BEASTS OF PREY 31 



it ends its agony with one powerful bite. If the prey should happen to 

 escape, the cat does not continue the pursuit. 



Other Members of the Cat Family. 



, Apart from small deviations, all the species of the cat family resemble 

 the domestic cat in structure, habits and mode of life. 



The Wild Cat (Felis catiis) and the common Lynx formerly occurred 

 in Germany, the latter being now extinct, but. the former still inhabiting 

 the woods and forests of mountainous districts. The wild cat is larger 

 and stronger than the domestic cat ; its coat, in accordance with its 

 nocturnal mode of life, being gray with black stripes, gray being a 

 colour which most easily escapes notice in the dark. The tail is of 

 uniform thickness, not tapering like that of the domestic species, and 

 the posterior third of it is marked by black rings. The wild cat, being 

 a destroyer of all sorts of small birds, of pheasants and hares, of the 

 fawns of red and roe deer, is an object of special aversion to the 

 sportsman. To the farmer and forester, on the other hand, it is 

 useful, being a zealous destroyer of mice. It kills more than it is able 

 to consume, and has therefore with reason been described as " a tiger in 

 miniature." 



The Lynx (Felis lynx) was still to be found abundantly in the Middle 

 Ages in all the larger forests of Germany. It is now quite exterminated 

 in that country, but still to be met with in the Alps and Carpathians, in 

 Scandinavia, Northern Russia, and Siberia. The animal reaches a length 

 of about 4J feet, and is very destructive in game preserves. In the 

 pursuit of its prey it is aided by the colour of its skin, which almost 

 exactly resembles that of bark or of lichens. The ears are tipped with 

 long pencils of black hair. 



The Lion (Felis leo) — 1. Distribution. — The lion is an inhabitant of 

 the whole of Africa and a large part of Western and Southern Asia. 

 Formerly, as we learn from the Bible (Samson, David), it was found also 

 in Palestine, and even in Greece (Hercules). It is, however, unable to 

 withstand the progress of civilization, and its ranks have become 

 remarkably thinned since the invention of firearms. 



2. Structure. — On account of its size (up to 3£ feet in height at 

 the shoulders), its noble shape, majestic bearing, fine and powerful 

 head, broad chest, slender body, the immense power of its paws and 

 teeth, it has been termed for ages past " the king of beasts." The body 

 is covered with thick short hair, varying in colour from a light yellow 

 to a dark brown, and assimilating to the colour of the desert, along the 

 margins of which it has its habitat. A huge, sometimes darker-coloured 



