FLESH-EATING MAMMALS. 53 



are the lion {V. leo), common to Africa, Persia, and India, although rapidly- 

 disappearing from the latter country ; the tiger {F. tirp-is), ranging from 

 India to China and Siberia, although unknown in Ceylon ; the leopard or 

 panther {F. pardus), also common to Asia and Africa ; the snow-leopard, or 

 ounce {F. undo) of Central Asia ; the jaguar {F. onca) of South and Central 

 America ; and the puma {F. concolor), which has the widest range in latitude 

 of any animal, extending from the south of Patagonia to the Great Slave 

 Lake. Of these, the lion and puma are uniformly tawny coloured species, 

 although showing traces of spots in the young state and sometimes in certain 

 lights even in the adult ; the male lion being distinguished from all other 

 members of the genus by the large mane (which may be dark coloured), 

 covering the head, neck, and shoulders, and the tuft at the tip of the tail, 

 in which is a small horny claw of unknown function. The tiger has 

 double transverse black stripes on an orange or tawny ground ; while all 

 the other species named are maiked by dark rosettes or rings on a light 

 ground. In both the leopard and jaguar the central portion of the rosette 

 is darker than the general ground colour of the fur ; but whereas in 

 the former the rosettes form simple rings, in the latter there is one or more 

 Bolid black spots in the centre. On the head and limbs the spots are solid, 

 and the tail is ornamented with rings. In the ounce the fur is much longer 

 than that of the ordinary leopard, and the Siberian variety of the tiger differs 

 in the same manner from Indian examples. Although the lion is a much 

 noisier animal than the tiger, in power^ size, and habits, the two are very 

 similar. It would be out of place to enter into any detailed discussion as to the 

 dimension.s of either lions or tigers, as this has been fully investigated in 

 other works. In regard to tigers, it may, however, be mentioned, that it is 

 now generally admitted that males do occasionally reach, or even slightly 

 exceed 12 feet in total length, measured along the curves of the body in what 

 is termed sportsman's style ; 

 one shot by Colonel Boileau 

 in 1861 being slightly over 12 

 feet, while General Sir C. 

 Eeid's tiger, exhibited in 

 London stuffed in 1862, is 

 recorded to have measured 

 12 feet 2 inches as it lay 

 on the ground. Further in- 

 formation is required as to 

 the maximum weights at- 

 tained by male tigers. Sander- 

 son gives the weight of a 

 well-grown male shot by him- 

 self as 350 pounds ; while "^ y,„ 30 —the t ion 

 Elliot has recorded examples 

 respectively weighing 362 and 380 pounds. The late Captain J. Forsyth has, 

 however, estimated the weights of tigers killed by himself at from 4.50 to 

 500 pounds, and these large weights have been confirmed of late years by 

 Mr. Hornaday, who, in his work, "Two Years in the Jungle," records a tiger 

 of 9 feet 11^ inches in length, which weighed upwards of 495 pounds ; while 

 the Maharajah of Cuch Behar has given weights varying from 540 to 481 

 pounds, and a tiger killed by Mr. F. A. Shillingford, measuring 9 feet 10 

 inches, weighed 528 pounds, One killed by Sir Samuel Baker -weighed 437 



