CHAPTER III 
THE ORDER OF FLESH-EATING MAMMALS 
FERAE , OR CARNIVORA 
North America contains a fine array of animals belonging to the Order Fe'rae , 1 numbering 
about ninety species north of Mexico, not counting subspecies. They are divided into the follow- 
ing groups: 
APPROXIMATE NUM- 
FAMILIES. BER OF SPECIES 
NORTH OF MEXICO. 
ORDER 
FERAE 
The Cats 
The Dogs 
The Martens 
The Bears 
The Raccoons 
FE'Ll-DAE 
CA'NI-DAE 
MUS-TE' LI-DAE 
UR'SI-DAE 
PRO-CY-ON'I-DAE 
8 Species 
22 “ 
46 “ 
12 “ 
3 “ 
THE CAT FAMILY. 
Felidae. 
In the order of their size, the five largest cat- 
like animals of North America are the following: 
Jaguar, Puma, Canada Lynx, Red Lynx, and 
Ocelot. 
Of the Cat Family, the Jaguar 2 (pronounced 
Jag' you-ar) is not only the largest, but also the 
handsomest species in America. Of yellow-and- 
black Cats it stands next in size to the tiger, but 
in form it is not so finely proportioned as the 
leopard. It is of massive build, throughout, and 
its head is very large for the height and length 
of the animal. Its tail, however, is dispropor- 
tionately short. 
This creature has a golden-yellow coat, marked 
on the back and sides by large, irregular hollow 
islands of black, called rosettes — quite different 
from the smaller and more solid black spots of 
the leopard. Between these rosettes run the 
narrow lines of yellow ground-color, like the 
streets of an oriental city on a map. The legs, 
head and under-parts are marked with solid black 
spots. An animal of this species can always be 
1 From Latin fe-rus, meaning a wild beast. This 
is a much older name than Carnivora , which here- 
tofore has been generally applied to this group. 
2 Fe'lis on'ca. 
recognized by its large rosettes, targe head, heavy 
build, and short tail. 
The Jaguar, which in Mexico and South Amer- 
ica is called “el Tigre” (tee'gree), is found as far 
north as southern Texas, and from that region 
southward to the limit of tropical forests in South 
America. A female specimen which once lived 
in the New York Zoological Park, measured 48 
inches in length of head and body, its tail was 
20 inches long, it stood 24 inches high at the 
shoulders, and weighed 120 pounds. The big 
and burly male which murdered the female above 
mentioned is fully one-fourth taller, and larger 
in every way. 
In killing pigs, cattle, horses, deer and other 
wild animals, the Jaguar is a fierce, powerful and 
dangerous beast; but, like all other wild creat- 
ures, it is afraid of man. 
It is my belief that the strength of the jaws of 
the Jaguar is greater in proportion to its size 
than that of any other member of the Gat Family. 
Of this power we once witnessed in the Zoological 
Park a tragic illustration. A full-grown female 
Jaguar was purchased as a cage-mate for a large 
and powerful male, named “Lopez,” from the 
interior of Paraguay. After two days’ prelim- 
inary introduction through their cage-fronts, 
the two animals were placed together. No 
sooner had the female entered the cage of Lopez 
