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CLASS I. MAMMALIA: OEDER 5. CARNIYOEA. iTS 
/ound in Guiana, Brazil, and Peru, Avhicli lias the local name of Cuchumoi. Its body is long, the legs 
short, the feet plantigrade, the tail prehensile, the fur thick, woolly, and of a grayish or russet 
brown. It is gentle in disposition, and does not lack intelligence. The ancient inhabitants of 
New Granada reduced it to a state of domesticity. It lives in the deep forests, and, rolled into 
a ball, sleeps profoundly during the day. As night advances, it opens its eyes, and by degrees 
awakes to activity, and then goes forth in quest of its food, which consists of small quadrupeds 
and birds, insects and fruits. It climbs trees, and runs along the branches in search of birds' 
nests : it is also a skillful bee-hunter, and, taking advantage of the dormant state of the insects 
during the night, it breaks the honey-comb with one of its paws, and licks up the precious 
treasure with its long tongue. This habit led the early missionaries to call it the Honey-Bear. 
In the menageries of Europe it has been found an exceedingly docile and gentle creature, feeding 
readily on fruit, cakes, biscuit, honey, or milk. When angry, its voice reseinbles the barking ot 
a small dog. 
THE WAH, OR PANDA. 
Genus PANDA: Ailurus. — Of this there is butthe Wha, Wah, or Panda, A.fulgens^ distin- 
guished by the elegance of its fur, which is very thick and of a lively russet, passing into brown 
along the limbs. The tail is very thick at the base, and is marked with rings of black. The 
animal is somewhat smaller than a cat ; its haunts are about rivers and mountain-torrents, whei'e 
it lives much on trees, and feeds on birds and the smaller quadrupeds. It frequently utters a loud 
cry of " Wha! ivha P'' whence one of its names. This sound also betrays it to the hunters. 
It is found in the hills of the Himalayah chain, between Nepaul and the Snowy Mountains. It is 
called Chihva by the natives. 
Genus RACCOON : Procyon. — Of this genus there are two species, the Commok Raccoon, 
P. lotor, of the United States, and the Crab-eating Raccoon, P. cancrivorus, of tropical America. 
The former is spread over North America from Hudson'sBay to Louisiana, excepting only in the more 
thickly settled regions, where it has been exterminated. In many parts, it is a common object of 
pursuit Avith the sportsman; in the Southwestern States, it is so abundant as to be a nuisance- 
All — even those who never see it in its native haunts — are familiar with it in menageries, in the 
legends of hunters, and in the sleigh-robes garnished with its skins. Many a song of the Coon 
delights the village dilettanti ; and who has not heard the story of Captain John Scott, the 
forester whose rifle never missed, and the Coon — which runs -to this eflFect : 
" Coon on the tree, loquitur. — A'STio are you, stranger ? 
" Hunter. — My name is Scott. 
" Coon.— Captain Scott ? 
" Hunter. — ^Yes. 
