THE AMBUSCADE. 



HE modes are various by which animals in a state of nature are accustomed 

 to seek their prey. Some, Hke the wolf, follow their victim at full speed 

 until the poor animal, exhausted with its efforts to escape, sinks upon 

 the ground, and easily succumbs to the onslaught of its indefatigable pursuer. 

 But the most favourite and usual mode of a large number of wild creatures is 

 to lie in ambush, and patiently wait until their prey comes unwittingly near, and 

 then by a sudden spring strike it to the earth. Even some serpents, like the 

 Boa-constrictor, pursue this method ; and darting down from a branch upon which 

 they have lain concealed, envelope suddenly in their powerful folds the struggling 

 victim, and soon crush it to death. 



Of all families, that of the Cats is preeminently noted for the stealthy 

 approach which its members practise when seeking their prey. Lithe and supple 

 of body, their feet padded with soft fur, so as to emit no sound in walking, and 

 possessed of an amount of patience when watching for an opportunity to obtain 

 a meal that is simply extraordinary, they will lie in wait for hours, and rarely 

 make an unsuccessful spring. Crouched low upon the ground, behind a friendly 

 thicket, or upon a branch of some favouring tree that overhangs the path usually 

 taken by the animal it seeks, the legs drawn beneath the body, ever ready to 

 make a sudden and desperate effort, the sharp-clawed, cunning creature watches the 

 movements of its destined victim. 



