THE CAT. 243 



countries inhabited by ocelots, such as the rattle- 

 snakes and the pythons. Now, one does not 

 generally think of a wild cat as a creature re- 

 quiring special protection from enemies, more 

 especially if it is as robust and formidable as 

 are most of the ocelot tribe. But we must 

 remember that such protective resemblances — if 

 in reality they exist — are of very ancient date ; 

 and that in the early days of mammalian life on 

 the earth the warm-blooded quadrupeds were an 

 exceedingly feeble folk when compared with con- 

 temporary birds and reptiles. It is therefore 

 quite possible that many of the characteristic 

 markings upon creatures living to-day — -which 

 are often so difficult to explain — are mere vestiges 

 of a state of affairs which existed in very ancient 

 times, and which demanded special means of pro- 

 tection. 



Did these phenomena stand alone, one would 

 perhaps be scarcely justified in regarding them 

 as more than suacrestive coincidences. But if we 

 inquire further we find that they by no means 

 stand alone; and, moreover, that wild cats even 

 in the present day are exposed to dangers from 

 which such peculiarities might tend to preserve 

 them. 



