northwards only as far as Texas, and southwards 
nearly to Patagonia. It climbs as well as the Puma, and preys to 
a great extent upon monkeys. Several allied smaller elegantly 
spotted forms inhabiting the intratropical regions of America are 
commonly included under the name of Ocelot or Tiger Cat, though 
zoologists are still undecided whether under this designation several 
distinct species have not been confused, or whether all the Ocelots 
are to be referred to a single species (/. pardalis) showing great 
individual or racial variation. Their fur has always a tawny yellow 
or reddish-gray ground colour, and is marked with black spots, 
aggregated in streaks and blotches, or in elongated rings enclosing 
an area which is rather darker than the general ground colour. 
They range through the wooded parts of tropical America, from 
Arkansas in the north as far south as Paraguay, and in their habits 
