The Cat Tribe 



53 



the servals are. It is entirely n tree-cat, and lives on birds and monlveys. The following 

 detailed description of its coloration appeared in '-Life at the Zoo": — 



" Its coat, with the exception jierhaps of that of the clouded leopard of Sumatra, marks 

 the highest development of ornament among four-footed animals. The Argus pheasant alone 

 seems to oiTer a jiarallel to the beauties of the ocelot's fur, especially in the development of 

 the wonderful ocelli, which, though never reaching in the beast the perfect cup-and-ball 

 ornament seen on the wings of the bird, can be traced in all the early stages of spots and 

 wavy lines, so far as the irregular shell-shaped rim and dot on the feet, sides, and back, just 

 as in the subsidiary ornament of the Argus pheasant's feathers. Most of the ground-tint of 

 the fur is smoky-pearl colour, on which the spots develop from mere dots on the legs and 





J'koto by VUOhiar AiidchiLtz] 



OCELOT FROM CENTRAL AMERICA. 

 The ocelot can be tamed and almost domesticated if taken young, and is occasionally kept as a pet by the forest Ind.iins, 



Li'trii/i. 



speckles on the feet and toes to large egg-shaped ocelli on the flanks. There are also two 

 beautiful pearl-coloured spots on the back of each ear, like those which form the common 

 ornaments of the wings of many moths." 



The nose is pink ; the eye large, convex, and translucent. 



A tame ocelot described by Wilson, the American naturalist, was most playful and 

 affectionate, but when fed with flesh was less tractable. It jumped on to the back of a horse 

 in the stable, and tried to curl up on its hindquarters. The horse threw the ocelot off and 

 kicked it curing it of any disposition to ride. On seeing a horse, the ocelot always ran off to 

 its kennel afterwards. When sent to England, it caught hold of and threw down a child of 

 four- years old, whom it rolled about with its paws without hurting it. 



