34 TEXT-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY 



corresponds with the tint of the decaying leaves and stalks which thickly 

 cover the ground, while the dark striped shadows of the reeds and 

 cane-stalks are mirrored in the black transverse stripes of its skin 

 (in fact, the tiger is a kind of " living trap "). It is not inferior to the 

 lion either in size or strength, while in courage and ferocity it even 

 surpasses the " king of beasts." The tiger seeks the neighbourhood of 

 man, and in many parts of India has become an actual plague, causing 

 the inhabitants to leave their homes, and even depopulating whole 

 districts. Thousands of human beings even up to the present day still 

 perish annually under its terrible claws and powerful teeth. 



The Leopard (Felis pardus). — The skin of this animal is ochre yellow, 

 ornamented with many smaller or larger black annular spots. When 

 reposing in the thicket of the forest or lying in wait for his prey, this 

 " spotted skin " so exactly imitates the play of the sunbeams and the 

 circular shadows of the leaves, that even the sharp eye of the hunter 

 fails to detect the animal. The leopard is a formidable enemy to all 

 mammals, and even man. Its true home is in Africa. The Asiatic 

 species is known as the Panther. 



The Jaguar (Felis onca) and the Puma (Felis concolor) are the two 

 largest representatives of the cat family in the New World. The skin 

 of the former is from yellow to nearly black with dark annular spots, 

 " reflecting, like that of the leopard, the variegated forests of its home." 

 The skin of the puma is of a uniform grayish-brown. The depredations 

 of these animals among the herds make them the worst foes of the settler. 

 Like its nearest relatives in the Old World, the jaguar also is a " man- 

 eater." 



Family 2: Hyaenas (Hyaenidae). 



The Striped Hyaena (Hyaena striata). 



(Length about 3| feet ; height at shoulders about 2i- feet.) 



The yellowish-gray skin with black transverse stripes of the hyaena 

 points it out as a nocturnal animal (compare with wild cat, p. 31). A 

 bristly, erectile mane surmounts the nape of the neck and the sloping 

 back. The teeth are of the carnivorous type. The front-legs however 

 being much longer than the hind-legs, the animal is unable to run either 

 rapidly nor for any considerable time (like the dog), nor is it able to creep 

 or spring (like cats), consequently the hysena can only seize upon animals 

 that are sick or those which are unable to defend themselves (sheep, goats, 

 etc.). As a rule, it has to be content with carrion, which, owing to its 

 exceedingly fine sense of smell, it can scent from a great distance. The 



