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CHAPTER VII. . 



THE CHEETAH, OE HUNTING LEOPAED {FELIS JUBATA). 



Of all the cat family, with the exception of the lion, this animal is 

 probably the most interesting, for its history takes us back to 

 a past age and proves how unchangeable are some of the customs 

 of the Eastern people; for, precisely as the cheetah was used 

 on the hunting-fields, at least eight hundred years before the 

 Christian era, so it is used in certain districts at the present day. 



In form and habits it exhibits such a blending of the feline and 

 canine characteristics that many naturalists regard it as a distinct 

 family, possessing only this individual member; and others, 

 apparently with more correctness, as the link connecting these 

 two principal groups of the carnivorous animals. Its anatomical 

 structure, however, is a conclusive proof o£ its correct classification 

 among the Felidce, for it has all the distinguishing features of the 

 cats ; among them may be mentioned the roughened tongue, same 

 number and form of teeth and claws, and similar uniformity in the 

 organs of sense. Yet in outward appearance and in character it 

 has less in common with the typical members of the felines, for it 

 approaches much nearer to certain breeds of the dog family, 

 standing higher on the legs, which are elongated and slender, a 

 formation that fits it for the capture of its prey by speed rather 

 than by bounds ; the claws are only partially retractile, being 

 always visible, and consequently get blunted by contact with the 

 ground, and so are rendered unsuitable for the purely feline 

 method of attack. It is deep-chested. The head, although more 

 elevated and prominent in front, yet exhibits the broad lateral 

 expansion peculiar to cats, a contour rendered necessary by the 

 thick mass of muscles connected with their powerful and wide- 

 opening jaws. Its ears are short and round, but in figure it is 

 slender, being small in the loins, reminding one of the greyhound. 



