WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY 



to be easily known and recognized by persons accustomed 

 to examine them, although they are spotted and coloured 

 somewhat alike. In the smaller kinds, such as the serval, 

 lynx, ocelots, and many of the smaller tiger cats, the skins 

 are the only means of determining the species, as the 

 skeletons present such a marked uniformity that it is 

 impossible to distinguish one species from another, the 

 size in so many instances varying greatly in the same 

 species, causing much confusion and difficulty of identifi- 

 cation. For instance, the leopards of India and the 

 adjacent islands and the leopards of Africa are allowed by 

 the best modern authorities to be only one species ; 

 although they differ much in size and colour in different 

 localities, and are known by various local names, such as 

 cheetah, tiger, panther or leopard. On account of the 

 great variation so frequently discerned in the colour or 

 marking, little or no specific value is attached to it. In 

 some instances, however, the size and form of the spots or 

 markings on either side of the same animal differ con- 

 siderably. In all the larger species the young are striped 

 or spotted, the young of the lion and puma exhibiting 

 these markings for several months after birth. 



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