THE PRIMATES. 
301 
uncommon/' and it has been known to leap forty and even 
sixty feet from a rock twenty feet higher tlian the ground. 
The panther generally takes refuge in trees when pursued by 
dogs, but under no other circumstances do any but the 
young sporting kittens ever climb trees." A very large 
panther may weigh about 200 pounds, and stand about 2^ 
feet high at the shoulders. It is very gaunt, but not so 
thin as it looks. It is not so fierce as supposed, not attack- 
ing man unless wounded and cornered. The domestic cat, 
Felis doniestica, was first domesticated in Egypt, the Greeks 
and Romans not possessing it; the cat and common marten 
were in use as domesticated animals side by side; and at 
the same time in Italy, nine hundred years before the cru- 
sades. It appears that the domestic cat of the ancients 
was Mustela foina. 
Of the lynxes there are two species in North America, 
Lynx rufiis^ the American wildcat, and the Canada lynx, 
Lynx Canadensis or loiip cervier, the latter being much the 
larger species. The Canada lynx preys upon the northern 
hare and other smaU mammals, as well as the ruffed grouse 
and spruce partridge, and has been known to devour pigs, 
lambs, and young fawns, but does not attack, says Merriam,* 
full-grown deer. The female commonly has two young at 
a birth, her lair being usually situated in a cavern or hol- 
low tree. 
The wild cat frequents rocky hills and ledges, and does 
not show that antipathy to civilization so marked in its 
congener, the lynx.'^ It carries off lambs, little pigs, ana 
poultry. Away from the farm-yard it feeds upon rabbits, 
squirrels, mice, grouse, and smaller birds. ^^It generally 
makes its nest in a hollow tree or log, and lines it well with 
moss. From two to four young constitute a litter, the most 
frequent number being three.'" (Merriam.) 
Order 12. Primates, — The last and highest order of 
mammals contains a series beginning with creatures resem- 
* The Vertebrates of tUe Adirondack Region. 188^. 
