352 BACKBONED ANIMALS. 
height at shoulder fifteen and a half inches. The fur is 
soft and thick, the color upon the sides a light red, over- 
cast with grizzly gray ; below they are white and spotted, 
the inner surface of the ear and the tip of the tail black. 
They are powerful animals, and prey upon small game of 
various kinds. They nest in hollow trees and logs. 
The Canada lynxes (Fig. 374) are the largest, attaining a 
length of three and a half feet. They are extremely pow- 
erful, attack- 
ing large ani- 
mals, sheep, 
etc. ; are good 
swimmers, and 
easily recog- 
nized by their 
gallop. They 
produce their 
young, general- 
ly two, in dens 
or hollow trees. 
The red cat 
and Texas wild 
cat are other 
species. 
The domes- 
tic cat (Felis) has been domesticated for over a thousand 
years, and was probably first used in Egypt. The ya- 
guarundi ranges from southern Texas to central South 
America. The tail is nearly as long as the body, the pre- 
vailing color a grayish brown. The ocelot and tiger-cats 
range from Texas southward. 
The puma or panther is the largest and most powerful 
true North American cat, equaling in size a large hound, 
weighing one hundred and seventy-five pounds, and com- 
mon throughout the less frequented parts of the country. 
They are extremely powerful, leaping forty or fifty feet 
Fic. 374.—Canada lynx (Lynx Canadensis). 
