CHAPTER III 



THE ORDER OF FLESH-EATING MAMMALS 



FERAE, OR CARNIVORA 



North America contains a fine array of animals belonging to the Order Fe'rae," numbering 

 about ninety species north of Mexico, not counting subspecies. They are divided into .the follow- 

 ing groups: 



FAMILIES. 



APPHOXIMATE NUM- 

 BER OF SPECIES 

 NORTH OF MEXICO. 



The Cats ......••• fe'li-dae 8 Species 



The Dogs ca'NI-dae 22 



ORDER/ The Mabtens mvs-te'li-dae 46 |^ 



FERAE ^ -j-jjj; Bjj^jjs UR'si-DAE 12 '] 



The Raccoons pbo-cy-on'i-dae 3 



THE CAT FAMILY. 



Fdidae. 



In the order of their size, the five largest cat- 

 like animals of North America are the following : 

 Jaguar, Puma, Canada Lynx, Red Lynx, and. 

 Ocelot. 



Of the Cat Family, the Jaguar ^ (pronounced 

 Jag' you-ar) is not only the largest, but also the 

 handsomest species in America. Of yellow-and- 

 black Cats it stands next in size to the tiger, but 

 in form it is not so finely proportioned as the 

 leopard. It is of massive build, throughout, and 

 its head is very large for the height and length 

 of the animal. Its tail, however, is dispropor- 

 tionately short. 



This creature has a golden-yellow coat, marked 

 on the back and sides by large, irregular hollow 

 islands of black, called rosettes — quite different 

 from the smaller and more solid black spots of 

 the leopard. Between these rosettes run the 

 narrow lines of yellow ground-color, like the 

 streets of an oriental city on a map. The legs, 

 head and under-parts are marked with solid black 

 spots. An animal of this species can always be 



' From Latin fe-rus, meaning a wild beast. This 

 is a much older name than Carnivora, which here- 

 tofore has been generally applied to this group. 



' Fe'lis on'ca. 



recognized by its large rosettes, large head, heavy 

 build, and short tail. 



The Jaguar, which in Mexico and South Amer- 

 ica is called "el Tigre" (tee'gree), is found ag far 

 north as southern Texas, and from that region 

 southward to the Hmit of tropical forests in South 

 America. A female specimen which once lived 

 in the New York Zoological Park, measured 48 

 inches in length of head and body, its tail was 

 20 inches long, it stood 24 inches high at the 

 shoulders, and weighed 120 pounds. The big 

 and burly male which murdered the female above 

 mentioned is fully one-fourth taller, and larger 

 in every way. 



In killing pigs, cattle, horses, deer and other 

 wild animals, the Jaguar is a fierce, powerful and 

 dangerous beast; but, like all other wild creat- 

 ures, it is afraid of man. 



It is my belief that the strength of the jaws of 

 the Jaguar is greater in proportion to its size 

 than that of any other member of the Cat Family. 

 Of this power we once witnessed in the Zoological 

 Park a tragic illustration. A full-grown female 

 Jaguar was purchased as a cage-mate for a large 

 and powerful male, named "Lopez," from the 

 interior of Paraguay. Aftfer two days' prelim- 

 inary introduction through their cage-fronts, 

 the two animals were placed together. No 

 sooner had the female entered the cage of Lopez 



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