THE CAT TRIBE 63 
gazelles, and hares. The Common Lynx is probably the same animal, whether found in Norway, 
Russia, the Carpathians, Turkestan, China, or Tibet. The Canapian Lynx is also very probably 
the same, with local differences of colour. The NorTHERN Lynx is the largest feline animal left 
in Europe, and kills sheep and goats equally with hares and squirrels. The beautiful fur, of pale 
cinnamon and light gray, is much admired. In some southern districts of America we have the 
Rep Lynx, or so-called “ wild cat,’ which is distinct from the lynx of Canada. ~The MEDITERRA- 
NEAN or SPANISH Lynx seems likewise entitled to rank as a distinct species. 
Of the lynxes the CaracaLs are perhaps the most interesting, from their capacity for domes- 
tication. They are found in Africa in the open desert country, whereas the SERVAL is found in 
the thick bush. In Africa it is believed to be the most savage and untamable of the Cats. That 
is probably because the Negro and the Kaffir never possessed the art of training animals, from 
the elephant downwards. In India the caracal’s natural prey are the fawns of deer and antelope, 
pea-fowl, hares, and floricans. The caracal is the quickest with its feet of any of the Cats. One 
of its best-known feats is to spring up and catch birds passing over on the wing at a height of 
six or eight feet from the ground. A writer, in the Naturalist’s Library, notes that, besides being 
tamed to catch deer, pea-fowl, and cranes, the caracal was used in“ pigeon matches.” Two 
caracals were backed one against the other to kill pigeons. The birds were fed on the ground, 
and the caracals suddenly let loose among them, to strike down as many as each could before 
the birds escaped. Each would sometimes strike down with its forepaws ten or a dozen pigeons. 
“Caracal” means in Turkish “ Black Ear,” in allusion to the colour of the animal’s organ of hearing. 
The Common Lynx is a thick-set animal, high in the leg, with a square head and very strong 
paws and forearms. It is found across the whole northern region of Europe and Asia. 
Although never known in Britain in historic times, it is still occasionally seen in parts of the 
Alps and in the Carpathians; it is also common in the Caucasus. It is mainly a forest animal, 
and very largely nocturnal; therefore it is seldom seen, and not often hunted. If any enemy 
approaches, the lynx lies perfectly still on some branch or rock, and generally succeeds in avoiding 
notice. The lynx is extremely active; it can leap great distances, and makes its attack usually 
gead, 
[Berlin 
LYNX 
This animal is a uniformly coloured species common to India and Africa 
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