ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
89 
To the west of the Mullick House, is 
A Thatched Pavilion 
under which a Lynx is exhibited during the cold weather. 
As the animal is an example of the Lynx of the higher 
regions of the Himalaya and of Tibet, it is kept, at other 
times, in a special place to which the public are not 
permitted access, because it is shy and irritable during 
the hot weather. This is the first individual of this species 
that has been brought alive to the plains of India, and it 
is the first specimen of a Tibetan lynx that has ever been 
represented in a Zoological Garden. The species is quite 
distinct from Felis caracal , the Lynx of India, an exam¬ 
ple of which will be seen in the Kuch Bihar House. It 
was described as Felis isabellina from its supposed paler 
colouring as compared with the common lynx of Europe, 
Felis lynx , from which it seems in no wise to be separable, 
as it resembles it in all its more important features, which 
may be summarized as follows : It is about 18 inches 
high at the shoulder, with a moderately heavy body 
and powerful forelimbs with large paws ; a head large 
and round, with a short muzzle and big yellow eyes ; 
a ruff round the neck ; ears pointed, with black tufts ; 
and a short tail, only about 5 inches in length, the terminal 
half being black. There is a considerable difference be¬ 
tween its winter and its summer coat. During the latter 
season the hair is short and smooth, and the ruff and ear- 
tufts are but feebly marked ; whereas in winter the hair be¬ 
comes longer, softer, more dense and paler in colour, and 
the ruff and ear-tufts are well defined. It may be of inter¬ 
est to record the history of the individual here exhibited. 
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